Michael J. Frantz

• Represented a leading federal contractor in the renegotiation of a major collective bargaining agreement at the Goddard Space Center in Baltimore, Maryland.
• Represented major health care institutions in northeast Ohio in contract bargaining with the United Steelworkers and the Ohio Nurses Association.
• Developed a new corporate-wide strategy for utilizing independent contractors following major changes by the National Labor Relations Board.
• Developed several new initiatives for dealing with the Affordable Care Act in collective bargaining, including dealing with potential Cadillac Tax issues.
• Represented a large multi-state platform company with all labor and employment issues while divesting several portfolio companies.
• Represented a multi-employer group in national bargaining involving the oldest collective bargaining agreement in the United States.
• Represented several employers in the determination and resolution of multi-employer plan liability under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
• Represented college and university clients in governance issues, labor and employment disputes, student affairs issues, and significant collective bargaining negotiations.
• Represented numerous social service agencies in employment litigation and collective bargaining.

Education

• Georgetown University, J.D., 1976
• University of Notre Dame, B.A., magna cum laude, 1973

Admissions

• Supreme Court of the U.S.
• State of Ohio
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio and Southern District of Ohio

Professional Affiliations

• The College of Labor & Employment Lawyers—Fellow (2018-Present)
• Director of Secure State LLC, The Father's Table LLC and Three D Metals, Inc.
• American Bar Association, Labor Law Section - Member
• General Counsel for The Ohio Cast Metals Association
• Secretary of Eagle Bridge, Inc.
• Ohio State Bar Association, Labor Law Section - Member
• Ohio State Bar Association Labor and Employment Section Council – Member (2018-Present)
• Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, Labor Law Section—Former Chairman
• National Association of College and University Attorneys - Member
• American Arbitration Association— Panelist
• Defense Research Institute, Labor Relations Committee - Member
• Journal College and University Law—Member of the Editorial Board (1997-1999)
• Labor Relations Advisory Committee - Member
• Ohio Management Lawyers Association - Member

Community Involvement

• Karamu House, Inc.—Board of Directors 
• St. Vincent Charity Medical Center—Board of Trustees
• The Father’s Table Foundation—Board of Trustees
• St. John Medical Center—Leadership Council
• Boy Scouts of America, Greater Cleveland Council—Board of Trustees
• Catholic Diocese of Cleveland Foundation—Advisory Board
• Catholic Charities Services Corporation—Board of Trustees; Member of Human Resource Committee
• Hanna Perkins School—Board of Trustees; Executive Committee; Former President
• Anny Katan Foundation—Board of Trustees
• Notre Dame Club of Cleveland—Advisory Committee
• University of Notre Dame, National Monogram Club—Athletes of Notre Dame Board of Directors, Secretary and Legal Counsel
• Human Resource Consulters to the Secretariat for Catholic Charities Health and Human Services—Member
• Cleveland Leadership Center, Leadership Cleveland (Class of 2004)
• Greater Cleveland Partnership (formerly the Greater Cleveland Growth Association)—Former Trustee
• St. Malachi Center—Former Board of Trustees; Former Executive Committee; Former President
• Saint Joseph Academy—Former Board of Trustees; Former Executive Committee; Former Chairman of Human Resources Committee
• St. Raphael Parish Council—Former President; Member of Finance Council
• Saint Ignatius High School—Former Member and Chairman of the Board of Regents

Firm Involvement

• Founding Partner—Frantz Ward LLP
• Former Member—Frantz Ward Management Committee

• Named to Crain’s Cleveland Business Notable Leaders in Employment & Labor Law (2023)
• Named to The Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Employment Law-Management; Labor Law-Management (2006-2024); and Education Law (2019-2024)
• Named to the highest rank, Band 1, by Chambers USA: America’s Guide to Leading Lawyers for Business in the area of Labor and Employment (2003-2023)
• Designated Best Lawyers’ “Lawyer of the Year” in Education Law in Cleveland (2019); Labor Law—Management in Cleveland (2018); and Employment Law—Management in Cleveland (2016)
• Named to the Ohio Super Lawyers list (2004-2024)
• Recognized as one of the Top 100 Attorneys in Ohio and one of the Top 50 Attorneys in Cleveland by Ohio Super Lawyers
• Elected as a Fellow of the American Bar Association College of Employment and Labor Lawyers - Class of 2018
• Listed in The Legal News’ Top 1% of Attorneys in the Nation
• AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated—Martindale-Hubbell
• Recipient of the St. Thomas More Award—The Lawyers Guild of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland (2016)
• Eagle Scout, Boy Scouts of America

• Author, Frantz Ward Labor and Employment Blog
  
• "On Again, Off Again: NLRB Holds that Employers May Not Discontinue Dues Deductions Upon Expiration of a Collective Bargaining Agreement," Frantz Ward Labor & Employment Navigator (October 2022)
• “NLRB General Counsel Sets the Stage for Major Change to Handbook Rules,” (Co-Author) Frantz Ward Labor & Employment Navigator (March 2022)
• "Timeout! NLRB General Counsel Says Student-Athletes Are Employees Who Can Unionize," (Co-Author) Frantz Ward Labor & Employment Navigator (October 2021)
• "NLRB GC sends another warning shot, indicating full panoply of remedies are available," (Co-Author) Frantz Ward Labor & Employment Navigator (September 2021)
• "NLRB General Counsel Issues 10(j) Warning Notice," Frantz Ward Labor & Employment Navigator (August 2021)
• "NLRB General Counsel Releases Issue Priorities Memorandum," (Co-Author) Frantz Ward Labor & Employment Navigator (August 2021)
• "President-Elect Biden’s Labor Agenda Comes Into Clearer Focus And Employers Need To Plan Accordingly," Frantz Ward Labor & Employment Navigator (January 2021) 
• "NLRB’s General Motors Decision Facilitates Return to Workplace Civility," Frantz Ward Labor & Employment Navigator (July 2020) 
• "Strike for Black Lives," Frantz Ward Client Alert (July 2020)
• "OSHA Reporting Update," Frantz Ward Client Alert (May 2020)
• "Families First Coronavirus Response Act," Frantz Ward Labor & Employment Navigator (March 2020)
• "At Long Last Clarity Concerning the Joint Employer Rule," Frantz Ward Labor & Employment Navigator (February 2020)
• The Developing Labor Law, Bloomberg BNA, Seventh Edition—Contributing Editor (2011-2019) 
• "NLRB Issues Welcome Changes to Union Election Procedures," Frantz Ward Labor & Employment Navigator (December 2019) 
• "Janus V. AFSCME - The Supreme Court Outlaws Forced Union Dues Or Agency Fees in the Public Sector," Frantz Ward Labor & Empoloyment Navigator (June 2018) 
• "Trump's New NLRB General Counsel Signals Close Scrutiny of Obama-Era Labor Decisions," Frantz Ward Labor & Employment Navigator (December 2017)
• “The Constitution and Labor Law,” Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Journal
• “Contending With Today’s Key Employment Issues in Ohio,” Cambridge Institute
• “Devise Your Plan to Battle Employment Fraud,” Crain’s Cleveland Business (June 1998)
• “Discrimination: Age, Race, Disability, Religion-The ADA,” Institute of Business Law, California State University, Los Angeles, CA (1994)

• "Employment Arbitration Agreements After the Epic Systems Opinion," Ohio State Bar Association's Midwest Labor and Employment Conference, Columbus, OH (October 2019) 
• "Regulatory Agency Updates: Judicial and Legislative Branch Updates and Implications," Frantz Ward Labor and Employment Law Seminar, Cleveland, OH (May 2019) 
• "A View from the Bench - Pretrial and Trial Practice Issues," Midwest Labor & Employment Law (October 2018)
• "Ironing Out the Wrinkles: NLRB, DOL and Other Agency Developments and Updates Under the Trump Administration," Frantz Ward Labor and Employment Law Seminar, Cleveland, OH (May 2018)
• “Labor and Employment Update Under the Trump Administration,” Ohio Cast Metals Association, Columbus, OH (July 2017)
• “Labor and Employment Update Under the Trump Administration,” Ohio Cast Metals Association Human Resource Committee, Columbus, OH (June 2017)
• “Going on a Safari: Developments in Labor & Employment Law Under the New Congress and the Trump Administration,” Frantz Ward Labor and Employment Law Seminar, Cleveland, OH (May 2017)
• “The Trump Era Begins: What to Expect,” Ohio Cast Metals Association Quarterly Meeting, Columbus, OH (February 2017)
• “Employment Law: Rights, Benefits, and Emerging Issues,” Sterling Education Services, Inc., Cleveland, OH (November 2016)
• “Hard Bargaining with Soft Skills: Getting It Done Without Being a Jerk!,” National Labor-Management Conference, Chicago, IL (August 2016)
• “Update on Healthcare Union Organizing and Related Labor Issues,” Aultman Hospital and Aultcare, Canton, OH (June 2016)
• “New DOL, NLRB and EEOC Developments,” Ohio Cast Metals Association, Columbus, OH (June 2016)
• Guest Lecturer, Labor Relations, Cleveland State University and Oberlin College
• California Business Institute, Council on Education in Management
• Ohio Cast Metals Association, Annual Human Resource Seminar
• Ohio CLE Institute, Annual Employment Law Seminar
• “Private Sector Unfair Labor Practices,” Cleveland State University
• “Negotiating A Business Acquisition in the Sale of a Unionized Business,” Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association
• Ohio CLE Institute, Health Care Law Update
• “What’s New From the NLRB,” The Latest in Labor Law
• Frantz Ward Labor and Employment Law Seminars

• Mentioned in, "Lawyers, Firms Receive Recognition," Cleveland Jewish News (January 2021) 
• Quoted in, “How Tech Savvy Law Firms Are Sustaining Amidst COVID-19," Advisor TV (July 2020)