Jerry Weinstein is engaged in the practice of labor and employment law. Primarily representing management, Jerry has worked with a range of employers, including hospitals and other health care facilities, colleges and universities, investment and other financial services firms, broadcast stations, and manufacturing, transportation, warehousing and publishing concerns. In labor relations, Jerry counsels clients with respect to union organizing campaigns, conducts labor negotiations, handles labor arbitrations, and advises on the application and interpretation of collective bargaining agreements. He also represents clients in all manner of discrimination and wrongful employment claims, and provides discrete advice on individual employment problems. He has negotiated numerous employment and separation agreements on behalf of both individuals and employers.

Jerry has appeared before virtually every state and federal labor and employment agency, including the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, the State Labor Relations Commission, the United States Department of Labor, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the National Labor Relations Board, as well as in the state and federal courts.

In addition to his private practice, Jerry has been an adjunct lecturer at the Boston University School of Law where he has taught a seminar in employment law since 1990.

Practice Areas

• Labor & Employment
• Health Care Law

Representative Matters

LABOR LAW

Collective Bargaining Negotiations: Has led many collective bargaining negotiations on behalf of employers in a broad number of industries, including those based on interest-based principles of bargaining, as opposed to "traditional" bargaining. Jerry was part of a small number of lawyers and arbitrators chosen to be included in training films produced by the Harvard Program on Negotiation.

Unfair Labor Practice Cases: Has argued in a number of federal courts of appeal throughout the country on issues arising under the National Labor Relations Act. In the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit he successfully persuaded the Court to reverse the National Labor Relations Board in cases where the Board found unfair labor practices when an employer changed terms and conditions of employment and when another employer discharged employees who claimed protection under the law as union organizers. In proceedings before the Board, he has convinced the National Labor Relations Board not to issue unfair labor practice complaints in a myriad number of cases, such as refusal to recognize unions, engaging in unlawful election conduct, and the discharge of employees, who claimed to engage in concerted activities when they withheld their services.

Arbitrations: Has been involved in scores of arbitrations involving matters such as the following:

• Discharge and other discipline cases
• Pay disputes
• Right to require overtime
• Reduction of hours in lieu of layoff
• Benefit changes
• Subcontracting
• Unit work disputes
• Changes in shifts and schedules

Published Works

Termination at will in Massachusetts, Federal Publications, 1987

Personnel & Employment Law in Massachusetts, Federal Publications, 1988-1995, Co-Author

Representative Speaking Engagements

Current Issues in Labor & Employment Law, Presented to the New England Corporate Counsel Association, Inc., December 2000

Current Issues in Labor & Employment Law, Presented to the Massachusetts Association of Affirmative Action Directors, 2001

Prior Experience

Jerry was employed by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Washington, D.C., as a litigating and supervisory attorney, before entering private practice in Boston in 1972. He has authored a number of articles on employment topics and frequently speaks before organizations and groups. In 1992 he was a featured speaker at the American Bar Association’s Presidential Showcase Program in San Francisco. Prior to his employment at the NLRB, Jerry was law clerk to the Honorable Clifford O’Sullivan of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Education

University of Michigan, B.A., 1963

Harvard University School of Law, J.D., 1966

Professional and Community Affiliations

Jerry is a member of the bars of the state and federal courts of Massachusetts, as well as a member of the American, Massachusetts, and Boston Bar Association. He has been a board member and officer of Harvard Hillel. Jerry lives in Newton with his wife and dog, where he is occasionally visited by his two sons, Seth and Joshua.