Robert T. Quackenboss

Bob litigates complex employment, labor and business disputes. Bob is a litigator who represents businesses in resolving their complex labor, employment, trade secret, non-compete and related commercial disputes. He is recognized by Chambers USA as a leader in Labor & Employment, and as a Labor & Employment Star in Benchmark Litigation’s Rankings. He advises employers regarding union organizing activities, manages union election campaigns and litigates labor arbitrations nationwide. He also serves as co-chair of the firm’s Unfair Competition and Information Protection Task Force, which concentrates on trade secret theft, restrictive covenant and non-competition matters. He handles complex employment discrimination, harassment, and wage-and-hour disputes, including class and collective actions.

Bob’s practice includes a focus on data and emerging technology in the workplace. He designs and defends programs for conducting criminal background checks in the hiring process, and is a leader in the firm’s L&E Emerging Technology Practice Group.

He is admitted to practice in the US District Courts for the Districts of Maryland, Washington, DC, the Southern District of New York, New Jersey, and Georgia; the US Courts of Appeals for the Second, Fourth, Eleventh and DC Circuits; and the state courts of Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Georgia and Washington, DC.

• Defended numerous class action lawsuits alleging violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act with regard to criminal background checks in the hiring process; designed background check programs for nationwide employers, and consulted regarding 50-state compliance on background check policies.
• Advised numerous employers on the design of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies and practices, and associated employment and labor risks.
• Advised global online retailer about labor complications and surrounding legal issues regarding the integration and implementation of robotics into the company supply chair and distribution centers.
• Coordinated union election campaigns for employers, resulting in multiple employer victories and petition withdrawals, and advised numerous clients on advance preparation for union organizing, “ambush” election petitions, and adapting to the NLRB’s evolving election rules.
• Designed national labor relations programs and policies for retail, manufacturing and other clients, including strategic plans for expansion and migration into the nation’s most active and aggressive union markets.
• Advised and defended political, media, lobbying and business entities targeted by organized labor and NGOs in corporate-style campaigns, including implementation of physical security measures, strategic public communications and related litigation.
• Prosecuted and defended multi-state trade secret, non-compete and non-disclosure matters within numerous industries, including nuclear waste storage, financial services, computer software design, executive recruiting, television broadcasting, advertising and public relations, physician group services, banking, grocery retail, acoustics engineering, home improvement warehouse retail, prison commissary services, and many others.
• Defended class and collective action lawsuits alleging statutory employment violations and business torts, including wage-hour violations, position misclassification under the Fair Labor Standards Act, violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act flowing from the conduct of criminal background checks, race discrimination and disparate impact claims, among others.
• Defended statistics-driven class action lawsuits and government investigations regarding pay patterns across race, gender and age groups; life insurance premium charges across racial groups, and labor economics trends in various markets.
• Defended administrative enforcement actions and directed investigations by the EEOC and DOL on a range of claims, including disparate impact race charges, pay bias and Equal Pay Act claims, wage theft and position misclassification.
• Litigated a wide variety of business disputes, including commercial contract claims, product liability, construction and real estate matters.
• Defended arbitrations before and against the NLRB regarding unfair labor practice charges, and class arbitrations regarding union salting and campaign misconduct allegations.

• Listed as a Litigation Star (2025) and a Labor and Employment Star (2019-2024), District of Columbia, Benchmark Litigation
• Recognized as a Leader in Labor & Employment, District of Columbia, Chambers USA, 2023-2024
• Selected for inclusion in ‘Georgia Super Lawyers’ (Employment and Labor), as published in Atlanta Magazine and Georgia Super Lawyers magazine®, March 2008, 2009 and 2010