Jennifer Hill speaks to Labor & Employment expert, Mike Schmidt, about what employees and employers should know about various labor matters. Mike shares about the impact that social media has had on the workplace and how the workplace has changed significantly from the 1980’s to present.

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Michael C. Schmidt is the vice chair of Cozen O’Connor’s Labor & Employment Department, and the office managing partner of the New York Midtown office, where he is resident.

For more than two decades, Mike has concentrated his practice on representing companies and management in all facets of employment law. A substantial portion of Mike’s practice is devoted to maintaining collaborative relationships with his clients, and developing appropriate strategies to avoid litigation and minimize potential exposure in the area of employee relations. He has tried cases and argued appeals in federal and state courts, and has represented companies (non-union and union) in arbitration and before federal and state administrative agencies such as the EEOC, the New York State Division of Human Rights, the New York City Commission on Human Rights, the Department of Labor (state and federal), OSHA, and the National Labor Relations Board.

Beyond his regular client practice, Mike serves as the chairman of the board of directors of After-School All-Stars of New York, a New York chapter of a national charitable organization founded by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the mid-1990s to provide after-school and summer programs for inner-city youth. He also spends significant time providing pro bono counsel to various organizations and individuals who are less able to afford representation in times of need.

Mike earned his undergraduate degree, with honors, from Brandeis University in 1990. He earned his law degree, with distinction, from Hofstra University School of Law in 1993, where he was a notes and comments editor of the Hofstra Law Review.