John Kloosterman advises and defends a wide range of employers, from start-up companies to multi-national corporations.  He counsels employers on every aspect of the employment relationship from hiring to dismissal and all areas in between.  His practice emphasizes international labor and employment issues, international labor standards, labor-management relations and complex litigation, including arbitration.

He has extensive courtroom experience and represents clients in all aspects of litigation before state and federal courts, before federal, state and provincial administrative agencies and in arbitration proceedings. His litigation experience includes acting as lead counsel in jury trials and in high-profile class actions involving wage-hour issues, discrimination and corporate restructuring. He is experienced in international litigation, including international discovery issues. He has also argued before state and federal appellate courts.

John is an acknowledged expert on international labor standards, with experience in negotiating and drafting international labor standards, and advising on compliance issues. He is a member of the U.S. delegation to the International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations agency responsible for overseeing international labor standards. John currently sits on the ILO’s Committee on the Application of Standards. He was instrumental in negotiating ILO Convention 189, the Domestic Work Convention, and served as the employer member of the drafting committee for that Convention.  He also has served on an ILO expert panel on forced labor and human trafficking. Since 2012, John has been the Employer Spokesperson for ILO’s Tripartite Consultations on the Application of International Labour Standards.

John advises multi-national companies on cross-border legal issues. He advises U.S. based companies on compliance with global legal issues and international companies on compliance with U.S. laws. He also advises on human rights issues that affect business, including supply chain issues, codes of conduct and compliance with self-governance initiatives such as the UN Global Compact, the OECD Guidelines and the UN Guiding Principles.

He has substantial experience with Canadian labor and employment laws in each province and the federal jurisdiction.  He counsels US-based companies on their Canadian operations and Canadian-based companies on their US operations.

John represents clients with regard to non-compete and trade secret issues and is experienced in the labor and employment law aspects of corporate transactions.

John also represents clients in all aspects of labor-management relations, including collective bargaining, arbitrations and National Labor Relations Board proceedings.

He is a former trial attorney with the National Labor Relations Board (Region 21), where he received a commendation from the agency’s General Counsel.  He practiced with a multi-national general practice firm before joining Littler Mendelson.

He has been a contributing editor to several publications and treatises, including the Developing Labor Law (BNA) and International Employment and Labor Law (LexisNexis). He has authored articles on, among other things, international labor and employment law, international labor standards, international discovery issues, Canadian employment law, arbitration and employment practice audits

John has lectured on employment and labor law topics at numerous universities and law schools. He also taught legal writing at the University of Wisconsin. He regularly speaks at conferences and seminars in Europe, Asia and North America, and discusses employment law issues on local television. 

In addition to attending University of Wisconsin Law School and Loyola University Chicago, John attended University College London and participated in the Executive Management Program at the Kellogg School of Management.

PROFESSIONAL AND COMMUNITY AFFILIATIONS

• Member, Industrial Relations Council - International Organisation of Employers
• Advisor, Labor Policy and Corporate Social Responsibility committees - U.S. Council on International Business
• Member, Labor and Employment / International / Litigation / Business Law sections - American Bar Association
• Member, State Bar of California
• Member, International Bar Association
• Member, Canadian Association of Counsel to Employers
• Member, Bar Association of San Francisco
• Member, Alameda County Bar Association

RECOGNITION

• Named, International Who's Who of Management Labour and Employment Lawyers - Who's Who Legal, 2012
• Named, Super Lawyer - Northern California, 2011-present
• Member, US Delegation, International Labour Organization, Geneva, Switzerland, 2010-present