Gerald T. Hathaway

Jerry’s acumen is valued by private equity sponsors, major entertainment studios and networks, talent-management companies and talent agencies, and companies in the real estate, logistics, luxury goods, retail and insurance industries engaging in high-value transactions. He is a go-to lawyer for other large law firms that do not have labor and employment law capacity.

Labor Relations

Jerry represents companies in collective bargaining, arbitrations and contentious labor disputes. When unlawful picketing disrupts the workplace, he pursues remedies to enjoin such actions.

Employment Counsel

When clients must reduce or reorganize their workforces, Jerry helps them comply with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) and the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act. He advises on layoffs ranging in size from a few dozen to tens of thousands of employees.

Employment Disputes

When an employment relationship grows contentious, Jerry defends employers against Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and National Labor Relations charges, as well as class actions and individual lawsuits. He advises on claims related to:

• Discrimination
• Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
• Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)
• Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)
• National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)
• Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA)
• Section 1981
• Title VII

Representative Matters

• In a $750 million acquisition by a private equity fund, uncovered in due diligence an undisclosed labor liability that resulted in a price adjustment of $12.5 million
• Conducted national labor/employment due diligence in $4.9 billion acquisition by a foreign company, and mapped out post-closing labor strategy for plants that had poor relationships with production unions
• In a potential acquisition of a retailer by a private equity fund, uncovered serious non-compliance with labor laws, which upon correction would have major impact on the target company’s stated EBITDA. When the seller refused to make a price adjustment, the private equity fund declined to go forward with the deal
• Engaged by a major defense contractor that had a dispute with one of its major unions on a single complex issue that had not been resolved for more than 8 years (despite the efforts of three law firms engaged over that time), and strategized and then implemented a satisfactory resolution, obtained with court approval
• Engaged by a private equity fund to take over the representation of a portfolio company in a long-lingering dispute with the EEOC, and resolved matter for less than the amount of legal fees that would have been incurred to defend the case
• Assessed WARN issues in a national layoff involving more than 30,000 employees at hundreds of sites, resulting in only one lawsuit that the company won on summary judgment
• Assessed complex WARN issues in dozens of national layoffs ranging in size from hundreds to tens of thousands of employees

Personal Interests

After a 20-year absence from refereeing soccer, Jerry was a few years ago recertified as a referee by the United States Soccer Federation, and he handles youth games.