MICHAEL J. MUSKAT Mike is Board-certified in Labor & Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and has developed a wide range of experience in and litigating employment and labor law matters and in counseling employers on their obligations under the laws.

Representative Experience

Union Organizing and Traditional Labor Law

• Conducted training sessions for supervisors on union organizing drives and presented in-house seminars on union campaigns.
  
  
• Prevailed in labor arbitration proceeding involving dispute over union member’s retention of seniority after a leave of absence.
  
  
• Assisted employer in the Texas Medical Center in defeating union organizing drive involving most of the job classifications within the organization.
  
  
• Negotiated collective bargaining agreements on behalf of arts organization and provided client with advice on labor law issues arising throughout the bargaining process.
  
  
• Obtained dismissal of claims brought against a non-union employer before the NLRB alleging that employee was terminated for engaging in concerted, protected activity under the National Labor Relations Act.
  
  
• Revises and updates nonsolicitation and nondistribution policies.

Results depend on facts of each case.

Employment Litigation

• Obtained summary judgment on behalf of an investment firm alleged to be the plaintiff's “joint employer” in a sex and pregnancy discrimination lawsuit.
  
  
• Obtained dismissal of sexual harassment claim against large hospital system in the Texas Medical Center.
  
  
• Defended and obtained a favorable settlement on behalf of a large private medical practice in a breach of contract and fraud suit brought by a terminated physician.
  
  
• Obtained dismissal of sexual orientation discrimination claim against employer in the Texas Medical Center.
  
  
• Obtained the dismissal of a pregnancy discrimination claim against a large dental group.

Arbitration

• Obtained favorable award in arbitration proceeding against employee’s claim of age discrimination arising out of reduction-in-force at oilfield services company, and prevailed on employer’s counterclaims for breach of a nondisclosure covenant.
  
  
• Prevailed in arbitration proceeding involving significant claims of racial harassment at chemical plant.
  
  
• Prevailed in arbitration proceeding involving claims of breach of employment contract and promissory estoppel brought by executive at a large engineering and construction company.
  
  
• Obtained enforcement of arbitration agreements on many occasions. See, e.g., Pierce v. Kellogg, Brown & Root, Inc., 245 F. Supp.2d 1212 (E.D. Okla. 2003).
  
  
• Drafts arbitration agreements for employers.

Noncompetition and Trade Secrets

• Obtained arbitration award against a former employee for breach of a confidentiality agreement occurring when the employee took trade secrets and confidential information upon his termination of employment.
  
  
• Assisted in obtaining Temporary Restraining Order on behalf of a medical organization against an employee who took the employer’s confidential information.
  
  
• Reviews and prepares noncompetition and nondisclosure agreements on behalf of employers and individuals.

Results depend on facts of each case.

Professional Activities and Bar Memberships

• Board-certified in labor and employment law by The Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
  
  
• Listed: "Texas Rising Star" in labor and employment law, Texas Monthly, 2005-2008 and in employment litigation, 2004.
  
  
• Speaker: “Labor & Employment Law Developments that H.R. Professionals Need to Know,” Houston Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration, February 2008; “Cutting-Edge Employment Law Strategies,” Texas Institute for Continuing Legal Education, October 2007 (program chair); “Employment Law Icebergs,” South Texas College of Law Symposium, July 2007; “Best Practices for Documenting Employee Performance,” Texas Medical Association Seminar, July 2007; “Discrimination Law 101,” Council on Education and Management Seminar, March 2007; “Risky Business: What You Need to Know About an Employer’s Obligation to Protect Employee Data,” Houston Bar Association Labor & Employment Section, December 2006; “Update on Drafting and Enforcing Arbitration Agreements,” Texas Institute for Continuing Legal Education, November 2006; "Race, Sex, and Age Discrimination," HBA Labor & Employment Law Seminar, April 2006 and HBA CLE Program, March 2006; “Spector v. Norwegian Cruise Line,” UT Maritime and Admiralty Law Seminar, November 2005; "Employment Policies," TAB seminar, January 2005; "Labor Law and Transactions," Vinson & Elkins CLE Seminar, September 2004; "Emerging Issues in Employment Law," Council on Education in Management employment law seminar, 2003; "Untangling the Overlapping Web of Leave Laws," Council on Education and Management employment law seminar, 2002 and 2003.
  
  
• Quoted: “Food for Thought,” Houston Chronicle, November 15, 2007; “Free Speech Too Nasty?,” Houston Chronicle, May 17, 2007; “For Better or Worse, Openness to Affect Talks,” Houston Chronicle, April 12, 2007; “Contract Just Might Attract Members,” Houston Chronicle, November 23, 2006; “Bakers Union Cooking Up Momentum With Its Win,” Houston Chronicle, July 6, 2006; “2 Rival Unions Join at City Hall,” Houston Chronicle, June 15, 2006; “Two Unions Pursue Unity,” Houston Chronicle, June 10, 2006; "Each Day is Casual to Some U.S. Postal Service Folks," November 25, 2004; "Political Winds Steer Labor Board's Decisions," Houston Chronicle, June 24, 2004.
  
  
• Panelist: “Wage and Hour Issues,” Greater Houston Restaurant Association seminar, August 2007; “What Small Business Owners Need to Know About Wage and Hour Issues,” Asian American Bar Association seminar, August 2006; "10 Reasons Employers Get Sued," Texas Association of Business seminar, March 2004.
  
  
• Author: Contributor to Age Discrimination Chapter, Lindemann & Grossman’s Employment Discrimination Law; "OSHA Boards Executive Accountability Ship," Houston Business Journal, January 2003; "Substantive Justice and State Interests in the Aftermath of Herrera v. Collins: Finding an Adequate Process for the Resolution of Bare Innocence Claims," 75 Texas L. Rev. 131 (1996).
  
  
• Admitted to practice: Texas, 1997; U.S. Supreme Court; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit; U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
  

Education and Background

• The University of Texas School of Law, J.D. with honors, 1997 (Articles Editor, Texas Law Review; Order of the Coif).
  
  
• Bowdoin College, A.B. magna cum laude, 1993. Currently serve as Houston-area chair of the Bowdoin Alumni Schools and Interviewing Committee.
  
  
• Law clerk to the Honorable Lee H. Rosenthal, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, 1997-1998.