Co-Chairman, Workplace Policy Institute and Shareholder, Littler Mendelson PC
Michael J. Lotito is the founder and co-chair of Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute® (WPI®), the firm’s government relations and public policy arm. He provides strategic advice to C-suite executives and policy makers on the complex intersection of public policy, communications and the law at the international, national and local levels. Michael takes a proactive and holistic approach to advocating for the interests of employers on a global scale, working with companies, trade associations, business groups and other influencers to define and shape the laws, regulations and policies that have critical implications for the workplace.
Michael focuses on giving employers a voice in the midst of changes affecting their workplaces. He has been at the forefront of challenging numerous rules and regulations impacting employers, such as the expansion of the joint employer doctrine, changes to the definition of an independent contractor, new overtime pay requirements, the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, and the Persuader Rule. Michael also advocates for employers on issues including nominations to government agencies, state level developments impacting freedom of speech for corporations, and the rapid expansion of sectoral bargaining boards. He serves as labor and policy counsel to the International Franchise Association, as a member of the Labor Relations Committee of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the California Business Roundtable’s board of directors.
Michael speaks around the world on workplace topics and writes extensively on emerging issues for the workplace. He has testified before committees in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, as well as before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). He is regularly quoted and published in such media outlets as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Financial Times, Bloomberg, Reuters, Chief Executive Magazine, Law360, Fox Business, National Law Journal, CNBC, The Hill and Politico, and has a significant social media presence on LinkedIn. Michael was inducted into Human Resource Executive magazine’s Most Powerful Employment Attorneys Hall of Fame, and Villanova University Graduate School of Human Resources named him HR Alumnus of the 20th Century.
Through the Emma Coalition – a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that he co-founded in 2018 to address the technology-induced displacement of employment (TIDE™) – Michael has been at the vanguard of preparing American business and the American workforce for the future of work. As technological innovation drives significant changes in employers’ talent needs, the Emma Coalition focuses on understanding the skills the American workforce will need in the future and addressing the country’s varied and complex workforce challenges through education, training and engagement with policymakers.
* Member of the California Bar; not licensed to practice law in the District of Columbia. Practice is limited primarily to governmental affairs advocacy but also includes the practice before Federal Agencies authorized by Rule 49(c)(3) and does not constitute the practice of law under Rule 49 of the District Columbia Court of Appeals.
Shareholder, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart PC
Hal Coxson is a nationally recognized lawyer with over 35 years experience in all aspects of labor and employment law in Washington, DC. He is highly respected for his experience and expertise in government relations and as an advocate on behalf of business clients before Congress, the Executive Branch and independent federal regulatory agencies. He chairs the Firm’s Government Relations Practice Group and is a Principal in Ogletree Governmental Affairs, Inc., the Firm’s wholly-owned subsidiary.
Mr. Coxson concentrates on traditional labor law and international labor relations. He has helped shape national labor policy through oral arguments and the filing of amicus curiae briefs on behalf of business clients in numerous landmark cases before the National Labor Relations Board and federal courts of appeals, including the U.S. Supreme Court. In addition, he has represented the U.S. Employer community before the International Labor Organization, and has defended clients in global corporate campaigns.
In his government relations practice, Mr. Coxson represents individual corporations and national trade associations, as well as business coalitions which he has been responsible for organizing on a variety of the most important workplace issues over the past quarter century. He has testified on behalf of business clients and as an expert witness before federal administrative agencies and both Houses of Congress.
In addition, Hal has a close working relationship with many of the national trade associations in Washington. He is Executive Director of the First Tuesday Group, an informal organization of thirty-five national trade associations and professional organizations involved in workplace issues. He serves on the Boards and committees of many trade associations, including the Labor Relations Committee of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce where he co-chairs its International Perspectives Subcommittee.
Hal is a frequent speaker on labor and employment topics. He appears as a guest on radio and television talk shows and panels. In addition, he has written several noteworthy publications on workplace law, including most recently “The National Labor Relations Board in the Obama Administration: What Changes to Expect” (U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 2009) which has become required reading in several law schools throughout the country. Currently, he is co-editor of “NLRB Insight,” published bi-monthly by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and is on the Board of Trustees of HR Advisor.
Hal has had numerous speeches and debates before LERA, the Council on Labor Law Equality, US LERN, the Mercer Oil Forum, the Association of Corporate Counsel, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers, Society for Human Resource Management, Edison Electric Institute, Associated General Contractors of America, American Bakers Association, Association of Equipment Manufacturers, North American Transportation Employee Relations Association, National Association of Waterfront Employers, Retail Industry Leaders Association, Food Marketing Institute, National Retail Federation, the Business Roundtable, WCI, South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, and Indiana Chamber of Commerce, as well as at meetings/conferences sponsored by the American Bar Association, National Labor Relations Board, and the Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service. He speaks frequently at Ogletree Deakins Annual Workplace Strategies Seminars, Not Your Father’s NLRB, and various Ogletree Deakins Office Seminars across the country.
Co-Chairman, Workplace Policy Institute and Shareholder, Littler Mendelson PC
Michael J. Lotito is the founder and co-chair of Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute® (WPI®), the firm’s government relations and public policy arm. He provides strategic advice to C-suite executives and policy makers on the complex intersection of public policy, communications and the law at the international, national and local levels. Michael takes a proactive and holistic approach to advocating for the interests of employers on a global scale, working with companies, trade associations, business groups and other influencers to define and shape the laws, regulations and policies that have critical implications for the workplace.
Michael focuses on giving employers a voice in the midst of changes affecting their workplaces. He has been at the forefront of challenging numerous rules and regulations impacting employers, such as the expansion of the joint employer doctrine, changes to the definition of an independent contractor, new overtime pay requirements, the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, and the Persuader Rule. Michael also advocates for employers on issues including nominations to government agencies, state level developments impacting freedom of speech for corporations, and the rapid expansion of sectoral bargaining boards. He serves as labor and policy counsel to the International Franchise Association, as a member of the Labor Relations Committee of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the California Business Roundtable’s board of directors.
Michael speaks around the world on workplace topics and writes extensively on emerging issues for the workplace. He has testified before committees in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, as well as before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). He is regularly quoted and published in such media outlets as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Financial Times, Bloomberg, Reuters, Chief Executive Magazine, Law360, Fox Business, National Law Journal, CNBC, The Hill and Politico, and has a significant social media presence on LinkedIn. Michael was inducted into Human Resource Executive magazine’s Most Powerful Employment Attorneys Hall of Fame, and Villanova University Graduate School of Human Resources named him HR Alumnus of the 20th Century.
Through the Emma Coalition – a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that he co-founded in 2018 to address the technology-induced displacement of employment (TIDE™) – Michael has been at the vanguard of preparing American business and the American workforce for the future of work. As technological innovation drives significant changes in employers’ talent needs, the Emma Coalition focuses on understanding the skills the American workforce will need in the future and addressing the country’s varied and complex workforce challenges through education, training and engagement with policymakers.
* Member of the California Bar; not licensed to practice law in the District of Columbia. Practice is limited primarily to governmental affairs advocacy but also includes the practice before Federal Agencies authorized by Rule 49(c)(3) and does not constitute the practice of law under Rule 49 of the District Columbia Court of Appeals.
Member, NLRB
Bill works with a broad range of clients, including trade associations, hospitals and other health care institutions, school districts, transportation and logistics companies and manufacturing companies.
He is a member of Littler Mendelson's Traditional Labor Practice Group and editor of the firm's traditional labor blog, Labor Relations Counsel. He also authored several amicus curiae briefs on behalf of trade associations in cases challenging state laws that allow labor unions to trespass on the private property of employers, including a landmark case now pending at the California Supreme Court.
Executive Vice President, The Federalist Society
Dean Reuter is Executive Vice President at the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies. He has served in two federal government agency Offices of the Inspector General, as Counsel to the Inspector General and Deputy Inspector General, responsible for policing the use of federal funds granted and contracted through those agencies. As such, he helped conduct and oversee criminal investigations across the country. He is the principal author of the non-fiction book, The Hidden Nazi: The Untold Story of America's Deal with the Devil, and editor of Liberty’s Nemesis: The Unchecked Expansion of the State and Confronting Terror: 9/11 and the Future of American National Security. He was appointed by the President and served as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service, and recently served as an appointee on the U.S. Commission on Presidential Scholars. He is a graduate of Hood College (BA with Honors) and the University of Maryland School of Law.
Landmark NLRB Ruling on Joint Employers - Podcast
Michael J. Lotito
Labor & Employment Law Practice Group Podcast
In what is being described as a "landmark" ruling by the National Labor Relations Board,...
New Department of Labor "Persuader" Rule: A Threat to Lawyers and Clients? - Podcast
Harold P. Coxson, Michael J. Lotito, William J. Emanuel, Dean Reuter
Labor & Employment Law Practice Group Podcast
A little-known labor law, enacted more than half a century ago, may soon be reinterpreted...