Photo of Justin F. Keith

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

The Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFMLA) has been amended, effective Nov. 1, 2023, to permit employees to supplement PFMLA benefits with accrued paid leave. In addition, contribution

Continue Reading Changes Ahead for Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Benefits, Contribution Rates

On May 30, 2023, the General Counsel (GC) of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) took a step toward the federal regulation of employee noncompetition agreements. The GC published a

Continue Reading NLRB Signals Challenge to Noncompete Agreements for Non-Supervisory Workers

On Feb. 21, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that severance agreements with broad – yet common – confidentiality and non-disparagement provisions are unlawful. Employers routinely include confidentiality and

Continue Reading NLRB Rules Broad – Yet Common – Confidentiality and Non-Disparagement Provisions in Severance Agreements Are Unlawful

On Sept. 6, 2022, the National Labor Relations Board released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking addressing the standard for determining joint-employer status under the National Labor Relations Act. The Board
Continue Reading NLRB Proposes New Joint-Employer Standard