Jeffrey S. Zellan, Esq.

New York, NY *****

ac4xgo@r.postjobfree.com 917-***-**** https://www.linkedin.com/in/jzellan/

Director of Labor Relations

Dynamic Labor and Employee Relations Director and labor and employment attorney with 15+ years’ success driving labor relations and human resource management for public and private organizations. Proven ability to achieve labor relations environments which are cost-effective, cost competitive, consistent with Company policies, procedures, and work rules, and free of unnecessary litigation. Track record of effectively assisting HR professionals in achieving employee relations environments which foster union-free operations.

Labor Relations & HR Competencies

Labor Arbitrations & Employment Litigation

Grievance Handling/Dispute Resolution

Employee Risk Management/Mitigation

Labor & Employment Law Compliance

Union Elections & Avoidance

Collective Bargaining

Management & Employee Training

Workforce Planning

Career Experience

Quality Building Services (QBS) / Quality Protection Services (QPS), New York, NY

Director of Labor Relations & General Counsel, 2015 – Present

Investigated, analyzed and resolved employee relations matters including alleged sexual harassment, discrimination, workplace violence, employee theft, bullying, union contract violations, and employee misconduct for privately owned facilities maintenance and building security contractor with 1,000+ union and non-union employees across 50+ worksites. Serve as in-house employment/employment law counsel, addressing inquiries from government agencies including EEOC, NYCCHR, NYSDHR and NLRB.

Key Contributions:

Managed compliance with nine collective bargaining agreements, including CBAs with Local 32BJ (janitorial/cleaning, security), DC9-Local 8A (metal polishers), Local 7 (marble) & Local 94 Engineers.

Attentively resolved 200+ union grievances through early case assessment and establishing productive working relationships with union grievance reps and attorneys, as well as preventing grievances by instituting the organization’s first labor/management committees to proactively address labor concerns, which resulted in a 60 % decrease in monthly union complaints over 2 years.

Represented the organization in 20+ labor arbitrations, mediations and unemployment hearings.

Revised employee handbooks for three affiliate corporations and all of the companies’ HR forms.

Improved HR processes by collaborating with CFO to drive migration from Excel spreadsheet-based data to an ATS and HRIS, creating an HR business partner system, streamlining workflows, and transitioning documents and forms to electronic format to reduce paperwork by 25%.

Slashed outside counsel expenses by 30% by training and leading 50+ managers and supervisors to effectively resolve conflicts in-house, minimizing inquiries from government agencies through improved harassment/discrimination prevention, performance management, and documentation.

Skillfully defended seven EEO cases and 5 NLRB/ULP charges and obtained dismissals each time.

New York State Department of Financial Services, Liquidation Bureau, New York, NY

Chief Human Resources Officer, 2007 – 2015

Led cross-functional team of eight Payroll Specialists, HR Generalists and Benefits Administrators of quasi-public organization with 350 employees. Responsible for all aspects of organization’s relationship with CSEA Local 370, including grievance handling and collective bargaining. Guided senior leadership on matters related to employee and union relations, compensation and conflict resolution.

Key Contributions:

Led 2009 and 2013 CSEA/NYLB Union contract negotiations, obtaining groundbreaking concession by Union to contribute to health insurance premiums, limitation on matters subject to arbitration and the lowest aggregate four-year wage increases in 20 years.

Instituted comprehensive training & development program for HR staff and managers with modules on management, leadership, discrimination and harassment prevention and workplace safety.

Augmented employee performance management with web-based review program and measurement of key performance indicators (KPI).

Reduced staffing by 20% by driving productivity through strategic HR planning, succession planning, organizational development, talent management and RIFs.

Steered examination of options to address growing future retiree health insurance liabilities such as VEBA and Section 115 trusts as OPEB Liability Committee Chairperson.

Represented organization in EEOC and NY State Division of Human Rights cases, successfully obtaining “No Probable Cause” determination in all of eight cases.

Greenwald Doherty, LLP, New York, NY

Senior Associate, Employment Litigation, 2005 – 2007

Exclusively represented employers in labor matters, providing daily counseling to business and HR leaders on labor- and employee-relations-related regulatory compliance, compensation and benefits, training & development, and discipline related to labor. Mentored, trained, and supervised Junior Associates and Paralegals.

Key Contributions:

Successfully defended dozens of unfair labor practice charges before the NLRB, including Region 2 and Region 29 and appeals to the General Counsel and the Board in Washington, DC

Obtained preliminary injunction and drove settlement to protect client’s regional retail appliance business from alleged employee misappropriation of trade secrets and/or non-competition agreement violations.

Assisted national direct marketing firm to achieve 10% reduction in operating expenses and accelerated revenue generation via new client through company reorganization.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE

Convinced Appeals Board to reverse prior decision regarding independent contractor status of 50+ employees as Of Counsel for Krakower DiChiria.

Drafted Affirmative Action Program for major investment bank.

Managed OFCCP audit for Fortune 1000 global technology company as a Labor Relations Consultant.

Education and Credentials

Juris Doctor (JD) (With Distinction)

Hofstra University School of Law – Hempstead, NY

Graduated Top 10%

Member, Hofstra Law Review

NY State Bar Admission

Bachelor of Arts, Political Science / Public Administration (Cum Laude)

State University of New York at Albany – Albany, NY

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