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Biography:
Mr. Bennett's entire 25 years of practice has been devoted to representing employers in all areas of labor and employment-related matters, including with Connell Foley LLP since October 1998, and the previous 17 years with Carpenter, Bennett & Morrissey in Newark, N.J. Mr. Bennett represents employers in all labor and employment and benefits-related matters, including: traditional labor matters before the NLRB and arbitrations under collective bargaining agreements; employment-related litigation in federal and state courts and administrative agencies, including jury trials; negotiation and enforcement of employment agreements and restrictive covenants, labor-injunction matters in federal and state courts, and advising employers concerning all aspects of labor relations and employment law.
Mr. Bennett received a bachelor of arts degree magna cum laude from Lafayette College in Easton, Pa. He completed a doctor of jurisprudence (J.D.) degree cum laude at Seton Hall University School of Law in Newark, N.J., where he was Articles Editor of its Law Review. He received a master of law (LL.M.) degree summa cum laude from New York University School of Law, achieving the highest grade-point average in the school's Labor Law Program. From 1980 to 1981 he was a law clerk to the Hon. Robert L. Clifford, Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court.
Mr. Bennett is a member of the Executive Committee of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association. He is also a member of the Labor and Employment and Litigation sections of the American Bar Association.
Mr. Bennett's representative cases include:
- Eckstein v. Farleigh Dickinson University, Docket No. A-5548-05T1 (N.J. App. Div., Apr. 7, 2008) (affirming grant of summary judgment for University, dismissing alleged discrimination and contract-related claims arising from tenure denial);
- Ward v. Merck & Co., Inc., No. 06-1270,
226 Fed.Appx. 131 (3d Cir., Mar. 14, 2007) (affirming summary judgment dismissing ADA and FMLA claims by chemist whose employment was terminated for refusing employer's directive to submit to fitness-for-duty evaluation based on observations of workplace behavior and performance);
- Brandt v. Anheuser-Busch, Inc., Civ. No. 06-5424 (WJM), 2007 WL 1175751 (D.N.J., Apr. 19, 2007) (dismissing breach-of-contract and other common-law claims relating to discharge of bargaining-unit employee for violations of drug-testing provisions of applicable CBA, as preempted by federal labor law);
- Titus v. Kelly Services, Inc., No. A-5303-04T5, __ N.J. Super. __, 2007 WL 1223895 (App. Div., Apr. 27, 2007) (affirming judgment on "no cause" jury verdict on claims of gender discrimination in promotion, and affirming summary judgment dismissing constructive discharge claim prior to trial);
- Bottle Beer Drivers, Warehousemen & Helpers, Teamsters Local 843 v. Anheuser-Busch, Inc., 96 Fed. Appx. 831 (3d Cir., Apr. 30, 2004) (affirming summary judgment dismissing ERISA and common-law claims of Union concerning payments required by employer to reimburse it for actuarially-estimated costs of providing pension benefits to full-time Union officials on leave of absence from employer);
- Finnegan v. Ritter-SYSCO, Inc., No. A-3975-02T3 (App. Div., Jan. 6, 2004) (affirming summary judgment dismissing claim that warehouse manager was "constructively discharged" based on alleged age discrimination under NJLAD);
- Connell v. Merck & Co., Inc., 76 Fed. Appx. 438 (3d Cir., Sept. 26, 2003) (affirming summary judgment dismissing race discrimination and Section 301 LMRA claims of bargaining-unit employee discharged for off-premises, off-duty drug sales activity);
- Gurry v. Merck & Co., Inc., 2003 WL 1878414 (S.D.N.Y., Apr. 14, 2003) (granting summary judgment dismissing gender discrimination and retaliation claims of sales associate fired for falsifying prior employment information on resume and application);
- Littman v. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, 337 N.J. Super. 134, 766 A.2d 794 (App. Div. 2001) (holding that "whistle-blowing" claim was subject to compulsory NASD arbitration even though NASD rules exempt "employment discrimination" claims from arbitration);
- Anderson v. Anheuser-Busch, Inc., 229 F.3d 1135 (2d Cir., 2000), affirming 65 F. Supp. 2d 218 (S.D.N.Y. 1999) (granting summary judgment dismissing race discrimination claims of sales manager discharged for submitting false expense and call reports);
- Alamo Rent A Car, Inc. v. Galarza, 306 N.J. Super. 384, 703 A.2d 961 (App. Div. 1997) (enforcement of language in employee contracts requiring arbitration of discrimination claims);
- Daniels v. Anheuser-Busch, Inc., 1997 WL 538904 (N.D.N.Y. 1997)(claims of disability-based termination and union-activity based retaliation are preempted by federal labor law; later won case before NLRB);
- Singer v. Commodities Corp. (U.S.A.), 292 N.J. Super. 391, 678 A.2d 1165 (App. Div. 1996) (enforcing employees' agreement in uniform securities registration form to arbitrate employment disputes);
- Schanzer v. Rutgers University, 934 F.Supp. 669 (D.N.J. 1996) (dismissal of certain claims in action for wrongful denial of tenure);
- Behrens v. Rutgers University, 1996 WL 570989 (D.N.J., Mar. 29, 1996) (no individual liability of employer's administrators under Title VII and NJLAD);
- Chandoke v. Anheuser-Busch, Inc., 843 F.Supp. 16 (D.N.J. 1994) (denying summary judgment in national origin discrimination case; later obtained "no cause" jury verdict);
- McKenzie v. Merck & Co., Inc., 1993 WL 493306 (D.N.J. 1993) (dismissing claims of wrongful disqualification from bargaining-unit position as preempted by federal labor law);
- N.L.R.B. v. Frazier, 144 F.R.D. 650 (D.N.J.) (granting petition to revoke NLRB subpoena served on Prudential manager in building-services dispute with SEIU), rev'd, 966 F.2d 812 (3d Cir. 1992);
- Brunner v. Abex Corp., 661 F.Supp. 1351 (D.N.J. 1986)(summary judgment dismissing wrongful-discharge claims of promissory estoppel and breach of implied contract);
- United Telegraph Workers, AFL-CIO v. Western Union Corp., 771 F.2d 699, 120 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2403, 103 Lab. Cas. (CCH) 11, 636 (3d Cir. 1985) (vacating injunction sought by Union to prevent employer from implementing business decisions); and
- Ennis v. New Jersey Bell Telephone Co., 782 F.2d 396, 3 Fed.R.Serv.3d 1408 (3d Cir. 1985)(dismissal of discrimination suit as sanction for plaintiff's counsel's discovery abuses).
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