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Ira
L.
Blank
Experience
Mr. Blank, a member of our Labor & Employment Practice Group, served as Vice President - Human Resources and Human Resources Counsel for a company that was one of the Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Companies in America. He was also an Industrial Relations Manager for a Fortune 100 manufacturing company. As such, he brings a practical revenue/cost/risk perspective to relationships with our business clients. Mr. Blank concentrates his practice in labor relations, human resources law, and labor and employment litigation. He has developed strategic human resource management, risk management, legal compliance, and union avoidance systems and practices, as well as human capital metrics, for union-free and unionized employers of all sizes and in a wide range of industries. Mr. Blank represents employers in the courts, in arbitrations, and before the EEOC, the NLRB , OSHA , the Wage-Hour Division of USDOL, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, and other federal, state and local administrative agencies. Representative Accomplishments: - For a service and distribution company with 1,700 employees in 13 states, established the human resources function. Designed and implemented the human resources policies and systems and union avoidance strategies. Directed corporate-wide human resources and labor relations activities. Instituted a customer-protection system, including non-compete agreements and successfully prosecuted lawsuits in courts throughout seven states to enforce them. Successfully defended company against employee discrimination charges, discrimination/wrongful discharge lawsuits and unemployment claims.
- For a $700 million per year chemical manufacturer, took on militant unions at plants in three states, won 19 of 21 arbitrations and won 18 of 19 NLRB cases, enabling management to regain control of the plants.
- For a $130 million per year plastics manufacturer, defeated Teamsters organizing drive in a 200-employee manufacturing plant.
- For a 20,000-employee unionized transportation and logistics company, assisted management in reducing health-care costs by 20% ($4.5 million per year). Won three arbitrations in which union challenged management's group medical insurance cost-reduction initiatives.
- In collective bargaining agreement negotiations with a militant union, implemented a final offer without a strike.
- For a construction company, obtained summary judgment in federal court for an employer on disability discrimination claim. Affirmed by appellate court.
- For a university, obtained summary judgment in federal court on dean's retaliatory discharge claim.
- For a building remodeling company, obtained defense verdict and award of attorney's fees following trial in state court on employee's claims of pregnancy discrimination and unpaid wages.
- For a computer services company, obtained defense verdict following jury trial in federal court on employee's race discrimination claim.
Education
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Washington University School of Law, J.D., 1979
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Cornell University, Master of Industrial and Labor Relations (M.I.L.R.), 1974
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University of Alabama, B.S., Commerce & Business Administration, with honors, 1972
Court Memberships
- U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee
- U.S. Court of Federal Claims
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
- U.S. Supreme Court
Honors
- Selected for Super Lawyers, 2008
- Order of the Coif (Law)
- Beta Gamma Sigma (Business)
- Martindale-Hubbell® "AV" Rating
- Missouri/Kansas Super Lawyer, 2005
- Recipient, American Jurisprudence Award in Labor Law
Professional Affiliations
- Industry Advisory Group (association of employers who share information on collective bargaining developments and on best practices in human resource management and risk control)
- The Enhancement Group (international industry association of specialty service companies); Founding Member, Human Resources Section
- Society of Human Resource Management
- American Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section
- The Missouri Bar, Labor Law Committee
- Former Member of Board of Trustees of International Chain Salon Association; Founder and Co-Chair, Human Resources Section, 1999
- Adjunct Professor, Washington University School of Law, 1981-84
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Publications |
- Co-Author, Selling or Buying a Business When Employees Have Contracts Containing Post-Employment Restrictions, St. Louis Sm. Bus. Monthly, March 2005, at 10
- Co-Author, Proposed Changes to Overtime Rules May Increase Payroll Costs, St. Louis Sm. Bus. Monthly, August 2003, at 13
- Author, Managing the Difficult Employee, National Human Resources Institute, 1990
- Co-Author, Business, Legal and Human Resources, Considerations in Drafting, Implementing and Enforcing Non-Compete Agreements, St. Louis Bar Journal 4, Fall 1990
- Author, Wrongful Discharge Litigation and the Employment At Will Rule in Missouri, 40 Journal of The Missouri Bar 161, 1984
- Co-Author, At-Will Termination in Missouri, Federal Publications, Inc., 1984
- Author, The Settlement of the American Railway Union Strike Against the Great Northern Railway in 1894, 9 Industrial and Labor Relations Forum 69, 1973
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Legal Alerts |
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06/27/2007
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Employers Can Receive Significant Tax Credits for Hiring Individuals in Certain Groups
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Presentations
Developed, and served as moderator and speaker for, program entitled Protecting Your Business from Dishonest and Disloyal Employees for business clients of law firm and accounting firm, 2006. Topics developed included: Trust Issues in Family Businesses
Vulnerable Fraud Risk Areas, including Cash, Receivables, Inventory, Payables, Payroll and Computer Access
Systems to Minimize the Risk of Employee Theft and to Maximize the Opportunity to Catch the Dishonest Employee
Protecting Proprietary Information, Trade Secrets, and Inventions
Vendor Relationships
Best Practices in Hiring, Firing and Post-Employment Monitoring to Protect the Business from Dishonest Employees
Using Computer and Accounting Forensics Professionals to Detect and Investigate Problems
Program Moderator and Speaker for National Business Institute, Inc., Lorman Education Services and Council on Education in Management, 1987 to present. Representative presentations:
The Financial Side of Human Resources
Best Practices For Avoiding Workplace Harassment
Avoiding Disability Discrimination Claims
Wage-Hour Law Compliance
Conducting Internal Investigations
Electronic Communications Policies
Terminating Employees Without Liability
Best Practices in Family and Medical Leave Administration
Records Management, Retention and Destruction
Human Resource Audits
Arbitration Advocacy
Non-Traditional Workers: Temps, Leased Employees and Independent Contractors
Preventing Retaliation Claims
Developing and Implementing Human Resource Policies
Instructor, Mid-Level Labor-Management Leadership Training Program, Labor-Management Council of Greater Kansas City, 1992-1993
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