Arent Fox Partner Rob Carrol Named to 2021 ‘Top Labor & Employment Lawyers’ by Daily Journal

Rob specializes in traditional labor law, including union election and unfair labor practice issues arising under the National Labor Relations Act, collective bargaining and arbitrations, and the defense of complex wage/hour class actions and single-plaintiff employment discrimination and wrongful termination matters for clients ranging from Silicon Valley start-ups to Fortune 200 companies. The clients served by Rob and his Team come from many different industries such as food and beverage, agriculture, alcohol beverage (suppliers and distributors), food warehousing, renewable energy, security and life safety solutions, and manufacturing, and include, among others, Califia Farms, Roederer Estate, The Sun Valley Group, Sun Pacific, Merry Edwards Winery, Monkish Brewery, Lagunitas, Crest Beverage, Jacmar Foodservice, Enel North America, and RFI Communications.

Wage and Hour Success

Daily Journal reported on Rob and his Team’s representation of The Sun Valley Group, the largest fresh flower grower and shipper in the U.S., in a multimillion-dollar, bet-the-company wage and hour class action in which, following extensive discovery, a class certification motion is pending. Also reported on was Rob’s traditional labor work for Jacmar Foodservice, in which Rob represented the Company in a National Labor Relations Board election matter involving Teamsters Local 630, including the successful resolution of several unfair labor practice charges and leading the Company’s collective bargaining team in a complex, first contract negotiation over the past nearly three years.

Pandemic Effect

When speaking with the Daily Journal, Rob detailed how the COVID-19 pandemic has provided common ground and positively affected the dynamic of working with unions. “We can disagree a lot, but we don’t have to be disagreeable. We have seen that we have a mutual enemy in Covid. That has contributed to the kind of foundation in bargaining that leads to long-term success,” said Rob.