David M. Cessante

Experience

Dave’s experience includes defending litigation involving:

• Discrimination, retaliation, and harassment claims under Title VII, the ADEA, the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), and the Equal Pay Act (EPA);
• Single and collective action cases under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA);
• Interference and retaliation claims under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA);
• Unfair labor practice charges under the NLRA and LMRA;
• Withdrawal liability and underpayment and overpayment claims involving multi-employer pension plans under ERISA and the MPPAA;
• Wage and hour audits before the DOL;
• Affirmative action plan audits before the OFCCP; and
• Violations of non-compete, non-solicitation, and confidentiality agreements.

In addition to his breadth of litigation experience, Dave has experience:

• Negotiating collective bargaining agreements;
• Guiding employers through union organizing campaigns;
• Drafting executive and employment agreements;
• Drafting employee handbooks and HR policies;
• Drafting sales commission, bonus, and compensation agreements;
• Drafting non-competition, non-solicitation, confidentiality, and work-for-hire agreements;
• Drafting staffing and professional employer organization (PEO) agreements; and
• Drafting affirmative action plans for federal contractors and subcontractors.

Publications

• Co-author of the “Family and Medical Leave Act” section, Institute of Continuing Legal Education’s Employment Law in Michigan, An Employer’s Guide, since 2005
• Quoted in diginomica, “Reverse Discrimination – The Other Side of the coin for HR,” November 2016
• Quoted in diginomica, “Will the sharing economy strike the right legal balance between empowering and exploiting workers?” April 2015
• “Update of FMLA Cases from the Sixth Circuit and Eastern District of Michigan,” Laches Oakland County Bar Association, August 2006
• “Combating Hostile Work Environment Sexual Harassment Liability with an Effective Sexual Harassment Policy,” Laches Oakland County Bar Association, August 2002
• “An Indirect Approach to Direct Evidence: An Analysis of the Michigan Supreme Court’s Seminal Ruling on Direct Evidence in Debrow v. Century 21 Great Lakes, Inc.,” Laches Oakland County Bar Association, August 2001

• “Human Resources in 2021: Moving forward with the right strategy” MiCIA Magazine, Volume 2 Issue 4
• David M. Cessante Quoted in diginomica: Reverse Discrimination – The Other Side of the Coin for HR to Tackle, November 2016
• Diginomica: Will the sharing economy strike the right legal balance between empowering and exploiting workers?

• “Current Trends in Pay Equity” Webinar, 2018
• SE MI LE Conference 2016 Worker Classification
• Webinar: Employment Law in the Staffing World (Part 2)
• Webinar: Employment Law in the Staffing World (Part 1)
• Webinar: Affirmative Action Requirements
• Dealing with Common Problems Under the ADA and FMLA

• WEBINAR: “Current Trends in Pay Equity”