David L. Christlieb

David L. Christlieb litigates in a broad range of employment law areas, including:

• Discrimination
• Wrongful termination
• Retaliation
• Wage and hour issues
• Restrictive covenants
• Trade secrets
• Expert witness issues
• Adverse impact analyses
• Government investigations and audits
• National Labor Relations Board elections
• Collective bargaining
• Diversity initiatives
• Workplace violence issues
• Employee/applicant assessment issues
• Traditional labor matters

He has particular expertise in the area of affirmative action and has created more than 500 affirmative action plans, and he also advises clients regarding compliance, labor and management relations, and EEO policy.

A member of the firm's Class Action Practice Group, David's litigation experience includes complex nationwide collective and class actions under:

• The Fair Labor Standards Act
• Title VII
• Section 1981
• Various state statutes

He has represented clients, including manufacturers, retailers, restaurants and consulting firms, in federal and state courts and in arbitrations and mediations before the Illinois Department of Human Rights, the National Labor Relations Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, and the Department of Labor.  David is frequently called upon to cross-examine or depose expert witnesses including economists, statisticians, psychologists, and sociologists.

Among David's notable successes, he has successfully argued an appeal in a discrimination lawsuit  for a national manufacturer before the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, has won a high-stakes unfair labor practice trial over allegations that his client’s lockout of union employees was unlawful, and tried one of the first cases applying the “strike then lockout” exception to New Jersey’s unemployment compensation law.  He has provided pro bono representation of indigent students in school expulsion cases.

David serves as the hiring shareholder in Littler Mendelson's Chicago office, and developed a litigation training program for associates.

In addition to his law degree, David holds a masters degree in human resources and industrial relations from the University of Illinois. In law school, he served as the notes editor for the Elder Law Journal.