Brian L. McDermott

Brian L. McDermott is the office managing principal of the Indianapolis, Indiana, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. His practice focuses on workplace training and representation of employers in labor and employment litigation.

Brian has dedicated his legal career of more than 25 years to representing private and public employers in individual, class, and collective employment actions, including cases involving: the FMLA, the ADA, Title VII, the ADEA, ERISA, the FLSA, the NLRA, covenant not to compete matters, trade secret matters, state wage laws, and wrongful discharge matters. He has represented employers in federal and state courts, labor arbitrations, and administrative agencies (including the EEOC and NLRB) throughout the country. He also has represented employers before the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth and Seventh Circuits on multiple occasions.

Brian devotes a substantial portion of his practice to litigation avoidance and counseling. To this end, he works with employers to provide valuable employment training, including sexual harassment, hiring, employee terminations, union avoidance, diversity, and FMLA training. He assists employers in developing employee handbooks, personnel policies, employment contracts, non-compete agreements, severance agreements, and other employment-related documents.

A significant part of Brian’s labor and employment practice involves representing employers in state and federal employment actions. Significant matters that he has handled include:

• Obtaining a Sixth Circuit appellate victory in an LMRA Section 301 case on behalf of a national auto parts manufacturer
• Obtaining dismissal of plaintiff’s discrimination claims on behalf of a national financial services company
• Prevailing on summary judgment for an international food company in plant closing case under the ADEA
• Obtaining a Seventh Circuit Appellate victory in ERISA Section 510 case for a national retailer
• Securing a dismissal in an FLSA “misclassification” collective action for a regional retailer
• Obtaining a directed verdict at trial on behalf of an automobile dealership in a state-law employment action
• Obtaining a Seventh Circuit victory in an ADEA case for a national retailer
• Defeating a union representation petition filed with the NLRB against an Indiana-based hotel
• Obtaining an appellate victory at the NLRB on behalf of a major utility charged with violating Section 8(a)(1) of the NLRA
• Prevailing on summary judgment for a national telecommunications company in an FMLA action
• Obtaining a Seventh Circuit appellate victory in an ERISA Section 502 case for a national telecommunications company
• Securing an appellate victory before the Sixth Circuit in an ADEA case
• Obtaining a dismissal of a discrimination case in Iowa on behalf of a national biomedical company
• Prevailing at summary judgment on behalf of a national retailer in an FLSA action
• Obtaining a dismissal of a Section 1981 claim for a national aeronautics company