Robert C. Weissflach

Rob Weissflach has extensive experience in federal and state court litigation, as well as administrative proceedings, involving labor and employment matters on behalf of public and private employers. Rob’s experience includes jury trials in both federal and state court, as well as appellate practice at all levels of the federal and state court systems. Rob also provides day-to-day advice to employers concerning their employment policies, procedures, and practices.

HONORS & AWARDS

• Recognized by Chambers USA 2019 – 2022 in the field of Labor and Employment (Upstate NY)
• Named as Best Lawyers^® 2022 Workers' Compensation Law “Lawyer of the Year” in Buffalo, NY
• Named as Best Lawyers^® 2020 Litigation - Labor and Employment “Lawyer of the Year” in Buffalo, NY
• Named as Best Lawyers^® 2019 Employment Law - Management “Lawyer of the Year” in Buffalo, NY
• Named as Best Lawyers^® 2018 Labor Law - Management “Lawyer of the Year” in Buffalo, NY
• Named as Best Lawyers^® 2017 Litigation - Labor and Employment “Lawyer of the Year” in Buffalo, NY
• Named as Best Lawyers^® 2015 Litigation - Labor and Employment “Lawyer of the Year” in Buffalo, NY
• Named as Best Lawyers^® 2013 Labor Law - Management “Lawyer of the Year” in Buffalo, NY
• Selected by peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America^© for Commercial Litigation; Education Law; Employment Law – Management; Labor Law – Management; Litigation – ERISA; Litigation – Labor and Employment; Workers' Compensation Law - Employers
• AV Preeminent^® Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
• Legal Elite of Western New York, Buffalo Business First/Buffalo Law Journal, 2016
• Who’s Who in Law, Business First of Buffalo/Buffalo Law Journal, 2010, 2011, 2012

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE

The following illustrates Rob’s broad practice:

• Successfully defeated class certification in a wage and hour class and collective action alleging violations of, inter alia, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, and the New York Labor Law.
• Successfully obtained a jury verdict in federal court in favor of an employer and four individual defendants accused of race and disability discrimination and harassment.
• Obtained summary judgment in a sexual harassment case arising out of the collapse of a workplace romance, and successfully moved to have the report and testimony of the plaintiff’s forensic psychologist excluded and then convinced the Court, principally with archived emails, that the relationship at issue was consensual as a matter of law.
• Obtained summary judgment for a school district in a case claiming violations of equal protection and due process.
• In the first reported case of its kind, successfully argued in New York appellate court that the reclassification of certain employees for workers’ compensation purposes was arbitrary and capricious.
• In the first reported case of its kind, successfully argued in New York appellate court that substantial penalties against an out-of-state trucking company for lack of New York workers’ compensation insurance should be annulled.
• Defense of national and regional employers charged with race, sex, age, disability and/or national origin discrimination or harassment and/or retaliation.
• Defense of employers faced with claims of breach of contract or wrongful discharge, or related torts, including defamation, as well as in in non-competition, confidentiality, and other employment contract disputes.
• Representation of employers and/or benefit plans in ERISA litigation.
• Representation of employers in collective bargaining, grievance/arbitration proceedings, and NLRB or PERB proceedings.
• Defense of employers against individual and collective wage and hour claims or other employment-related class actions.
• Representation of employers with respect to OSHA inspections and citations.

NEWS

• Featured, "Employers Should Prepare a Process for Vaccine Exemption Claims," Buffalo Business First, October 22, 2021 
• Featured, “It’s time for more employees to return to the workplace. But what if they refuse?” Buffalo Business First, June 1, 2020

Press Releases

• Nine Harter Secrest & Emery Attorneys Named 'Lawyer of the Year' by Best Lawyers in America 2022, August 19, 2021
• Harter Secrest & Emery Attorneys Recognized in 2022 Best Lawyers in America© and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, August 19, 2021
• Harter Secrest & Emery Shines in Prestigious Chambers USA 2020 Rankings, April 24, 2020
• Harter Secrest & Emery Attorneys Named to Best Lawyers In America 2020, August 15, 2019

PRESENTATIONS

• Presenter, “Employment Litigation War Stories and How to Avoid Them,” Harter Secrest & Emery’s Labor & Employment Law Breakfast Briefing Webinar Series, June 30, 2021
• Co-Presenter, “Guidance for Employers on Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic - Session Three,” Harter Secrest & Emery LLP Webinar, March 26, 2020
• Presenter, “Employment Litigation War Stories and How to Avoid Them," Harter Secrest & Emery’s Labor and Employment Law Conference, April 26, 2018
• Presenter, “Labor and Employment Best Practices: Restrictive Covenants and Workplace Harassment,” Niagara Frontier Corporate Counsel Association, Inc. (NFCCA), March 8, 2018
• Presenter, “Documenting the Employment Relationship: Best Practices From Hire through Termination,” Harter Secrest & Emery’s Labor and Employment Law Conference, April 5, 2017