Michael G. Petrie
Associate

Connecticut

Email: mpe@jordenusa.com
Phone: 860.392.5012
Fax: 860.392.5058

Michael G. Petrie practices in the areas of employment litigation and labor and employment counseling. He represents employers and management in claims of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, breach of employment contracts, violation of wage and hour laws, negligence/intentional infliction of emotional distress and other employment disputes. Mr. Petrie appears before state and federal courts and administrative agencies, including the Department of Labor, Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Mr. Petrie also counsels and advises in-house legal counsel, senior management and human resources professionals in preventive employment practices and litigation avoidance techniques involving compliance with federal, state and local employment laws; employee handbooks and policies; conducting proper workplace investigations; hiring and termination decisions; discipline and performance management; training supervisory employees; employment agreements; workplace violence; accommodation of individuals with disabilities; family and medical leave; various employment contracts; and state and federal wage and hour laws. He frequently presents seminars and writes articles on various labor and employment law topics.

Mr. Petrie also represents and defends other attorneys against claims of legal malpractice and related claims.

Representative Matters

• Beary v. ING Life Ins. and Annuity Co., ___ F.Supp.2d ___, 2007 WL 3274426, (D.Conn. 2007)
• Sebold v. City of Middletown, 2007 WL 2782527, (D.Conn. Sep 21, 2007)
• Velez v. Town of Darien, 3:05cv01803(MRK) (D.Conn. Oct. 19, 2007)
• Boland v. Town of Newington, 2007 WL 2071630, (D.Conn. Jul 16, 2007)
• Morron v. City of Middletown, 464 F.Supp.2d 111, (D.Conn. Dec 04, 2006)
• Clayton v. City of Middletown, 237 F.R.D. 538, (D.Conn. Oct 10, 2006)
• Favale v. Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport, 235 F.R.D. 553, (D.Conn. Jun 06, 2006)
• Whitaker v. Clear Channel Broadcasting, Inc., 2005 WL 3478352, (D.Conn. Dec 19, 2005)
• Favale v. Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport, 233 F.R.D. 243, (D.Conn. Nov 08, 2005)

Speeches and Publications

• Speaker: "Top Ten Employment Issues In 2008," Human Resource Association of Central Connecticut, January 23, 2008.
• Speaker: "Family and Medical Leave Act Master Class," May 8, 2007, Cromwell, CT
• Speaker: "Family and Medical Leave Act Master Class," September 19, 2007, Middletown, CT
• Speak English or nothing at all, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 15, Issue 6, June 2007
• You don't look a day over 40: Court refines standard for proving age discrimination, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 13, Issue 7, July 2005
• Transit Authority slapped with punitive damages despite immunity defense, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 13, Issue 9, September 2005
• U.S. Supreme Court to review FedEx discrimination case, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 15, Issue 7, July 2007
• How to get out of court and stay out, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 15, Issue 7, July 2007
• Failure to control diabetes renders employee a direct threat, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 13, Issue 9, September 2005
• Thinking isn't a major life activity, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 13, Issue 11, November 2005
• Employee with excessive absences didn't perform essential job functions, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 16, Issue 2, February 2008
• Failure to abide by settlement agreement yields discrimination finding, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 14, Issue 8, August 2006
• Employer slapped with double damages for failing to pay vacation, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 14, Issue 9, September 2006
• Offer of full relief to former employee heads off class action, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 15, Issue 1, January 2007
• Contract claim survives death, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 14, Issue 6, June 2006
• Labor law shields employer from certain claims, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 14, Issue 1, January 2006
• Employee who snoozes on the job loses his job, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 15, Issue 4, April 2007
• How similar must 'similarly situated' employees be?, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 13, Issue 7, July 2005
• City found immune from intentional tort liability, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 14, Issue 1, January 2006
• Monitoring and controlling off-duty behavior, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 14, Issue 2, February 2006
• Written discipline can lead to defamation claim, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 13, Issue 3, March 2005
• Any stray remarks you make can and will be used against you, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 15, Issue 5, May 2007
• Employer can't question former employees about immigration status, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 15, Issue 5, May 2007
• Overreaction to performance issues doesn't prove discrimination, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 14, Issue 4, April 2006
• The matrix — vindicated, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 14, Issue 10, October 2006
• Isolated incidents don't prove hostile environment, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 14, Issue 12, December 2006
• Stray remarks may prove age animus, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 15, Issue 12, December 2007
• Fire my wife, please!, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 15, Issue 10, October 2007
• 'Reasonable suspicion' and drug testing, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 16, Issue 1, January 2008
• Complaint by employee's husband insufficient for retaliation claim, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 14, Issue 9, September 2006
• Do any of your employees refuse to wear makeup? You may be able to fire them, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 13, Issue 2, February 2005
• Quality-control program may have converted independent contractor to employee, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 16, Issue 1, January 2008
• Gender-bender lawsuit ruled out of bounds under Title VII, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 13, Issue 4, April 2005
• Welcome aboard — you're fired!, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 15, Issue 8, August 2007
• What if an employee keeps asking for a raise?, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 15, Issue 9, September 2007
• Using phantom accounts to calculate retirement benefits violated ERISA, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 14, Issue 3, March 2006
• Statements about shareholders' welfare deemed a matter of public concern, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 14, Issue 3, March 2006
• Reconsider before ordering that second keg for the annual summer picnic, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 13, Issue 5, May 2005
• Transfer, unfavorable evaluation weren't retaliation for harassment complaint, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 13, Issue 8, August 2005
• New path for whistleblower claims under Connecticut's corporate accountability law, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 13, Issue 6, June 2005
• There's no substitute for hours worked, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 14, Issue 5, May 2006
• Connecticut high court clarifies CFMLA definition of 'accumulated sick time', Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 15, Issue 9, September 2007
• FedEx doesn't deliver workers' compensation benefits, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 15, Issue 3, March 2007
• Elevator union runs afoul of secondary boycott prohibition, Connecticut Employment Law Letter, Vol. 13, Issue 12, December 2005
• Contributing Author: "50 Employment Laws in 50 States," M. Lee Smith Publishing, 2005 - 2007