Ryan Hagerty is a shareholder with the firm and has been in practice since 2001. Since starting with the firm as a law clerk in 1999, Ryan has had the privilege of representing working people in many different capacities. His practice encompasses representation of labor unions and individual employees in the public and private sectors. In the labor context, Ryan has dealt with many aspects of the labor-management relationship, from contract negotiations to grievance and interest arbitrations and unfair labor practice proceedings. In the context of representing individual employees, Ryan has handled a wide variety of matters arising from the employee-employer relationship, including negotiations over employment agreements, severance agreements, and litigation concerning individual statutory rights. As for the litigation component, Ryan has experience representing employees under several different employment laws. Over the years, he has concentrated his efforts on representing employees in individual and class claims arising under federal and state wage and hour laws (i.e., laws concerning overtime, minimum wage and wage theft). When he is not representing labor unions or individual employees, Ryan is frequently engaged in advising and representing entities in Illinois known as “foreign fire insurance tax boards,” which are boards comprised of firefighters that are responsible for collecting and spending certain tax proceeds for the benefit of their associated fire departments.
Ryan is a member of the American Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, and the Chicago Bar Association. He is active in the ABA’s Labor and Employment Law (“LEL”) Section. He is currently the union co-chair of the Fair Labor Standards Act Subcommittee of the LEL Section’s Federal Labor Standards Legislation Committee. As part of his involvement with the FLSA Subcommittee, Ryan serves as the Co-Editor-in-Chief of the FLSA Midwinter Report, which is a comprehensive survey of all FLSA case developments occurring in disputes decided or otherwise dealt with during the previous year.
Ryan speaks and writes on items of interest concerning labor and employment law. He has delivered presentations at the local and national levels, and has been an author or contributing author of several conference publications concerning wage and hour issues in the public sector and ethical issues in the context of wage and hour litigation. Ryan has also been a contributing editor of two different treatises: The Fair Labor Standards Act and Discipline and Discharge in Arbitration.
