James J. La Rocca

Legal Work Highlights

Traditional Labor Law

Union Elections

• Represented a real estate company in successful challenge of union election results on two separate occasions. The first successful challenge concerned an argument before a federal appellate court that the National Labor Relations Board’s certification was invalid because then-President Barack Obama violated the Constitution when he appointed NLRB members who certified the election results. While that argument was pending, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a decision in another matter that supported the argument and resulted in a properly constituted Board having to reconsider the case that Mr. La Rocca was handling. The second successful challenge rested on an argument before a federal appellate court that the NLRB’s subsequent certification of the election results in the union’s favor was not based on substantial record evidence. The federal appellate court agreed.
• Represented a food manufacturer in one of country’s first ever pre-election hearings under the National Labor Relations Board’s “quickie” election rule, which was in effect at that time. The hearing focused on whether the voting unit sought by the employer or the union was appropriate. The employer faced a major obstacle because, at the time of the hearing, the NLRB adhered to a legal standard (colloquially referred to as the “micro-unit” standard) that made it easy for unions to cherry-pick the units of voters. After the hearing, the regional director issued a decision concluding that the voting unit the employer sought was appropriate. Days after the decision, the union withdrew its request for an election.
• Led a construction company to victory in union election in which the majority of individuals voting were card-carrying union members.
• Led a national plumbing wholesaler to a landslide victory in a union election under the National Labor Relations Board’s “quickie” election rule, which was in effect at that time.

Collective Bargaining

• Helped a national plumbing wholesaler withdraw from various multi-employer bargaining arrangements with numerous unions and negotiate standalone collective bargaining agreements with favorable terms.
• Helped a government entity negotiate multiple collective negotiations agreements with favorable terms. Two negotiations involved units consisting of thousands of employees. Another resulted in a settlement after just four negotiation sessions despite the fact that the unit at issue had been working under the terms of an expired agreement for many years. A fourth negotiation resulted in a settlement after two-and-a-half years of negotiations, during which time the unit worked under the terms of an expired contract.

Unfair Labor Practices

• Defended a trucking company in three separate unfair labor practice charges involving accusations that the company illegally fired employees because of their union activities. The National Labor Relations Board did not issue a complaint in connection with the charges.
• Defended a real estate company in an unfair labor practice charge involving an allegation that the company illegally terminated an employee because of his union activities. The National Labor Relations Board did not issue a complaint in connection with the charge.
• Defended a national chemical company in an unfair labor practice charge involving an allegation the company refused to collectively bargain with the union in good faith. The National Labor Relations Board did not issue a complaint in connection with the charge.

Disputes Arising from Collective-Bargaining Agreements

• Defended a maritime company in a labor arbitration alleging the company unlawfully fired the employee without “just cause.” The arbitrator denied the union’s grievance and upheld the company’s decision to discharge the employee.
• Helped a construction company withdraw from multiple collective bargaining agreements it had with various unions and prosecute fraud in the execution claim against a union when the union pension fund tried to assess withdrawal liability against the company. A federal district court recognized the viability of the fraud in the execution claim the construction company had raised.
• Prosecuted a declaratory judgment action for a government entity in court to prevent a union from challenging an employee’s performance-based discharge through arbitration in light of employment-at-will language in the governing collective negotiations agreement. The union withdrew its challenge to the employee’s discharge with the declaratory judgment action pending.
• Defended a print and communication services company in a breach of contract lawsuit filed by a former employee stemming from a collective bargaining agreement based on a statute of limitations defense. A federal district court dismissed the case in its entirety at the motion to dismiss stage (before discovery).

Employment Litigation

• Prosecuted several non-compete cases for a national truck washing company, which resulted in favorable judgments, including a default judgment in excess of $7.5 million.
• Defended a pharmaceutical company and several of its executives in a lawsuit involving claims under the Family and Medical Leave Act, which resulted in a complete victory at the summary judgment stage (before trial), the results of which were upheld by a federal appellate court on appeal.
• Defended a pharmaceutical company and its chief executive officer in a lawsuit involving various contract- and tort-based claims. A federal district court granted the company’s motion to dismiss the tort claims at the motion to dismiss stage (before discovery) and subsequently granted the company’s motion to dismiss the remaining claims at the summary judgment stage (before trial), in large part, including all claims related to the chief executive officer.
• Defended an insurance company and its chief operating officer in a lawsuit involving a myriad of claims, including breach of contract, employment discrimination, defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, retaliation, and wage violations. A state trial court granted the company’s motion to dismiss the claims at the summary judgment stage (before trial), in large part.

Employment Counseling

• Conducted wage and hour audits for multiple employers across various industries.
• Conducted positive employee relations trainings for multiple employers across various industries.
• Conducted workplace discrimination and harassment prevention trainings for multiple employers across various industries.
• Prepared and revised employee handbooks and workplace policies for multiple employers across various industries.

Boston University School of Law|Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations

J.D.|B.S.

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• Executive Editor, Public Interest Law Journal

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James served as a clerk for the court(s) and judge(s) below:

Legal intern to the Honorable Eugene H. Austin, J.S.C., Superior Court, Hackensack, NJ, 2005

James is admitted to practice before the following court(s):

State of New Jersey|State of New York|Commonwealth of Pennsylvania|United States District Court for the District of New Jersey|United States District Court for the Southern District of New York|United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York|United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

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Local & National Recognition

AV® Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell

Selected to the New Jersey Super Lawyers Rising Stars list, Employment & Labor

Listed as a “Labor & Employment Star – Northeast” by Benchmark Litigation

Selected to New Jersey’s Top Rated Lawyers list, Labor & Employment

Professional Affiliations & Memberships

American Bar Association

The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies

New Jersey State Bar Association

New York State Bar Association

Pennsylvania Bar Association

Sidney Reitman American Employment Law Inn of Court

Society for Human Resource Management

Civic & Charitable Organizations

Bergen Catholic High School
Class Chair

Cornell University Alumni Ambassador Network