Matt is a partner in the firm’s Labor & Employment practice group. He focuses his practice on counseling management clients and government contractors on employment and HR-related matters. He provides timely and practical advice to clients on a wide range of issues, including discrimination and harassment prevention, employee separations and severance agreements, reductions in force, wage and hour compliance, and pay equity strategies. He collaborates with employers of all sizes, from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, to develop pragmatic solutions that mitigate risk and ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
He regularly represents employers in litigation and administrative proceedings involving employment discrimination, wrongful discharge, restrictive covenants, and wage and hour disputes. He has extensive experience defending clients in state and federal courts and before agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, the New York State Division of Human Rights, and the Department of Labor.
Focus Areas
- Thompson Hine Securities Quarterly Update, Spring 2025
- “Best Practices for Navigating Contract Disruptions Under the New Administration,” Thompson Hine Transition – A Presidential Change Update, February 2025
- “Best Practices for Navigating Contract Disruptions Under the New Administration,” Thompson Hine Transition – A Presidential Change Update, February 2025
- “Federal Court Blocks Key Aspects of Executive Orders Targeting DEI Programs,” Thompson Hine Labor & Employment @lert, February 2025
- “OFCCP to Cease Compliance Audits Under Revoked Executive Order 11246,” Thompson Hine Labor & Employment @lert, January 2025
- “President Trump Revokes Executive Order 11246’s Affirmative Action Requirements for Federal Government Contractors,” Thompson Hine Labor & Employment @lert, January 2025
- “FAR Council Withdraws Proposed Rule on Pay Equity and Pay Transparency,” Thompson Hine Government Contracts Update, January 2025
- “2025 Brings New Pay Transparency Requirements to Five States,” Thompson Hine Labor & Employment @lert, January 2025
- “Proposed Rule on Pay Equity and Transparency May Significantly Impact Government Contractors and Federal Supply Chain Companies,” Pratt’s Government Contracting Law Report, June 2024
- “Proposed Rule on Pay Equity and Transparency May Significantly Impact Government Contractors and Federal Supply Chain Companies,” Thompson Hine Government Contracts Update, February 2024
- “DOL Independent Contractor Final Rule: Implications for Employers and the Transportation Industry,” Thompson Hine Labor & Employment @lert, January 2024
- “DOL Finalizing Significant Changes to Davis-Bacon Regulations,” Thompson Hine Labor & Employment @lert, August 2023
- “OFCCP 2023 CSAL Targets Contractor Noncompliance with Certification Obligations,” Thompson Hine Labor & Employment @lert, January 2023
- “OFCCP Releases 2022 Corporate Scheduling Announcement List,” Thompson Hine Labor & Employment @lert, May 2022
- “Final Countdown – EEO-1 Survey’s May 17 Deadline is Fast Approaching,” Thompson Hine Labor & Employment @lert, May 2022
- “Federal Court Issues Nationwide Injunction Against Federal Contractor Vaccination Mandate,” Thompson Hine Government Contracts/Labor & Employment Update, December 8, 2021
- “Federal Court Enjoins Enforcement of Federal Contractor Vaccination Mandate in Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee,” Thompson Hine Government Contracts Update, December 2021
- “New COVID-19 Workplace Safety Guidance for Federal Contractors and Subcontractors,” Thompson Hine COVID-19 Update, September 2021
- “NYSDOL Issues Guidance Regarding New York COVID-19 Vaccine Leave Requirements,” Thompson Hine COVID-19 Update, March 2021
- “EEOC Issues Updated Guidance on Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccinations,” Thompson Hine COVID-19 Update, December 2020
- “Ohio Issues Stay at Home Order,” Thompson Hine COVID-19 Update, March 2020
- “New York State Enacts Paid Sick Leave for COVID-19 Quarantines, Lowers Percentage of Employees Allowed Onsite,” Thompson Hine COVID-19 Update, March 2020
- “OFCCP Issues National Interest Exemption for Coronavirus Relief Contracts,” Thompson Hine COVID-19 Update, March 2020
- “Renewed Restrictions on the Use of Mandatory Employment Arbitration Agreements,” Thompson Hine Government Contracts Update, January 2020
- Thompson Hine Compliance Check 2020: OFCCP Audits, June 2019
- “OFCCP to Electronically Post Corporate Scheduling Announcement List in March 2019,” Thompson Hine Labor & Employment @lert, February 2019
- “EEO-1 Survey Deadline Extended Until May 31, 2019,” Thompson Hine Labor & Employment @lert, February 2019
- “California and Maryland General Contractors Liable for Subcontractors’ Wage and Hour Violations,” Thompson Hine Update, June 2018
- “Supreme Court Holds Class and Collective Action Waivers Are Enforceable in Employment Arbitration Agreements,” Thompson Hine Labor & Employment @lert, May 2018
- “Locked and Loaded: State Law Expansions of the Right to Bear Arms and What They Mean for Your Workplace Safety Policies,” Thompson Hine The Law@Work Newsletter, Spring 2017
- “OMB Renews OFCCP Mandatory Disability Self-Identification Form,” Thompson Hine Labor & Employment @lert, February 2017
- “Texas Court Issues Nationwide Injunction Against Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Final Rule,” Thompson Hine Government Contracts Update, October 2016
- “Effective Dates Approaching for Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Final Rule Implementation,” Thompson Hine Government Contracts Update, October 2016
- “Department of Labor Issues Final Rule Requiring Government Contractors to Provide Paid Sick Leave,” Thompson Hine Labor & Employment @lert, October 2016
- “Are You Covered? Navigating the Illusive Definition and Ever-Expanding Consequences of Coverage as a ‘Government Subcontractor,’” Thompson Hine The Law@Work Newsletter, Summer 2016
- “Putting Health & Families First: Executive Order 13706 & What it Means for Government Contractors,” Thompson Hine The Law@Work Newsletter, Spring 2016
- “OFCCP Issues Final Rule on Pay Transparency for Government Contractors,” Thompson Hine Labor & Employment @lert, September 2015
- “OFCCP Issues New Proposed Antiretaliation Regulations for Government Contractors,” Thompson Hine Labor & Employment @lert, October 2014
- “Government Contractors Face Additional Equal Pay Obligations,” Thompson Hine Labor & Employment @lert, April 2014
- “Minimum Wage to Increase for Certain Federal Contractors,” Thompson Hine Labor & Employment @lert, March 2014
- “OFCCP Releases New Self-Identification Form for Federal Contractors,” Thompson Hine Labor & Employment @lert, January 2014
- “A Sure and Expedited Resolution of Disputes: The Federal Arbitration Act and the One-Year Requirement for Summary Confirmation of Arbitration Awards,” 60 CASE W. RES. L. REV. 889, 2010
- Inducted into The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland’s Time Well Spent Honor Society, 2024
- Included in the 2021 to 2025 editions of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America for Labor and Employment Law-Management
- Case Western Reserve University School of Law Leadership Award
- Don M. Larrabee Prize for the Best Thesis on History
Professional Associations
- Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association
Professional Activities
- Alpha Chapter House Corporation of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity, Inc., board member, 2009 to 2015
- The HUGS Foundation, board member, 2016 to present
- “Transition: A Presidential Change – Revoking Affirmative Action: Implications for EEO Compliance,” Thompson Hine Webinar, February 2025
- “Hot Topics in Hiring – A Changing Legal Landscape,” Thompson Hine Annual Labor & Employment Seminar, November 2024
- “Cleveland Construction Hot Topics: Tomorrow’s Construction Industry Headlines,” Thompson Hine Webinar, September 2024
- “Cannabis and Employment Laws: Navigating Compliance and Drug Testing in the Workplace,” Thompson Hine Webinar, February 2024
- “Cannabis: A Legal Primer for Employers on a Growing Industry,” Thompson Hine Webinar, February 22, 2023
Education
- Case Western Reserve University School of Law, 2010, magna cum laude,
Order of the Coif; Case Western Reserve Law Review, managing editor
- Allegheny College, B.A., 2007, magna cum laude,
Phi Beta Kappa
Bar Admissions
- Ohio
Court Admissions
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
- 02.11.25 – Transition: A Presidential Change – Session Three – Revoking Affirmative Action
Implications for EEO Compliance
- Securities Quarterly Update – Spring 2025,
Thompson Hine Newsletter
, March 3, 2025 - Best Practices for Navigating Contract Disruptions Under the New Administration,
Transition – A Presidential Change Update
, February 28, 2025 - Federal Court Blocks Key Aspects of Executive Orders Targeting DEI Programs,
Labor & Employment @lert
, February 24, 2025 - OFCCP to Cease Compliance Audits Under Revoked Executive Order 11246,
Labor & Employment @lert
, January 27, 2025 - President Trump Revokes Executive Order 11246’s Affirmative Action Requirements for Federal Government Contractors,
Labor & Employment @lert
, January 22, 2025 - FAR Council Withdraws Proposed Rule on Pay Equity and Pay Transparency,
Government Contracts Update
, January 17, 2025 - 2025 Brings New Pay Transparency Requirements to Five States,
Labor & Employment @lert
, January 14, 2025 - Proposed Rule on Pay Equity and Transparency May Significantly Impact Government Contractors and Federal Supply Chain Companies,
Pratt’s Government Contracting Law Report
, May 28, 2024 - Proposed Rule on Pay Equity and Transparency May Significantly Impact Government Contractors and Federal Supply Chain Companies,
Government Contracts Update
, February 5, 2024 - DOL Independent Contractor Final Rule: Implications for Employers and the Transportation Industry,
Labor & Employment @lert
, January 17, 2024