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Morgan Lewis
Parlo

Christopher A. Parlo

Partner

chris.parlo@morganlewis.com

New York Phone +1.212.309.6062 Fax +1.212.309.6001

101 Park Ave.//New York, NY 10178-0060//United States

Christopher A. Parlo represents and counsels management clients in all aspects of labor and employment law. As co-leader of the firm’s wage and hour litigation and counseling practice and its independent contractor team, Chris focuses on the defense of US federal and state wage and hour class and collective actions. He also defends employers in individual and complex employee litigation, including as lead trial counsel in both jury and bench trial settings. Chris is also a co-leader of the firm’s insurance industry team, which focuses on thought leadership in the industry and coordinated representation of clients across all of the firm’s practice areas.

Chris has served as lead counsel in more than 110 wage and hour class and collective actions in numerous jurisdictions throughout the United States, and has had a role in dozens more.

Chris opposes and has defeated efforts to certify classes and/or to send notice of the actions, and has experience in the decertification of actions. He has successfully compelled individual named plaintiffs into arbitration, thereby defeating class status, and obtained summary judgment on individual named plaintiff claims and on claims of the class.

Chris also has experience in the determination of complicated class-based damages and limitation of class discovery. He helps clients avoid class discovery disputes, supervises paperless electronic discovery systems involving millions of documents, and litigates privilege issues. Chris has successfully mediated and settled hundreds of actions, drafted numerous complicated settlement documents and settlement implementation processes, and supervised settlement administration in many multi-thousand-plaintiff actions.

Clients rely on Chris’s counsel on wage and hour compliance and audit issues, including maintenance and enhancement of white collar, outside sales, and other exemptions; defense of independent contractor, statutory employee and franchise models; development of proactive solutions to wage and hour problems; and review and redesign of compensation and expense reimbursement policies and programs. He provides advice and counsel in connection with client self-audits and US Department of Labor (DOL) and state wage and hour audits and investigations. Chris is a frequent speaker on Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) issues, including how to avoid and defeat class and collective actions, and how to avoid—and if needed, litigate—independent contractor challenges. He has also participated with clients in presenting positions to the DOL to seek relief from and to change aspects of the FLSA, including through new opinion letters.

Chris also handles discrimination cases, including matters involving traditional and newly evolving employee claims against employers and corporate officers. He also represents employers in cases involving wrongful discharge, retaliation, breach of contract, and employment-related torts.

In the employee benefits context, Chris has handled major class action cases in both the nonbargaining and collective bargaining contexts. His experience includes complex litigation challenging employer plan design decisions, and individual claims of denial of benefits, breach of fiduciary duty, and benefits discrimination. 

Also a seasoned trial lawyer, Chris has tried numerous bench and jury trials, and represents clients in arbitrations and administrative proceedings at the local, state, and federal levels.

Awards and Affiliations

Recognized, Leading US Corporate Employment Lawyer, Lawdragon 500 (2020, 2021)

Recommended, Labor and employment: Labor and employment disputes (including collective actions): defense, The Legal 500 US (2020, 2021)

Recognized, Litigation – Labor and Employment, New York, The Best Lawyers in America (2020–2022)

Ranked, Labor & Employment, New York, Chambers USA (2019–2021) 

Member, Practice Group of the Year, Employment, Law360 (2017, 2019)

Recipient, M.H. Goldstein Memorial Prize, Labor Law

Fellow, College of Labor and Employment Lawyers

Admissions

  • New York

Education

  • University of Pennsylvania Law School, 1988, J.D.
  • State University of New York at Albany, 1985, B.A.

Sectors

  • Technology
  • Financial Services
  • Retail & Ecommerce
  • Insurance

Services

  • Labor, Employment & Benefits
  • Wage And Hour Litigation & Counseling
  • Individual Employee Litigation & Arbitration
  • Systemic Employment Litigation
  • Broker-Dealer Regulation & Compliance

Regions

  • North America

Events

4/30/2020 - 2020 Insurance Industry Employers Roundtable
5/29/2018 - California Supreme Court Decisions with Significant Impact on California Employers
7/28/2015 - DOL’s New Interpretation of Independent Contractor Classification Test: What Should Employers Do?
4/9/2015 - The Fluctuating Workweek in Flux: Recent Challenges and Solutions
6/6/2013 - NYU 66th Annual Conference on Labor: Regulation of Compensation
1/10/2013 - Independent Contractor Misclassification Issues and the 2013 Post-Election Risk Landscape
12/7/2012 - National Employment Law Institute – Employment Law Conference: Featured Panels
8/13/2012 - Brookhaven National Laboratory's 2012 Department of Energy Contractors Human Resources Meeting
5/3/2012 - Mid-Year Employment Law Conference (National Employment Law Institute)
5/14/2011 - 2011 ALIC Annual Meeting: Surviving and Thriving After Financial Reform
12/9/2010 - National Employment Law Institute's Employment Law Conference
6/24/2010 - 2010 Labor and Employment Summer Webcast Series – Independent Contractors: The Landscape of Risk for Employers
1/7/2010 - The Knowledge Congress Webcast Series: Mitigating Risks of Social Networking Activity by Your Employees

News

11/11/2021 - Lawdragon's Leading Corporate Employment Lawyers of America, Lawdragon
10/16/2018 - Gig Economy Prime Target for Labor Department Opinions (Corrected), Bloomberg Law
6/28/2017 - Morgan Lewis Partners Elected Fellows of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers
11/28/2016 - Decision Blocking OT Rule Creates Uncertainty for Employers - Lawyers, Reuters Westlaw Practitioner Insights
3/23/2016 - Morgan Lewis Advises Bunker Hill Capital in Sale of Smith & Wollensky to Danu Partners

Publications

3/25/2022 - Recent Legal Developments Could Significantly Impact Employer Arbitration Agreements
12/20/2021 - Massachusetts SJC Adopts FLSA ‘Joint Employer’ Test for Minimum Wage & Overtime Laws
5/20/2020 - DOL Removes Industry List, More Employers May Qualify for Retail, Service Establishment Exemption
2/3/2020 - Seventh Circuit: No FLSA Collective Action Notice for Workers Subject to Individual Arbitration Agreements
1/30/2019 - NLRB Returns to Independent Contractor Fundamentals in SuperShuttle
1/22/2018 - DOL Adopts New Standard for Determining Whether Unpaid Interns Are ‘Employees’
6/8/2017 - DOL Withdraws Independent Contractor and Joint Employer Guidance
12/19/2016 - NY State Prepared to Increase Salary Level for Certain Overtime Exceptions
11/23/2016 - Texas Court Enjoins Most of DOL’s New Overtime Regulations
4/11/2016 - Company-Contractor Relationships Draw Scrutiny, The National Law Journal
4/7/2016 - New York Enacts Paid Family Leave Law and Minimum Wage Increases
1/21/2016 - DOL Issues Interpretation to Expand Joint-Employer Liability
7/16/2015 - DOL Issues Aggressive Interpretation of Independent Contractor Classification
7/7/2015 - Second Circuit Establishes New Test for Unpaid Intern Claims
6/26/2015 - Uniforms And Unpaid Interns And Minimum Wage! Oh, My!, Law360
6/8/2015 - Hot Topics in Wage and Hour Compliance
December 2013 - Hot Topics Under Wage and Hour Law, presented at the National Employment Law Institute Employment Law Conference
6/6/2013 - Panelist, Substantive Issues Under the FLSA, presented at the NYU 66th Annual Conference on Labor: Regulation of Compensation
May 2013 - FLSA Update, presented at the 2013 Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute
2/20/2013 - DOL Proposes Survey on Independent Contractor Misclassification
1/14/2013 - Independent Contractor Misclassification Issues and the 2013 Post-Election Risk Landscape
December 2012 - Independent Contractor Misclassification, presented at the National Employment Law Institute's Mid-Year Employment Law Conferenc
8/13/2012 - Other Hot Topics Under the Wage and Hour and Employment Laws, presented at Brookhaven National Laboratory's 2012 Department of Energy Contractors Human Resources Meeting
3/25/2012 - Independent Contractor Misclassification, presented at the National Employment Law Institute's Mid-Year Employment Law Conference
March 2011 - Independent Contractor Misclassification, presented at an Insurance Industry Roundtable
Summer 2010 - Age Discrimination: Legal Trends that Are Affecting an Aging Workforce, presented for the Morgan Lewis 2010 Labor and Employment Summer Webcast Series
7/28/2010 - Post-Quon Supreme Court Decision: The Future Landscape of Web 2.0 Technology Issues in the Workplace
6/24/2010 - Independent Contractors: The Landscape of Risk for Employers, presented for the Morgan Lewis 2010 Labor and Employment Summer Webcast Series
May 2010 - FLSA Wage and Hour Update and 2010 FLSA Update – In Depth, presented at the 27th Annual Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute
2/10/2010 - Managing Wage and Hour Investigations and Litigation, presented for a PLI Managing Wage & Hour Risks Seminar
1/7/2010 - Mitigating Risks of Social Networking Activity by Your Employees, presented for The Knowledge Congress Webcast Series