![Justin F. Keith](/-/media/images/team/k/keith-justin-f/keith_justin_large.png?rev=5da99bc89a7c40d2a9cb0d5ec18d63e9&sc_lang=ar)
Profile
Justin helps unionized businesses maintain successful labor relations and helps non-union companies maintain direct relationships with their employees through education, training, and proactive union awareness. His labor practice encompasses all aspects of labor relations, including unfair labor practices, representation proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board and Courts of Appeal, contract negotiations, strikes and lockouts, grievances, and arbitrations. Justin also represents employers in all areas of employment law—including reductions in force, litigation of discrimination, harassment, whistleblower, and retaliation claims, and numerous other personnel and workplace issues—before state and federal agencies and in courts throughout the country.
Justin Co-Chairs the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice’s Labor-Management Relations group and advises clients in all areas of traditional labor law, including union organizing campaigns, collective bargaining negotiations, unfair labor practice charges and representation case proceedings before the NLRB, union awareness strategy and training, strike response and contingency planning, grievance arbitration proceedings, and appellate litigation before the NLRB and the Courts of Appeals. Justin was co-counsel to New Process Steel in the landmark Supreme Court case, New Process Steel v. NLRB, 560 U.S. 674 (2010). He is also a contributing editor of The Developing Labor Law, the leading treatise on U.S. labor law, and a frequent speaker to legal and industry groups on labor and employment issues.
Justin has litigated dozens of wage and hour class actions brought under the Massachusetts Wage Act and nationwide collective actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act. He represents employers across a broad spectrum of industries, including retail, transportation, delivery services, and telecom services in nationwide class and collective actions brought throughout the country.
Justin regularly provides counsel to senior management and human resource personnel on employment law compliance matters, such as reductions in force, leaves of absence, exempt status classification under the FLSA and state law, employee discipline, sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation, and restrictive covenant agreements.
Capabilities
Experience
- Represented Marque Brands, LLC, an affiliate of Neuberger Berman, in connection with its acquisition of a majority ownership in America’s Test Kitchen (“ATK”) and its associated brands, including Cook’s Illustrated and Cook’s Country. ATK is a food and culinary media business, which leverages its industry-leading testing process for recipes and kitchen equipment to produce top class recipes and unbiased product reviews. ATK and its diverse portfolio of brands has an expansive audience across various media platforms.
- New Process Steel v. NLRB, 560 U.S. 674 (2010)
- Thomas v. Bed Bath & Beyond Inc., 961 F.3d 598 (2020)
- BlueLinx Corp. v. Constr., Bldg. Material, Ice & Coal Helpers & Inside Emples. Union Local No. 120, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 72218 (D. Minn. 2019)
- Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., 367 NLRB No. 135 (2019)
- Flaherty v. Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., 946 F.3d 41 (1st Cir. 2019)
- DeBarros v. Areas USA Boston, LLC, et al, No. 18-10265-FDS, 2018 WL 1904182 (D. Mass., Apr. 20, 2018)
- DeBarros v. Areas USA Boston, LLC, et al, No. 10265-FDS, 2018 WL 3543534 (D. Mass., Jul. 23, 2018)
- Debarros v. Areas USA Boston, LLC, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 39179 (1st Cir. 2018)
- Flaherty v. Entergy Nuclear Operations, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 113408 (D. Mass. 2018)
- Thomas v. Bed Bath & Beyond , 309 F. Supp. 3d 121 (S.D.N.Y. 2018)
- Romulus v. CVS Pharm., Inc., 321 F.R.D. 464 (D. Mass. 2017)
- Louie v. Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc., 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 81901 (E.D.N.Y. 2016)
- Time, Inc., 2016 NLRB LEXIS 574 (NLRB Div. Judges 2016)
- Represented over 300 store specialty sports retailers in nationwide collective action.
- Represented leading home furnishings retailer in multiple nationwide class and collective actions.
- Legal Intern, Boston Public Health Commission
- Legal Intern, Community Catalyst
Recognition & Leadership
- Listed, The Best Lawyers in America, 2022-2025
- Labor Law - Management, 2022 - 2025
- Litigation - Labor and Employment, 2023-2025
- Listed, The Legal 500 United States, 2016-2018, 2020, and 2022-2024
- Labor and Employment Disputes (Including Collective Actions): Defense, 2022-2023
- Labor-Management Relations, 2023-2024
- Listed, Chambers USA Guide, 2019
- "Up and Coming," 2019
- "Associates to Watch," 2014-2016
- Listed, Boston magazine, "Top Lawyers - Labor & Employment," 2022-2023
- Listed, Super Lawyers magazine, Massachusetts Super Lawyers, 2013-2016 and 2018-2023
- "Super Lawyers," 2018-2023
- "Rising Stars," 2013-2016
- Team Member, a Law360 "Employment Practice Group of the Year," 2011 and 2013
- Member, American Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section
- Member, Boston Bar Association
- Co-Chair, Labor Subcommittee, 2011–2015
- Member, Steering Committee, 2009-2015
- Teacher, Citizen School, 2006
Credentials
- J.D., Northeastern University School of Law
- B.A., Vanderbilt University
- Massachusetts
- Supreme Court of the United States
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts