Robert K. Carrol

As the world was shutting down in March over coronavirus concerns, Carrol headed for the gym--only to have his wife, a UCSF virologist, grab his car keys to keep him out of harm's way. "I haven't driven for 105 days," the Arent Fox LLP partner and labor and employment law veteran said in late June. "She did let me out to play golf with my son on Father's Day."

Carrol said the virus has led to changes in his practice representing management-side clients in traditional employment-related class actions and collective bargaining activities. "As we closed the economy, I was asked to be on a firmwide Covid-19 committee to help clients deal with the process. We had to become instant experts. In the union context, the main issue has been to make sure that members are provided with a safe work environment."

President Trump's emergency declaration will function to shield employers from liability if they make unilateral changes in collective bargaining agreements, Carrol said, but that has so far not been a problem. "We and the unions have been very good at being partners in this--the unions are hard-hit too, and everybody concerned is showing unusual cooperation."

His clients include companies like Lagunitas Brewing Co., Califia Farms and the Louis Roederer Family, including Roederer USA. For years he's been working on negotiating a first union contract for City of Industry-based Jacmar Foodservice Distribution after protracted litigation at the National Labor Relations Board and in an appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit over a disputed union election. Jacmar Foodservice Distribution v. NLRB, 17-1150 (D.C. Cir., filed June 29, 2017).

"The court affirmed union certification, and rather than appeal it further we decided to bargain," Carrol said. Since then, there have been 44 bargaining sessions and 37 separate proposals, with no resolution reached.

Then came the virus. "My client supplies restaurants, and we were hard hit," Carrol said. "The union was very understanding as we had to make cuts even as we were working through negotiations. The union saw the uncertainty, they understood what we were going through. This horrible plague led to a level of cooperation that is a good foundation for getting to a contract."

In an earlier case, Carrol defended San Jose-based RFI Communications in a potential class action over wage and hour and meal and rest period issues. The bet-the-company case ended when Carrol won a summary judgment motion last August; a companion PAGA matter is near resolution. Peters v. RFI Enterprises Inc., 5:18-cv-02771 (N.D. Cal., filed Feb. 23, 2018).

"There were tremendous damages on the table," Carrol said. "We argued that we operated within the labor agreement, and the court agreed."

-- John Roemer