Jerry Oliver has been engaged in the practice of labor and employment law for more than twenty years. He is the Practice Area Leader for the firm's Labor & Employment Group as well as a partner in Smith Moore Leatherwood's Raleigh office.
Mr. Oliver is engaged in counseling and representing employers in all aspects of employment law, including litigation before state and federal courts and agencies in the areas of federal and state EEOC laws, FMLA and ADA matters, wage and hour issues, personnel practices, wrongful discharge, and safety matters under OSHA. His practice has a heavy emphasis on proactive counseling to assist employers in avoiding litigation and solving labor-related problems.
Mr. Oliver has represented private and public sector employers throughout the United States in union avoidance campaigns under both the National Labor Relations Act and the Railway Labor Act. He has extensive experience in representation disputes and has assisted in decertifying unions under these Acts. He has also represented employers in collective bargaining negotiations and arbitration matters, in court as well as before the National Labor Relations Board and the National Mediation Board.
He is experienced in representing clients with unionized workforce and takes a proactive approach in assisting companies in managing to the contract to maintain control, protect management rights, and promote stability in the company/union relationship.
In representing clients under the Railway Labor Act, Mr. Oliver has assisted some of the largest employers in both the railway and airline industries. In National Mediation Board matters, he has, on numerous occasions, assisted carriers in major disputes. He has also practiced before area Boards of Adjustment.
While employed with the N.C. Attorneys General Office, Mr. Oliver was counsel to the N.C. Ports Authority. He also represented the N.C. Department of Administration in property as well as in purchase and contract matters.