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John B. Lewis

John Lewis concentrates his practice on the resolution of complex employment, civil rights and regulatory disputes, including the defense and oversight of class action litigation. He is the Chair of the firm’s Employment and Civil Rights Class Action Team and editor of its Class Actions Newsletter. He is also a regular contributor to Baker Hostetler’s Employment Class Action Blog, which offers commentary on recent class action decisions and trends affecting employers. Mr. Lewis has represented domestic and foreign organizations in a wide range of industries, including retail, railway, insurance, securities, telecommunications, automotive, media, financial, manufacturing, utility, hotel, computer, healthcare, food distribution and sports organizations.

The majority of Mr. Lewis’s time is devoted to litigation, appellate practice and alternative dispute resolution procedures involving federal and state anti-discrimination and fair housing laws, the Railway Labor Act, the Civil Rights Acts, the Federal Reserve Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and wrongful discharge, individual employment contract, trade secret, non-competition and work-related tort claims.

Mr. Lewis also has defended insurance companies and retailers against claims that their policies and practices discriminate against minority customers or have an unlawful disparate impact on them. Mr. Lewis has participated in more than 75 cases before federal and state appellate courts presenting important issues regarding arbitration agreements, class actions, federal preemption, federal removal jurisdiction, wiretapping, employment claims, civil rights, regulatory and constitutional law.

Mr. Lewis is an elected member of The American Law Institute and a Fellow of the College of Labor & Employment Lawyers. In addition, he is a Master Bencher in the William K. Thomas Inn of Court. Mr. Lewis is listed in Who’s Who in America (1994-2010), Who’s Who in American Law (2002-2011), The Best Lawyers in America (1995-2010) and in the Chambers USA Guide: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. He was also named an “Ohio Super Lawyer” (2004-2010) and one of the “Nation’s Most Powerful Employment Attorneys—Top 100” by Human Resource Executive Magazine.

Mr. Lewis is a frequent speaker and author on employment and anti-discrimination law topics, including class actions, disparate impact analysis, workplace harassment, conducting internal investigations, electronic communications and workplace defamation law. In April 2011 he spoke on the ADAAA and the Genetic Information Non-Disclosure Act (GINA) for the Ohio State Bar Association in Columbus, Ohio. At the 45th Annual Midwest Labor and Employment Law Seminar he gave a presentation on “Privacy Issues in the Workplace: Have Electronic Communications and Monitoring Changed the Rules?” He is the author of the Employment Practice Self-Assessment Guide, Fourth Edition, published by Aegis Insurance Services, Inc.

Mr. Lewis is a member of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the Ohio State Bar Association and the Section of Labor & Employment Law and Committee on Equal Employment and Opportunity Law of the American Bar Association.

Some of Mr. Lewis’s representative reported decisions include:

• Aracri v. Dillards, Inc., 17 WH Cases 2d (BNA) 985 (S.D. Ohio 2011), (Duty to engage in class/collective arbitration)
• Nancee Thomas v. Jackson Hewitt, Inc., 2011-Ohio-618 (Ohio App. 2011), (Insufficient allegations of injury in putative class action)
• Stammco, L.L.C. v. United Tel. Co. of Ohio, 125 Ohio St. 3d 91 (Ohio Sup. Ct. 2010), (Improper class action definition)
• Nerswick v. CSX Transportation, Inc., 692 F. Supp. 2d 866 (S.D. Ohio 2010) (Railway Police and Section 1983 action)
• Corell v. CSX Transportation, Inc., 109 FEP Cases (BNA) 689 (6th Cir. 2010) (Alleged gender discrimination and pretext analysis)
• Ratkosky v. CSX Transportation, Inc., 29 IER Cases (BNA) 1693 (Ohio App. 2009) (Defamation and Railway Labor Act preemption)
• Bloedow v. CSX Transportation, Inc., (Bloedow II), 638 F. Supp. 2d 831 (N.D. Ohio 2009) (Res judicata and statute of limitations issues)
• Baldock v. CSX Transportation, Inc., 21 AD Cases (BNA) 990 (S.D. Ind. 2009) (ADA action by bipolar applicant)
• Mattox v. Dillards Inc., 2008-Ohio-6488 (Ohio App. 2008), (Enforcement of arbitration agreement without evidentiary hearing)
• Leffman v. Sprint Corporation, 481 F.3d 428 (6th Cir. 2007) (Seniority system and past act of discrimination)
• Housing Advocates, Inc. v. Farmers Ins. Co., 2006-Ohio-2467 (Ohio App. 2006) (Alleged discrimination against minorities by charging higher rates in major metropolitan areas)
• Housing Advocates, Inc. v. American Fire & Cas. Co., 2006-Ohio-4495 (Ohio App. 2006) (Alleged race discrimination in sale of homeowners insurance)
• American Train Dispatchers Ass’n v. CSX Transportation, Inc., 177 LRRM (BNA) 3237 (N.D. Ohio 2005) (Action to review arbitration award)
• Bloedow v. CSX Transportation, Inc., 319 F. Supp. 2d 782 (N.D. Ohio 2004) (Duty of fair representation and breach of contract under Railway Labor Act)
• Anthony v. United Telephone Co. of Ohio, 227 F. Supp. 2d 763 (N.D. Ohio 2002), aff’d, 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 21315 (6th Cir. 2004) (ADA and FMLA action)
• Rogers v. Norfolk Southern Corp., 304 F. Supp. 2d 961 (S.D. Ohio 2003) (ADA and Ohio disability action)
• Gulan v. Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, 8 WH Cases 2d (BNA) 1701, (N.D. Ohio 2003) (FMLA action)
• Norfolk Southern Railway Co. v. International Longshoreman’s Assn, Local 1913, 190 F. Supp. 2d 1021 (N.D. Ohio 2002) (Railway Labor Act action)
• Robinson v. Nationwide Mutual Ins. Co., 87 FEP Cases (BNA) 1592 (Ohio App. 2001) (Age discrimination action)
• Smoot v. United Transportation Union, 991 F. Supp. 913 (N.D. Ohio 1998), aff’d in part, 246 F.3d 633 (6th Cir. 2001) (duty of fair representation action with wiretap counterclaims)
• Barilla v. Patella, 144 Ohio App. 3d 524, 760 N.E.2d 898 (Cuyahoga Cty. 2001) (age discrimination, defamation, negligent identification and tortious interference claims)
• State ex Rel. Warren Newspapers, Inc. v. Petro, 80 Ohio St. 3d 261 (1997) (Public Records Act action)