Mark A. Spognardi

Mr. Spognardi focuses on representing management in traditional and non-traditional labor and employment law matters, including counseling, litigation, and appellate work. His practice includes representation in unfair labor practice and representation proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board; union-free campaigns; employment discrimination matters before federal and state anti-discrimination agencies and federal courts; Section 301 lawsuits; contract negotiations and arbitrations; drug and alcohol testing; occupational safety and health (OSHA and state agencies); alternative compensation systems; veterans' re-employment rights; WARN Act and RIF matters; federal and state wage and hour matters; employment at-will; wrongful discharge and whistleblower lawsuits; federal and state injunctive relief, strike management; human resource audits and employee handbooks; employment contracts; restrictive covenants and non-compete agreements; pension plan withdrawal liability; and various other employment related matters. Mr. Spognardi has substantial experience providing labor, employment, benefit, and due diligence examination in mergers, acquisitions, and other business organization conveyances. Mr. Spognardi represents businesses in all industries, including manufacturing, transportation, banking and investment, food processing, textile, health care, retail, hospitality, construction, interim services, publishing, media and communications, and public sector interests.

In his distinguished career, Mr. Spognardi has:

• Conducted well over 100 union-free campaigns involving RC, RM, RD, and UD petitions, as well as petitions to amend and clarify bargaining units.
• Negotiated well over 100 collective bargaining agreements, both in the public and private sector. The bargaining units have included both multiemployer and multilocation units.
• Defended hundreds of unfair labor practices charges from investigation through trial, both in the private and public sector.
• Defended hundreds of grievances through settlement and arbitration; developed complex strike and secondary picketing defense plans, and prosecuted for injunctive relief and business torts on behalf of clients.
• Defended numerous employers in federal and state court in a variety of employment and labor related cases, including breach of contract, discrimination, sexual harassment, and wrongful discharge. Mr. Spognardi received a favorable jury verdict in federal court in the Northern District of Illinois after a two week sexual harassment and assault trial, and obtained consecutive state court injunctions against various unions and individuals on behalf of a construction client in the hospitality industry.

Professional Activities and Achievements

Mr. Spognardi participates in many professional organizations. He also is a frequent speaker and lecturer on labor relations and employment-related topics before employer and industry associations.

Some of his achievements include:

• Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Rated
• Illinois Super Lawyer
• North American Transportation Employee Relations Association
  • Board Member
  • 2012- Program Director
  • 2014- Vice Chair
  • 2015- Chairman
• Midwest Textile Service Association – General Counsel (1999-2007)
• Society for Human Resource Management – Member
• American Bar Association – Member
• Peterson-Pulaski Business and Industrial Council – Member
• Justinian Society of Lawyers

Recent Publications

• Illinois employers face firearms obligations and choices, Illinois Manufacturer Magazine, October 28, 2013
• Illinois employers face firearms obligations and choices, Inside Counsel, October 14, 2013
• Illinois Enacts Medicinal Cannabis Pilot Program Law, Pharmaceutical Compliance Monitor, October 9, 2013
• Failure to complain insulates employers from harassment claims, Inside Counsel, September 30, 2013
• Labor: NLRB Specialty Healthcare bargaining unit standard withstands employer challenge, Inside Counsel, September 16, 2013
• Labor: Labor law developments unfold before 2014 elections, Inside Counsel, September 2, 2013
• Labor: Medical marijuana law comes to Illinois, Inside Counsel, August 19, 2013
• Labor: Supreme Court clarifies definition of supervisor for Title VII discrimination and harassment cases, Inside Counsel, August 5, 2013
• Labor: NLRB makes pre-agreement discipline subject to bargaining with union, Inside Counsel, February 4, 2013
• Labor: NLRB overturns decades of precedent in support of continuing dues-checkoff, Inside Counsel, January 21, 2013
• Labor: Michigan right-to-work law continues to put labor on its heels, Inside Counsel, December 24, 2012
• Labor: NLRB finds at-will employment clauses live to see another day, Inside Counsel, November 26, 2012
• Labor: Wisconsin shootings remind employers to address domestic violence in the workplace, Inside Counsel, November 12, 2012
• Labor: Employee investigations—in some circuits, you can rely on what you know, Inside Counsel, October 29, 2012
• Labor: Social media policy concerns gain traction as NLRB issues first decisions, Inside Counsel, October 15, 2012
• Labor: 7th Circuit takes another look at reassignment as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA, Inside Counsel, October 1, 2012
• Labor: 6 tips for complying with EEOC guidance when using arrest and conviction records, Inside Counsel, September 17, 2012
• Labor: Legislation seeks to ban employer use of employee social media passwords, Inside Counsel, September 3, 2012
• Employers' Summer of Discontent: Obama Labor Board pushes anti-employer agenda, Westlaw Journal, September 20, 2011
• The Employee Free Choice Act: Protecting Your Manufacturing Business, Industry Week, March 4, 2009
• Collective Bargaining Under the NLRA in the Health Care Industry, The Law of Medical Practice in Illinois, 3d ed. (2007-2012), a chapter in The Law of Medical Practice in Illinois — new in the Thomson West Illinois Practice Series. In this chapter, he discusses the unique issues facing acute care institutions under the National Labor Relations Act and in the labor relations and collective bargaining context.
• Having Your Waffle and Eating It Too: The EEOC’s Right to Circumvent Arbitration Agreements, Employee Relations Law Journal, Vol. 28, No. 1 (Summer 2002)
• Perspective – Bad Law and Bad Politics: OSHA’s l-Fated Ergonomics Standard, Employee Relations Law Journal, Vol. 27, No. 1 (Summer 2001)
• The Sting: “Testers” May Sue Under Title VII, Circuit Court Rules, Employee Relations Law Journal, Vol. 26, No. 4, (Spring 2001)
• In the Lion’s Den: Religious Accommodation and Harassment in the Workplace, Employee Relations Law Journal, Vol. 25, No. 1(Spring 2000)
• Conducting a Successful Union-Free Campaign: A Primer (Part I),  Employee Relations Law Journal, Vol. 24, No. 2 (Autumn 1998)
• Conducting a Successful Union-Free Campaign: A Primer (Part II),  Employee Relations Law Journal, Vol. 24, No.3 (Winter 1998)
• Allentown Mack v. NLRB: Is the Board’s ‘Good Faith Reasonable Doubt’ Standard in Its Twilight? Employee Relations Law Journal, Vol. 24, No. 1 (Summer 1998)
• Organizing Through Cyberspace: Electronic Communications and the National Labor Relations Act, Employee Relations Law Journal, Vol. 23, No. 4 (Spring 1998)
• Conducting a Human Resources Audit: A Primer, Employee Relations Law Journal, Vol. 23. No. 1 (Summer, 1997)
• Defending Against the Corporate Campaign: Selected Legal Responses to Common Union Tactics, Employee Relations Law Journal, Vol. 22, No. 2 (Autumn, 1996)
• Navigating the STAA: A Survey and Recent Developments Under the Anti-Retaliation Provisions of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act, Labor Law Journal (April, 1996)
• Temporary Employment Relationships: Review of the Joint Employer Doctrine Under the NLRA, Employee Relations Law Journal, Vol. 21, No. 2 (Autumn, 1995)

Education

• DePaul University College of Law (J.D. 1984)
• University of Iowa (B.A. with honors 1980)

Bar Admissions

• State of Illinois
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, including Trial Bar
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
• U.S. District Court, Central District of Illinois, including Trial Bar
• U.S. District of Columbia Court of Appeals