Robert W. Vyverberg is a partner in Holland & Knight's Chicago office and serves as the national Practice Group Leader for the firm's Labor, Employment and Benefits Practice Group. Mr. Vyverberg focuses his practice on labor and employment law. He also defends product liability actions and represents parties in federal and state appellate proceedings.
In his employment practice, Mr. Vyverberg defends private and public employers in all types of individual and class/collective action litigation, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, breach of contract, wage/hour, whistleblower, trade secret, intentional tort and defamation actions. He represents employers in administrative proceedings before federal, state and local agencies, mediations and arbitration, and lawsuits brought under a variety of statutes, including Title VII, Section 1981, ADEA, ADA, ERISA, FLSA, FMLA, USERRA, OSHA, and the civil rights and employment statutes of states and local municipalities across the country. Mr. Vyverberg also counsels and trains employers on all types of non-litigation matters, including the development and implementation of alternative dispute resolution programs, employer responses to government inquiries, compliance investigations, drafting EEO and other personnel policies, investigating and addressing employee complaints, policy and procedure audits, wage and hour issues, and terminations and reductions in force. He is a frequent lecturer and author on workplace and employment law issues.
Mr. Vyverberg also has extensive experience defending product liability cases involving a wide range of products, including tires, single and multi-piece vehicle rims, motor vehicles, and construction equipment. He also has litigated numerous premises liability, consumer fraud, and contract and other commercial disputes.
Throughout his career, Mr. Vyverberg’s national practice has included the representation of clients in manufacturing, utility, retail, financial services, distribution/logistics, hospitality, high tech, transportation and healthcare industries, in connection with matters in more than 40 states and the District of Columbia. He has represented a major tire manufacturer as one of its national counsel for many years, defending and resolving lawsuits and claims and supervising and coordinating other counsel. Mr. Vyverberg has mediated more than 70 cases.
