Month: April 2019

4 Conn Maciel Carey Attorneys in Washington, DC Recognized as Super Lawyers

Theresa Jordan Leave a comment

Conn Maciel Carey LLP is excited to share that five of its attorneys based in Washington, DC have been recognized by Super Lawyers in 2019 in the fields of Labor & Employment and Workplace Safety Law.  sl-badge-l-w-2019Super Lawyers is a research-driven and peer-influenced rating service featuring exceptional attorneys out of select legal practice areas.  The attorneys selected are acknowledged for acquiring extraordinary professional achievement and peer recognition in their discrete areas of practice.

Eric J. Conn (Super Lawyer) is a founding partner of Conn Maciel Carey and Chair of the firm’s national OSHA • Workplace Safety Practice Group. His practice focuses exclusively on issues involving occupational safety and health law.  Before launching his own OSHA Practice, Mr. Conn practiced for more than a decade alongside the former first General Counsel of the OSH Review Commission.  Mr. Conn and his OSHA Team at Conn Maciel Carey develop safety and health regulatory strategies for employers across all industries.

Prior to founding Conn Maciel Carey, Mr. Conn was Head of an OSHA practice group that was honored as the “Occupational Health & Safety Law Firm of the Year” by Corporate INTL Magazine in its 2014 Global Awards. In 2013 and 2014, he was named a “Rising Star” by Washington, DC Super Lawyers, and as a Super Lawyer every year since.  He has also been selected for inclusion in the Washington Post’s Top-Rated Lawyers list in Washington, DC.

Kara M. Maciel (Super Lawyer) is a founding partner of Conn Maciel Carey and Chair of the firm’s national Labor • Employment Practice Group. She focuses her practice on representing employers in all aspects of the employment relationship. Continue reading →

Conn Maciel Carey Opens Columbus, Ohio Office

Nick Scala 1 Comment

Conn Maciel Carey LLP announced today the opening of its Columbus, Ohio office. It is the firm’s sixth office nationally and the second location in the Midwest. The new office represents another important step in the firm’s continued growth in the region, together with the opening of its Chicago office last year.

Columbus is a growing Midwest hub and is centrally located to many of the nation’s current and historic industrial centers. With an expanded Midwest presence, Conn Maciel Carey attorneys now provide enhanced services to its national clients operating in the Midwest.

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“We are excited about our expanding Midwest presence” said Managing Partner Bryan Carey. “The Columbus office will allow the firm to build upon the success of our 2018 launch of our Chicago office, offering clients operating in the central U.S. greater proximity to our attorneys, resources, and counsel.”

Nicholas W. Scala, a partner with the firm, will lead the Columbus office. Mr. Scala joined the Firm in 2016, founding the firm’s MSHA Practice Group, which he chairs. His practice services the mining industry, managing all interaction with, and contest of enforcement by, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) for companies operating in the coal, aggregates, industrial minerals, and cement industries. He also CMC Headshot (2017)supports the firm’s national OSHA Practice Group, representing general industry and construction companies in connection with inspections and enforcement actions by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Mr. Scala works with state mining associations in Ohio and Illinois and represents clients throughout the Midwest and Ohio River Valley regions. He was named a Super Lawyer Rising Star in Washington, D.C. in 2017, 2018, and 2019.

“The Columbus market offers a fantastic opportunity for not only our MSHA Practice, but for OSHA and Labor and Employment, as well,” said Scala. “Working with attorneys spanning the firm’s existing offices and groups, we will build upon the firm’s experience and proven client service, bringing additional value to the Midwest. Specific to our firm’s Workplace Safety Practice Group, Columbus is centrally located to several of the most active mining regions in the country, as well as a historically active area for regulatory enforcement over the construction and general industry sectors. It’s a growing and dynamic market that I am eager to grow the firm in.”

The Columbus office will expand Conn Maciel Carey’s national Labor and Employment and OSHA practice groups. The Labor and Employment Practice Group, led by founding partner Kara M. Maciel, provides employment defense in both state and federal courts, labor-management relations, as well as day-to-day counseling on a vast array of employment matters. The OSHA Practice Group, led by founding partner Eric J. Conn, represents a wide-range of clients across the country in all aspects of their interaction with OSHA and state OSH programs.

In addition to its Midwest offices, the boutique law firm, which was founded in 2014, has offices in Washington D.C.; Chicago, Illinois; Atlanta, Georgia; Los Angeles, California; and San Francisco, California.

Here is a link to a press release issued by the Firm about these exciting developments.

FMSHRC Commissioners Confirmed: Appeals of MSHA Enforcement to Continue

Nick Scala Leave a comment

By: Nicholas W. Scala

As of March 25, 2019, the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), the body which oversees operator and MSHA litigation under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (the Mine Act), has regained the ability to hear and decide cases for first time since August 2018. The swearing-in of Commissioner William I. Althen, Commissioner Arthur R. Traynor III, and Chairman Marco M. Rajkovich, Jr. reinstated quorum for the FMSHRC.

FMSHRC Confirmations SnipOn August 30, 2018, with the expiration of terms for then Commissioners Cohen and Althen, the FMSHRC no longer had the requisite minimum of three members to form a quorum, or the minimum number of Commissioners required to fully function. During that time, Commission authority was limited to deciding which cases it would hear on appeal, however, all appeals of Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) decisions under the Mine Act were stayed, awaiting confirmation of the presidential nominees from the Senate. These nominees were confirmed by the Senate on March 14—more than a year after Chairman Rajkovich’s nomination in January 2018.
In its role as the appellate body of ALJ decisions, the Commission fills an important role in the evolution of MSHA regulations and interpretations. Commission decisions are binding on the FMSHRC ALJs, as well as MSHA and operators, unless a decision is appealed to the federal court system and the Commission reversed.

The restoration of quorum comes with a growing docket of appeals before the Commissioners, with topics ranging from discrimination and protected activity for miners under the Mine Act, the scope of ALJ power in requiring evidence be produced to approve settlements, and when fall protection is or is not required to be worn.

The Commission will remain complete with its five members until the terms of Commissioners Jordan and Young expire in 2020. Yet, even if the nomination and confirmation process is as sluggish as it was this time around, the Commission will retain quorum with the three recently confirmed members until Commissioner Traynor’s term expires in 2022. The terms for Chairman Rajkovich and Commissioner Althen expire in 2024. With a full Commission, industry can hopefully expect guidance on many of the languishing legal issues litigated in the recent years with MSHA.