Neal & Leroy

Practice Area

Employment

Neal & Leroy’s employment attorneys represent management across the public and private sectors, handling matters from day-to-day compliance through trial and appeal, if a dispute arises. We’ve represented clients from municipalities to Fortune 500 companies, and we stay with a case as long as it takes to resolve it. Our services range from preventative training and counseling to litigation. Neal & Leroy defends employers in all types of litigation including federal and state courts and administrative agencies. We regularly provide preventative training to clients’ employees and supervisors on discrimination and harassment topics to minimize the risk of potential claims, and compliance with state and federal laws. 

Our Employment Practice

How We Approach Employment

Neal & Leroy has represented management in employment matters for more than 30 years, across both the public and private sectors. Our attorneys have taken cases from an internal complaint through trial and appeal. Employment matters often evolve over time, and clients need a firm that can handle issues at every stage.

We appear regularly before the EEOC, the Illinois Department of Human Rights, the Illinois Human Rights Commission, the Chicago Commission on Human Relations, the U.S. and Illinois Departments of Labor. Our attorneys have additionally argued before appellate courts, defended government employers in Section 1983 litigation, and represented employers in federal court under Title VII, the ADEA, the ADA, and Section 1981.

Our clients range from municipalities and public agencies to Fortune 500 companies. This breadth of experience gives our attorneys a practical understanding of how employment disputes arise and are resolved across diverse organizations, informed by experience rather than theory.

Employment disputes don’t usually stay contained to one claim. A discrimination charge can include a breach-of-contract claim. A termination case can turn into a tort claim halfway through. Our attorneys handle discrimination and retaliation matters, employment contracts and non-competes, wage-and-hour disputes, workplace investigations, and public-sector issues involving due process and civil service hearings. When claims do overlap, it changes how the matter needs to be handled.

We have represented clients through changing markets and evolving legal challenges. We remain engaged throughout the life of a matter, providing consistent counsel from initial strategy through resolution. When complex disputes extend over many years, our attorneys remain at the table, offering continuity and institutional knowledge every step of the way. 

OUR LABOR & EMPLOYMENT PRACTICE

  • Labor & Employment Law, Administrative Proceedings, Arbitration/Mediation, Appellate, Consultation, Litigation, and Non-Compete Enforcement 
  • Anti-Discrimination Law, including Title VII, ADA, ADEA, the Equal Pay Act, and the Illinois Human Rights Act
  • Employment Torts, including retaliatory discharge, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and employment-related defamation
  • Employment Contracts, including non-compete clauses, severance agreements, and unfair business practice claims
  • Regulatory Compliance, including FMLA, wage and hour issues, and OFCCP and EEO matters
  • Workplace Investigations and Advisory Services, including policy guidance and employee training
  • Public Sector Employment, including First Amendment, due process, and civil service and merit board matters
  • Traditional Employment Law and State and Federal Court Litigation

Our Work

Representative Matters

A selection of matters handled by our Employment team. Client identities are anonymized or withheld where confidentiality applies.

DISCRIMINATION LITIGATION

  • Defended the City of Chicago for more than a decade in litigation with the U.S. Department of Justice over hiring and promotional practices in the Police and Fire Departments.

  • Represented City Colleges of Chicago in a breach of contract matter and an ADA case. Represented City Colleges of Chicago in a breach of contract matter and an ADA case that resulted in a favorable ruling from both the District Court and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

  • Represented Exelon in more than 50 discrimination charges before the IDHR, EEOC, City of Chicago, and County of Cook. Represented Exelon in more than 50 discrimination charges before the IDHR, EEOC, City of Chicago, and County of Cook, along with litigation involving a race-based termination claim combined with breach of contract, unfair labor practice, and pension benefit allegations.

GENERAL COUNSEL

  • Neal & Leroy advises the Public Building Commission of Chicago on all aspects of employment litigation. Neal & Leroy advises the Public Building Commission of Chicago on all aspects of employment litigation, including EEOC and Illinois Department of Human Rights charges, employee handbook and policy matters, pension and benefits questions, and FOIA requests involving employee privacy.

REGULATORY & ADMINISTRATIVE

  • Defended the Chicago Title Insurance Company in a federal civil rights action alleging racial discrimination in its trust department.

  • Defended Central Transport International in a nationwide ERISA withdrawal liability action brought by Central States Funds. Defended Central Transport International in a nationwide ERISA withdrawal liability action brought by Central States Funds, resulting in a trial judgment for the client.

  • Represented The Apartment People in an appeal of an audit finding that its leasing agents were misclassified as independent contractors. Represented The Apartment People in an appeal of an audit finding that its leasing agents were misclassified as independent contractors. The Department Director reversed the auditors and ordered a refund.

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