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Practices:

• Municipal Reform & Innovation
• Litigation
  • Employer Services Litigation
• Employer Services Group
  • Labor Relations
  • Employment Services

Civic Activities:

• NY chapter of the Brandeis University Alumni Association Lawyers Network
• Member of the Advisory Board of the New York Human Relations/Human Capital Management Meet-Up group

Professional Activities:

• American Bar Association
• Association of the Bar of the City of New York
• NYCLERA
• Serves as advisor for Brooklyn Law School Career Center

Experience

Seth Borden is a partner in McKenna Long & Aldridge’s New York office and is a member of the firm’s Employer Services Group.

Mr. Borden has been representing management in labor and employment matters since 1998. His traditional labor law practice includes areas such as labor relations, collective bargaining, response to union organizing, labor arbitration, and unfair labor practice investigations and litigation before the National Labor Relations Board.  Mr. Borden has also successfully represented clients in federal and state court litigation regarding alleged liability arising under Equal Employment Opportunity laws, ERISA, the Family Medical Leave Act, Fair Labor Standards Act and other federal and state employment statutes.  He has also represented employers in administrative proceedings before the United States and New York State Departments of Labor, the New York Attorney General and other government agencies.  Mr. Borden regularly provides advice and guidance to clients regarding personnel decisions, development of employee policies and handbooks, wage-hour issues, and related personnel matters.

Mr. Borden has helped employers develop comprehensive enterprise-wide labor relations strategies, advised employers on dozens of union organizing efforts, and negotiated collective-bargaining agreements, for employers in the telecommunications, gaming, food service, logistics and produce wholesale industries.  He has served as lead counsel in numerous arbitrations involving issues of discipline, termination, contract interpretation, discrimination and harassment, in the express freight delivery, food services, healthcare and movie exhibition industries.

Mr. Borden maintains the blog Labor Relations Today dedicated to tracking key legislative, executive and administrative regulatory developments that significantly impact how employers interact with their employees and labor unions.  He was extremely active on behalf of the business community during the debate over the proposed Employee Free Choice Act; and he is frequently quoted on the labor law implications of social media and other evolving workplace issues.  Mr. Borden has spoken before numerous trade groups and employers’ associations, and has met with government officials to discuss management perspectives on labor law developments. 

Representative Matters

• Negotiated what is widely believed to be the first collective-bargaining agreement under a Native American tribal labor statute, covering 2,400 employees at a tribal casino.
• Obtained summary judgment on pension fund’s ERISA suit against a Service Contract Act employer, dismissing claims for statutory liquidated damages on late-paid contributions made prior to commencement of suit.
• Obtained dismissal of foreign company’s corporate officials and high-level managers as named defendants in federal employment and contract litigation.
• Advised telecommunications company regarding impact of collective-bargaining obligations in connection with bankruptcy reorganization, and potential acquisition.
• Obtained summary judgment dismissal of race and national origin discrimination case brought by eight plaintiffs against freight delivery company alleging unlawful discipline, discharge and work assignments.
• Obtained favorable settlement of wage-hour claims threatened by terminated jewelry salesperson.

Education

• J.D., Brooklyn Law School, 1997
• B.A., Brandeis University, 1995

Bar Admissions

• New York

Court Admissions

• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York