Michael R. Gotzler

Michael R. Gotzler has focused his entire career, including 10 years as an in-house General Counsel, representing employers in all aspects of labor and employment matters.

Mike relies on his wide-ranging practice experience, exceptional client service, and enthusiasm to identify and develop practical and real-world solutions. Mike works with employers of varying sizes and industries to focus on balancing business realities with legal compliance and risk management.

For unionized employers, Mike frequently serves or supports collective bargaining negotiations and provides representation in arbitration hearings. He has prevailed at labor arbitrations that permitted companies to continue subcontracting their non-core services, obtained a full dismissal of all NLRB complaints including allegations of unlawful terminations following 7-day hearing, and helped a multi-state health care system successfully respond to a multi-facility union organizing drive.

As Co-Chair of the firm’s Contingent Workforce practice group, Mike has particular experience and skill in responding to claims and issues surrounding joint and co-employment, the use of third party workers, independent contractors, and outsourced HR services. He has presented at national conferences, represented businesses at White House briefings, participated on panels and has been regularly interviewed and quoted as a result. He has successfully defended and litigated multi-million-dollar independent contractor misclassification cases, advised a 50-state organization with dozens of separate business entities on creating a captive PEO arrangement to realize cost savings and integrate HR and tax systems, and managed a cross-border staffing project that involved the engagement of EOR and PEO service providers across two dozen jurisdictions.

Mike has secured dismissals of dozens of harassment and discrimination claims brought before various administrative agencies, obtained summary judgment in a case alleging a CEO engaged in sexual harassment, and managed executive-level investigations involving in-house counsel and compliance directors.

To help his clients minimize claims, Mike has designed and delivered a wide range of preventive HR training courses, including anti-harassment courses designed with EEOC involvement and approval. Mike was one of the first individuals selected to deliver sexual harassment training as part of a nationwide conciliation agreement, under which the employer was required to provide EEOC-approved training to more than 100,000 employees.

Mike serves as the Wisconsin coordinator and liaison for Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI). Mike focuses on Wisconsin state legislative and regulatory developments in employment and labor law, as well as municipal ordinances and regulation of the workplace. He assists the employer community in understanding and impacting Wisconsin legislation before it becomes law.

Mike was Littler’s first attorney in the Madison, Wisconsin, office. Prior to joining Littler, Mike was General Counsel of a company that provided temporary staffing, executive recruiting, HR consulting and integrated HR (PEO) services throughout the U.S. He was also shareholder at another firm that focused exclusively on labor and employment matters on behalf of employers.