Rob Niccolini represents management in employment litigation and labor disputes, with special experience in the defense contractor, health care, technology, insurance, manufacturing, hospitality and retail industries. His practice includes all facets of employment discrimination, harassment, wage and hour, ADA, FMLA, ERISA, covenants not to compete and employment torts, as well as labor arbitration, union campaigns and unfair labor practice proceedings. He also has extensive experience with class and collective actions.
Rob regularly provides employers with counseling and training on employment law issues, as well as drafting employment policies, handbooks and contracts. In addition to his labor and employment experience, he has also assisted clients extensively in commercial litigation disputes.
Experience
Rob has represented employers in state and federal court throughout the country, including Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Delaware and the District of Columbia, as well as before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the National Labor Relations Board, and the U.S. Department of Labor. He has tried more than fifteen cases to verdict before juries in state and federal court, and over seventy-five bench trials, arbitrations and administrative hearings. Recent accomplishments include:
- A defense verdict on behalf of a biotechnology company in a jury trial in federal court in Baltimore. The case was brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and involved the provision of sign language interpreters to a deaf employee under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
- A decision by the Fourth Circuit affirming summary judgment on behalf of a Hospital in a national origin discrimination case. The decision was authored by former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.
District of Columbia
Maryland
North Carolina (currently inactive)
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals, Third, Fourth, Eleventh and District of Columbia Circuits
U.S. District Court, District of Columbia
U.S. District Court, District of Maryland
U.S. District Court, Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of North Carolina
Education and Honors
- Phi Beta Kappa
- Vanderbilt Law Review, Associate Editor (1992-1993)
- Morgan Prize for Best Law Review Note (1993)
- Maryland Super Lawyer, 2009
- Washington, D.C. Super Lawyer, 2010
- "Spotlight on Leaders" honoree, American Health Lawyers Association
Professional Activities
- American Health Lawyers Association (AHLA) (Board of Directors, 2011-present; Quality Council, 2010-2011; Labor & Employment Practice Group, Chair, 2007-2010; Vice Chair and Co-editor, AHLA L&E Newsletter, 2004-2007)
- American Bar Association (Labor & Employment Section)
- Maryland Bar Association (Labor & Employment Section)
- Family & Children's Services of Central Maryland (Board of Directors, 1998-2008; Chair, Personnel Committee, 2005-2008)
- Family Life Center of Howard County (Advisory Board, 2002-2005)
- Glen Mar United Methodist Church (Board of Trustees, 2001-2003; Building Committee, 2003-2009)
- AHLA In-House Counsel Program - "Employee Data Theft in the Digital Age" - Boston - 2011
- AHLA Healthcare Seminar - "What Employers Need to Know about the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act" - Chicago - 2010
- Fairfax Chamber of Commerce - "What Small Employers Need to Know about Healthcare Reform" - Commerce - 2010
- AHLA Annual Meeting - "Employee Data Theft: A Discussion of Privacy, Liability and Litigation Issues" - Seattle - 2010
- Ogletree Deakins Workplace Strategies Seminar - "Disability Discrimination: The New Risks for Employers" - Las Vegas - 2010
- Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers Assoc. Conference - "Counterclaims in the Digital Age" - Washington, D.C. - 2010
- AHLA Long Term Care and the Law Conference - "Recent Developments in Labor and Employment Law" - Miami - 2010
- AHLA Annual Meeting - "Labor and Employment Law Developments in Uncertain Times" - Washington, D.C. - 2009
- Ethisphere Webinar - "The ADA Amendments Act" - 2008
- AHLA Long Term Care and the Law Conference - "Recent Developments in Labor and Employment Law" - New Orleans - 2008
- Maryland Bar Association Healthcare Section Meeting - "Covenants Not to Compete in Healthcare: A Maryland Primer" - Baltimore - 2007
- AHLA Long Term Care and the Law Conference - "Recent Developments in Labor & Employment Law" - San Diego - 2005
- Hospital Management Training - "Managing Employees: Procedures for Legal Compliance" - Silver Spring - 2003
- Annual Meeting of the Commercial Food Equipment Services Association - "Hiring and Firing: Procedures for Avoiding Legal Liability" - Charleston - 2002
- KPMG Lecture Series - "The Electronic Workplace: Employment Law Issues in the Internet Age" - Baltimore - 2001
In The News
- February 19, 2012 - The Washington Post - "Graying Workforce Creates More Complex World for Employers"
- August 5, 2010 - Washington Business Journal - "Prognosis: Merger or Die - After Health Care Reform, Physicians and Small Hospitals Race to Merge Into Larger, More Efficient Organizations"
- June 11, 2010 - SHRM.org - "ILO Focuses on HIV and AIDS in the Workplace"
- June 2010 - SHRM Legal Issues - "International Labour Organization Focuses on HIV and AIDS in the Workplace"
- January 18, 2010 - The National Law Journal - "Mentally Ill Plaintiffs Hope to be Heard Now: New EEOC Rules Promise to Tilt the Legal Balance for Those Who Allege Discrimination in the Workplace"
- November 30, 2009 - The National Law Journal - "Circuit Split Over Cat's Paw Theory Seeks Supreme Court Attention"
- 2009 - Maryland Bar Journal - "Covenants not to Compete in Healthcare"
- 2009 - Journal of Health and Life Sciences Law - "Disability and Accommodation in the Healthcare Workplace"
- 2008 - Maryland Bar Association L&E Newsletter - "Recent ERISA Case Law Developments"
- 2006 - Health Lawyer News - "Supreme Court Clears the Tracks for Oncoming Retaliation Claims"
- 2004 - Maryland Bar Association L&E Newsletter - "Supreme Court Update"
- 2001 - Maryland Employment Law Guide of the Council on Education in Management - "Retaliation under Maryland Law"