Worker's Rights Amendments One Year Later

Robert Bruno Related Seminars and Products

University of Illinois at Chicago

Benjamin Gehrt Related Seminars and Products

Partner

Clark Baird Smith LLP

Ben Gehrt focuses his practice on traditional labor law and employment litigation.  He has experience in grievance and interest arbitration cases, contract negotiations, and unfair labor practice charges.  Ben also represents clients in EEO and wage-hour litigation.  Prior to practicing law, Ben worked as a Plant Manager for a food manufacturing company in suburban Chicago.  His experience as a supervisor and a manager gives him a unique perspective that helps him relate to the day-to-day challenges our clients face while managing people.

Ben has represented public and private sector clients in contract negotiations and interest arbitration.  In those settings, he has helped clients obtain significant cost savings through changes in staffing levels, wage schedules, retiree insurance benefits, sick leave buyback benefits, and work rule changes, among other things.

Ben is also an experienced litigator.  In addition to representing clients in grievance arbitration proceedings, Ben has also litigated cases in the state and federal trial courts.  His litigation experience includes cases involving allegations of discrimination, employment cases alleging deprivation of constitutional rights, wage-hour disputes, and disputes over employee benefits under both ERISA and Illinois state law.  In addition to his trial court experience, Ben has successfully represented clients in the state and federal courts of appeal.

Additionally, Ben has developed a niche practice at Clark Baird Smith LLP, counseling the firm’s clients on a wide variety of wage and hour issues under both state and federal law.  In addition to handling the traditional wage payment questions that arise with private sector businesses, Ben is skilled at answering questions that are unique to the public sector, such as questions about compensatory time, 7(k) work periods, pay for canine handlers, and duty shift trades, to name a few.

Ben has been selected as a Leading Lawyer and an Illinois Super Lawyer.  

Ben has also authored and contributed to numerous books and articles regarding labor and employment law.  He is a co-editor and chapter author for Much Smarter Bargaining.  He has also authored contributions to the NPELRA Legal Corner, The Developing Labor Law (BNA), How To Take A Case Before The NLRB (8th Ed. BNA), and a chapter in the Municipal Law Deskbook (ABA 2015) published by the American Bar Association’s Section on State and Local Government Law.

In addition to his practice, Ben volunteers as a judge and advisory board member for the NICASA Teen Court.

Marc Poulos Related Seminars and Products

Executive Director of the Indiana, Illinois, Iowa Foundation for Fair Contracting (III FFC)

IIIFFC

Marc Poulos is the Executive Director of the III FFC. After spending several years in the trades while attending night school, he graduated from Northeastern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. He went on to receive his Juris Doctor and a certificate in Labor and Employment Law from Chicago-Kent College of Law. While in law school, he clerked for the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 150 Legal Department and later became IUOE Local 150’s Associate General Counsel.

Marc is a proud Local 150 member and sits on the Board of Directors for the Illinois Prevailing Wage Council, the National Alliance for Fair Contracting and Midwest Operating Engineers Information Technologies. Marc is admitted to practice law in the State of Illinois, Washington D.C. Court of Appeals, United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana. He is a member of the American Bar Association, Illinois State Bar Association and Chicago Bar Association.