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.
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