J. Michael Rose

Board Certified in Labor & Employment Law, Mike Rose defends employers in litigation involving the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (single plaintiff cases and collective/class actions), Title VII/ADEA/ADA/OSHA & Section 1981 wrongful termination, retaliation and harassment lawsuits, OSHA retaliation matters as well as representing employers in front of various federal, state and local employment-related agencies. Mike also regularly represents employers in litigation of non-compete, restrictive covenant and trade secret matters.

Mike's representative experience includes all aspects of labor and employment-related litigation, including representing clients in court hearings, trials and in arbitrations, taking and defending depositions, drafting and arguing dispositive motions, and resolving cases through negotiation and mediation.

Employment Class & Collective Actions

Mike has extensive experience defending Fair Labor Standards Act collective and class action lawsuits in multiple jurisdictions, typically involving hundreds of employees, particularly in the energy, manufacturing and oilfield services industries.

• Obtained multiple summary judgment orders on threshold matters related to liability and measure of damages in FLSA and state law wage and hour collective actions and single plaintiff lawsuits
• Defended national oilfield services client in multiple collective and class action lawsuits brought by current and former cementing and pressure pumping employees
• Defended national oilfield services client in multiple collective action lawsuits brought by current and former mud engineers
• Defended national manufacturer in WARN Act class action lawsuit
• Defendant Gulf Coast-based steel fabricator in FLSA independent contractor misclassification collective action and WARN Act class action
• Defended national oilfield services client in multiple collective and class action lawsuits brought by current and former wireline and torque and test operators
• Defended national oilfield services client in multiple collective action lawsuits brought by current and former coil tubing, cementing, flowback, wireline and pressure pumping operators and supervisors
• Defended national oilfield services client in multiple collective and class action lawsuits brought by current and former directional drillers, MWD hands, wireline and survey employees
• Defended national oilfield services client in multiple collective and class action lawsuits brought by current and former coil tubing and fracking operators and supervisors
• Defended Houston-based construction contractor in multiple independent contractor misclassification collective actions.

Restrictive Covenant/Non-Compete

Mike regularly represents both Plaintiffs and Defendants in restrictive covenant/non-compete matters in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, California, Colorado, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, and has extensive courtroom experience litigating these matters.

• State and federal court litigation, including trials and injunctive relief hearings, related to covenants not to compete (including tortious interference, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, misappropriation and unfair competition), representing both plaintiffs and defendants

National Labor Relations Board

• Participated in employer-initiated decertification election on behalf of a prominent Houston grocery chain, which resulted in dissolution of long-standing collective bargaining unit
• Labor arbitrations involving collective bargaining agreements/unfair labor charges

Employment Advice & Counsel

Mike regularly provides advice and counsel to employers on hiring and firing decisions, wage and hour issues, Family and Medical Leave Act issues, collective bargaining issues, employment policies and handbooks, OSHA and non-compete agreements/restrictive covenants. He represents both employers and executives in drafting and analyzing employment and executive compensation agreements, and works with corporate clients and attorneys in reviewing and drafting employment-related documents in mergers and acquisitions.