John Carroll Burgin, Jr.

Jack Burgin has a diverse legal practice, primarily advising and defending employers on a variety of labor and employee benefit related topics and on representing and advising government contractors about costs and labor issues. Jack's advice and litigation practice focuses on

• Representing and advising employers on all types of employment discrimination issues, including questions relating to the Americans with Disabilities Act.

• Representing and advising plan administrators and plan sponsors on creating and complying with welfare benefit plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ('ERISA').

• Representing and advising employers on a variety of retaliation claims, including claims filed with the United States Department of Labor pursuant to 29 C.F.R. Part 24, and under the False Claims Act.

• Representing and advising a variety of employers on workforce restructuring issues, including voluntary and involuntary reductions in force, defending litigation arising from reduction in force decisions, and on compliance with Office of Federal Contract Compliance Program requirements.

• Representing and advising government contractors on Fair Labor Standards Act, Davis Bacon Act and Service Contract Act compliance.

Before joining Kramer Rayson, Jack graduated with honors from The University of Tennessee College of Law (1989), and then clerked for the Honorable Gary R. Wade, then Judge of the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals.

From October 1998 to May 2025, Jack served as a director and, at times, board chair of Appalachian Bear Rescue, an organization devoted to helping injured and orphaned black bear cubs return to the wild. He also served two terms on the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization, serving as Chair of the Commission in 2011. He is an avid amateur photographer and enjoys traveling and hiking with his wife, Catherine. Jack currently serves on the Board of Directors for Federal Defender Services of East Tennessee and previously served on the board of directors for the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont.

CLASSES & SEMINARS

•Dummies for Ethics 4.0, Kramer Rayson LLP Labor and Employment Law Seminar (2015)
•Helping Clients to Avoid Simple But Expensive ERISA Mistakes (2015), Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Society of Certified Public Accountants

HONORS & AWARDS

•Chair, Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization, 2011
•Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization, 2006-2012
•Listed in Best Lawyers in America, 2024
•Named 2024 Top Attorney by CityView Magazine for Employee Benefits/ERISA-Defense and Labor & Employment Law-Employer

CIVIC & COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

•Chair, Board of Directors for Appalachian Bear Rescue
•Board of Directors for Federal Defender Services of East Tennessee
•Formerly on Board of Directors for the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont

PAST EMPLOYMENT POSITIONS

•Honorable Gary R. Wade, Judge of the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, Clerk, 1989 to 1990