Bob Simandl is a Shareholder and Chair of the Labor and Employment Section. He has over 30 years of experience advising clients on a wide range of employee benefit, labor and employment law issues. This experience enables Bob to advise clients on human resources (HR) law issues taking into consideration all areas of opportunity and vulnerability, including the litigation of HR law-based claims. He has extensive experience in advising employers in employee benefit plan design, issues associated with ill and injured workers, labor negotiations, and multi-employer health and welfare plan and pension plan vulnerability and compliance.
Bob counsels employers on all aspects of workplace compliance including hiring, disciplining and terminating employees, accommodation obligations, wage and hour issues, affirmative action, discrimination complaints, non-competition agreements and employee handbook design and development. He has represented employers before the federal district courts, National Labor Relations Board, 7th Circuit Court of Appeals and a number of administrative agencies and tribunals, including the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission, Wisconsin Equal Rights Division and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
He works with employers to develop standard procedures and forms for FMLA compliance, factoring in the obligations of the employers under the Americans with Disabilities Act and workers’ compensation laws. He also counsels employers on disability discrimination and accommodation concerns. Bob served as an advisor to several legislators in drafting the federal Family and Medical Leave Act and served on the Wisconsin Family and Medical Leave Task Force as an appointee by the Wisconsin Governor.
Bob assists employers in addressing benefits issues for employees and retirees including multi-employer pension plan withdrawal liability analysis, evaluation, contract planning and contesting of assessments. He counsels employers during organizing campaigns and strikes and represents employers in grievance arbitrations and proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board. He has served as chief spokesperson for numerous labor contract negotiations.
Bob is a member of the State Bar of Wisconsin and is also a certified public accountant. He is the co-author of “The COBRA Guide: COBRA Compliance for Wisconsin Employers” (2000) and author of the “Family and Medical Leave Law Compliance Manual” (1993). He is a frequent speaker on the FMLA, ADA and ERISA.