Michael J. Shoenfelt
Practice Areas
Education
- The Ohio State University Michael E. Moritz College of Law, J.D., 2013, magna cum laude
- Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution, articles editor, 2012-2013
- The Ohio State University, B.A., 2010, magna cum laude, with honors
Bar & Court Admissions
Michael is an associate in the Vorys Columbus office and a member of the labor and employment group. He has experience litigating employment discrimination, retaliation, wrongful discharge, wage and hour, and accommodation cases. Michael also has substantial experience defending wage and hour collective and class actions in state and federal court. He has represented employers before administrative agencies, federal courts, and state courts. Michael counsels clients on a range of state and federal employment laws, discharge and discipline of employees, severance agreements, and traditional labor law issues. He also has experience drafting and reviewing employment-related documents, and performing due diligence regarding employment litigation relevant to corporate mergers and acquisitions.
His notable experience includes:
- Defeating class certification for an employer in an ADA Title III case in federal court.
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Defeating class certification for employer in putative wage and hour class action in California.
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Defending clients in various nationwide Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) collective actions.
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Obtaining summary judgment for employers in various state and federal discrimination cases.
Michael received his J.D. magna cum laude from The Ohio State University Michael E. Moritz College of Law, where he was an articles editor for the Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution and a member of Order of the Coif. He received his BA magna cum laude with honors from The Ohio State University. While in law school, Michael served as a judicial extern for the Honorable Amul R. Thapar in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky and the Honorable Algenon L. Marbley in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.
News
- 10/25/2013Vorys Welcomes New Associates to Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Akron and Washington, D.C. OfficesVorys is pleased to welcome nine new associates to the firm. Angelyne Lisinski, Michael Shoenfelt, Kara Singleton and Thomas Vetter have joined the Columbus office; Katherine Barrett and Megan Westenberg have joined the Cincinnati office; Hyun (Eric) Yoon has joined the Cleveland office; Andrew Guran has joined the Akron office and William M.R. Barrett has joined the Washington, D.C. office.
Events
- 4/18/2019On April 18, 2019, Vorys hosted its annual Cincinnati Labor and Employment Law Update.
Insights
- 1/23/2015President Obama delivered his sixth State of the Union address on Tuesday, and labor and employment matters took center stage. While the president’s address does not have the force of law, it highlights for employers what issues the White House plans on pursuing in the coming year.
- 11/17/2014The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently issued a decision reaffirming its much-maligned 2012 D.R. Horton opinion. In D.R. Horton, the NLRB held that an employer could not require employees to resolve employment-related claims through individual arbitrations, thereby waiving their right to proceed in a collective or class action.
- 7/31/2014President Obama has signed yet another executive order changing the rules of the road for government contractors. Following on the heels of executive orders regarding minimum wage, compensation discrimination, and discussion of wages, the most recent executive action prohibits government contractors from discriminating against individuals on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The president signed this executive order on July 21, 2014. It amends Executive Order 11246, the law setting forth affirmative action requirements for covered federal contractors and subcontractors.