Mark C. Knoth

Mark chairs the firm’s Labor, Employment, Employee Benefits & ERISA Practice Group. On a daily basis, Mark counsels and advises business owners, managers and human resources professionals on workplace issues including civil rights and anti-discrimination laws; employee discipline; wage and hour; overtime; employee leaves; reasonable accommodations; veterans issues; picketing; secondary boycotts; reductions in force; drug testing; unemployment compensation; affirmative action; and union organizing campaigns, among other matters. He additionally drafts employee policies, handbooks, contracts, and covenants not to compete, and investigates threats of violence, allegations of harassment, and other employee misconduct.

Mark has successfully represented employers in hearings, trials, and appeals in federal and state courts on a variety of employment law claims including, race, sex and national origin cases alleging discrimination, retaliation and harassment under Title VII; disability and failure to accommodate claims under the ADA; age discrimination claims under the ADEA; retaliation and failure to reinstate claims under the FMLA; claims alleging failure to pay wages and overtime under the FLSA; employee benefit claims under ERISA; breach of covenants not to compete claims; wrongful termination claims and numerous other State and Federal claims.  A number of cases Mark has successfully handled have become published cases.

Mark represents employers in investigations conducted by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, the Michigan and U.S. Departments of Labor, and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. As a special mediator for the EEOC, Mark facilitates the resolution of charges of discrimination brought against employers.

Mark’s broad range of experience also includes traditional labor relations matters such as negotiating collective bargaining agreements, trying discharge and contract interpretation grievances in labor arbitration, and he appears before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Michigan Employment Relations Commission at unit clarification hearings and union certification elections, and unfair labor practice proceedings.

Mark frequently speaks to employer groups, and trains human resources managers on a variety of employment-related legal topics. He also writes on subjects related to his practice and is a contributing editor to a nationally recognized publication. Mark is conversational in German.

Mark was named to The Best Lawyers in America®, by Woodward/White, Inc. in the area of management side employment law. He also has been awarded and maintains the Martindale-Hubbell AV rating, reflecting preeminence in his legal ability and ethical standards. Mark has also received an Excellent rating through Avvo.com.  Mark was also selected by DBusiness magazine as one of Detroit’s Top Lawyers in Metro Detroit for Labor and Employment Law for 2015.