Michael Delaney's practice includes representation of management in traditional labor relations matters, including collective bargaining negotiations, grievances and arbitrations, union campaigns and matters before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
Mike also represents public and private employers in employment litigation and human resources counseling, including matters involving wage & hour, occupational safety and health, age, sex, race and disability discrimination and affirmative action before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) and similar state agencies. Mike also represents school districts in personnel and school law matters. As a trial lawyer, he has represented employers in courts, before administrative agencies and in arbitration throughout the United States.
Mike joined Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP in 1976. He practices with Spencer Fane's Labor and Employment Law Group and serves as practice group leader. Mike has also served two terms on the firm's executive committee.
Mike received his bachelor of arts degree from the University of Kansas. After service in the U.S. Army, including a tour of duty in Vietnam, he attended the University of Kansas School of Law where he received his law degree. He served as Articles Editor of the University of Kansas Law Review. He was named a member of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi and the Order of the Coif and was the recipient of the C.C. Stewart award as the top student in his graduating class.
Mike is a frequent author and lecturer on labor relations, employment and school law topics including wage and hour compliance, OSHA and employment discrimination issues and alternative dispute resolution procedures. He is a contributing editor to The Developing Labor Law, published by the ABA Section of Labor & Employment Law. He has been the co-chair of the annual Heartland Labor and Employment Law Program in Kansas City and is a member of the Labor and Employment Law and Litigation Sections of the American Bar Association. He also is an active member of the American Employment Law Council, the Education Law Association and the National School Board Association Council of School Attorneys. Mike is 2011 President of the Missouri Council of School Attorneys and a member of the Board of Directors of the Associated Builders & Contractors, Inc., Heart of America Chapter.
Mike has been elected a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America. He is a member of the Wage & Hour Defense Institute. His biography has appeared in Marquis Who's Who in America, Who's Who in the World and Who's Who in American Law. He has been selected by his peers to be listed in Best Lawyers in America®: Labor Law - Management. He is recognized by Chambers USA as a leading attorney in labor and employment law. He has been named a Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyer® in Labor and Employment and Education Law since 2007 and a BTI Client Service All-Star. In June, 2011 Mike was named to the Human Resource Executive Magazine list of "The Nation's Most Powerful Employment Lawyers - Top 100." In the magazine's 2010 edition Mike was listed among "The Nation's Most Powerful Employment Lawyers - Top Ten for Labor Law."
Areas of Emphasis
- Successful negotiation of dozens of collective bargaining agreements on behalf of management .
- Lead Labor Counsel on numerous corporate acquisitions and divestitures, including acquisition by client of extensive manufacturing operations in Kansas and Oklahoma, in complex transaction involving negotiations with multiple unions.
- Lead Counsel in successful defense of Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, members of The Kansas Board of Regents and the Registrars of several Kansas Regents' system universities in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a Kansas statute authorizing certain non-resident students including undocumented aliens to pay in-state tuition. Day v. Sebelius, 376 F.Supp.2d 1022 (D.Kan. 2005), aff’d, Day v. Bond, 500 F.3d 1127 (10th Cir. 2007), rehearing and rehearing en banc den., 511 F.3d 1030 (10th Cir. 2007), cert den., 128 S.Ct. 2987 (2008).
- Lead Counsel on team that successfully represented the Kansas City, Missouri School District in its long running desegregation lawsuit, obtained approval of settlement with the State of Missouri, obtained and defended on appeal a declaration of "unitary status" on key aspects of the District's operations. Oversaw preparation and authored key sections of the District's transition plan to full unitary status.
- Lead Counsel defending two of the largest FLSA lawsuits brought by the U.S. Department of Labor claiming back wages, liquidated damages and injunctive relief in cases involving cash shortage deductions in the retail gasoline business and payment for "donning and doffing" time in the meat packing industry.
- Lead Counsel in successful challenge to the Missouri school finance formula.
Presentation and Speaking Engagements
- Wage and Hour Compliance and Litigation from the Management Point of View - 2010 KCMBA FLSA Seminar
- Drug & Alcohol Testing of School Employees - 2010 Missouri School Boards Association Personnel Law Update
- Construction Jobsite Labor Disputes - 2008 American Bar Association, Forum on the Construction Industry Annual Meeting
- Compensation Practices: Change in Direction - 2009 Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP Annual Labor & Employment Law Seminar
- Retaliation Claims: Preventing & Defending Them - 2008 Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP Annual Labor & Employment Law Seminar
- Construction Industry Under The NLRA - 2007 ABA Labor & Employment Law Section NLRB Basics Program
- Public Sector Labor Relations - 2007 Missouri Council of School Attorneys Annual Conference
- Public Sector Bargaining - 2007 Missouri School Boards Association Annual Meeting
- Jury Trials, Juror’s Perceptions and Their Impact on Employer Harassment Policies - 2006 Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP Annual Labor & Employment Law Seminar
- FLSA Compliance - 2006 UMKC School of Law CLE Heartland Labor & Employment Law Conference
- Class & Collective Actions - 2005 Kansas Bar Association Employment Law Institute
- The New White Collar Regulations - 2004 MARC Training FLSA Compliance
- Developments in Education Law - TIFS & School Finance 2004 Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP Annual Education Law Seminar
- Top Labor Law Case Developments - 2004 Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP Annual Labor & Employment Law Seminar
- Lecturer in Law - Labor Law - University of Kansas School of Law