Bradford J. Kelley

Bradford J. Kelley has a broad practice representing employers in employment anti-discrimination and wage and hour matters. He focuses on advising clients about emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), and their impact in the workplace.

Brad is an internationally recognized workplace AI authority. He advises clients on how to maximize the benefits of using AI in the workplace while minimizing potential legal and business risks. His deep background in this area provides employers with the tools and insights they need to develop, deploy, and monetize AI and other emerging technologies to bolster business operations and efficiency. In addition, he counsels clients on how to effectively navigate the compliance requirements and litigation risks associated with evolving AI laws and regulations. Brad has published numerous articles about workplace AI, including:

• Wage Against the Machine: Artificial Intelligence and the Fair Labor Standards Act
  Stanford Law & Policy Review, 2023
• Filling the Void: Artificial Intelligence and Private Initiatives
  North Carolina Journal of Law & Technology, 2023 (co-authored with EEOC Commissioner Keith Sonderling)
• The Promise and the Peril: Artificial Intelligence and Employment Discrimination
  University of Miami Law Review, 2022 (co-authored with EEOC Commissioner Keith Sonderling)
• All Along the New Watchtower: Artificial Intelligence, Workplace Monitoring, Automation, and the National Labor Relations Act
  Marquette Law Review, forthcoming 2023

Brad also speaks nationally on these emerging issues. He has given workplace AI lectures at Duke University School of Law, Georgetown University Law Center, University of North Carolina School of Law, and George Washington University School of Law.

Prior to joining Littler, Brad was chief counsel to Commissioner Keith Sonderling at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) where he provided the commissioner with legal and policy advice on federal employment anti-discrimination laws. At the EEOC, he worked on cases, policies, and regulations under all the statutes enforced by the Commission, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Equal Pay Act (EPA), the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). He was also a key advisor to the commissioner regarding the EEOC’s Initiative on Artificial Intelligence and Algorithmic Fairness. In this role, Brad was critical in developing, prioritizing, and implementing the Commissioner’s AI agenda. During his time at the EEOC, Brad was awarded the EEOC Chair’s Circle of Excellence Award for extraordinary commitment to the agency, one of the highest honors conferred within the Commission. In addition, he has been selected to serve on Law360’s Employment Discrimination Editorial Board since 2022 and has served as an adjunct law professor teaching employment discrimination.

Before joining the EEOC, Brad was a senior policy advisor with the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor where he provided key policy and legal advice to the administrator regarding the administration, interpretation, and enforcement of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and wage laws affecting government contractors.

A former U.S. Army infantry and intelligence officer and Iraq War veteran, Brad also defends employers against claims under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), including complicated military leave issues. A leading authority on USERRA, Brad’s articles on USERRA have been published in the Penn State Law Review, Drexel Law Review, Hofstra Labor & Employment Law Journal, and the Military Times.

Brad began his legal career as a clerk for a federal district judge. He graduated with Order of the Coif and magna cum laude honors from Louisiana State University Law Center, where he earned his law degree and a diploma in comparative law. In college, he earned a triple major and a minor and graduated with Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude honors.