Photo of Charles S. Birenbaum

Charles S. Birenbaum serves as the firm’s Chair of Northern California and Co-Chair of the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice’s Labor-Management Relations group. Chuck is an experienced labor and employment attorney who focuses his practice on traditional labor and employment law matters, and has wide-ranging experience litigating in state and federal courts as well as various administrative agencies. He has testified on proposed legislation impacting entire industries before state legislative committees, and has interfaced and negotiated with labor organizations, politicians, regulators, and industry leaders to resolve complex issues for his clients in the health care, energy, construction and other industries.

Chuck is an experienced trial lawyer, having tried race harassment class actions, noncompetition trials, unfair labor practice hearings before the National Labor Relations Board, and multiple arbitrations. His appellate work includes decisions from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit under the National Labor Relations Act, Labor Management Relations Act, and the Employee Retirement and Income Security Act.

In the area of traditional labor law, Chuck has a broad array of experience in collective bargaining, union organizing and trust fund litigation for employers in the construction, energy, health care, manufacturing, and service industries. He has first chaired collective bargaining for all bargaining units at a health care system; first chaired collective bargaining over a bargaining unit of registered nurses at a dialysis provider; first chaired collective bargaining for construction agreements covering billions of dollars of heavy infrastructure development; and first chaired collective bargaining for a steel manufacturer and fabricator.

Chuck has been honored by numerous organizations for his labor and employment practice. In 2013 alone, Chambers USA Guide listed him for his work in labor and employment law, Human Resources Executive® magazine named him one of the nation’s top 100 most powerful labor attorneys, and The Daily Journal singled him out as one of California’s top 75 labor attorneys.

With California SB 553’s July 1, 2024 implementation deadline only about nine months away, and given the increase in gun violence – and violence generally – in public places like grocery stores, places of worship, and movie theaters, CA employers should establish and implement a Workplace Violence Prevention Plan sooner than later.
Continue Reading Non-Health Care California Employers Will Soon Need to Comply with Workplace Violence Prevention Requirements

In a trail of decisions turning back the clock to precedent under the Clinton-era Board, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has reversed the standard of review for employee handbook

Continue Reading NLRB Reverts to Heightened Legal Standard in Reviewing Employee Handbook Policies

Unions are back in the news. On March 9, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives successfully passed the Protect the Right to Organize Act (the PRO Act), legislation designed to
Continue Reading The New New Deal? U.S. House Of Representatives Passes Sweeping Labor Reform With Significant but Uncertain Future

Work stoppages and disruption of operations are consequences of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This GT Alert provides an overview of federal law regarding employee protections associated with work
Continue Reading Handling Employee Concerns and Protests During the Pandemic: Federal Law on Interference with Operations