Overview
Sean Crotty is a business-minded employment law counselor, helping clients address situations in a practical way to avoid liability under the myriad of federal, state, and local employment and labor laws. He also serves as lead counsel in lawsuits involving employment, wage-and-hour, non-compete, and trade secret claims.
- Provides preventative, forward-thinking counseling and policies to help employers avoid liability for discrimination, harassment, and retaliation
- Serves as primary labor and employment counsel on multimillion-dollar corporate mergers and acquisitions
- Helps private and publicly-traded clients navigate high-level executive separations
- Negotiates executive employment and severance agreements
- Defends employers in discrimination and other lawsuits brought under federal and state law, including the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act, the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, the Whistleblowers Protection Act, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, Title VII, and the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act
- Counsels national and international companies on how to establish employee operations in Michigan
- Guides clients in structuring both large- and small-scale workforce reductions
Services
Practice Areas
Industries
Experience
Representative Matters
- Represented automotive supplier before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, which affirmed the dismissal of a USERRA claim based on a shortened contractual limitations period; Oswald v. BAE Industries, Inc., 2012 WL 1700704 (6th Cir. 2012)
- Prevailed on appeal on behalf of an automotive die manufacturer; upholding the NLRB’s determination that an employee who falsified another employee’s involvement in a complaint to management may be lawfully discharged; UAW v. NLRB and Ogihara Corp., 514 F.3d 574 (6th Cir. 2008)
- Defended and achieved favorable settlement of a nationwide collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act involving thousands of putative class members
- Obtained temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions against a variety of types of employees, including mortgage brokers, event emcees, engineers, and sales representatives based on restrictive covenant and trade secret claims
- Defended and achieved favorable settlement of seven-figure sales representative commission lawsuit
- Obtained multimillion-dollar settlement in a vendor dispute with a municipal entity
- Obtained summary judgment and awarded costs in two FMLA interference and retaliation cases in a Michigan federal court
- Obtained peremptory reversal of adverse Wayne County Circuit Court decision, establishing that a casino was not liable when a valet driver engaged in an altercation with a customer
- Obtained summary disposition of hybrid FMLA and race harassment claim in Macomb County Circuit Court
- Obtained summary judgment in a California federal court of a disability discrimination claims based on the employee’s failure to timely arbitrate the claim under a collective bargaining agreement
- Successfully defended against union organizing efforts for a restaurant chain
Prior Experience
- Hertz, Schram & Saretsky P.C., Associate, 2003-2004
- United States Marine Corps Reserves, 1996-2004
Clerkships
- Justice Marilyn Kelly, Michigan Supreme Court, Law Clerk, 2002-2003
Credentials
Education
Rutgers School of Law, J.D.
- with honors; M. Donald Kepmer Award; Phillip J. Levin Scholarship; Charles Richter Memorial Scholarship; First-Year Writing Award
- Rutgers Law Journal, Managing Editor; Rutgers School of Law Fellow
University of Michigan, B.A.
- History
Admissions
- Michigan
Court Admissions
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Recognition
Awards
- Listed in Chambers USA, 2019-2024
- Recognized in Labor & Employment in Michigan, Chambers USA states:
- "Department chair Sean Crotty's practice covers both contentious and noncontentious employment matters. He defends employers against claims brought under federal and state laws as well as providing compliance and due diligence advice." One client adds, "Sean is great to work with."
- Clients describe Sean as “prompt, courteous and acts as a partner to our business."
- "Sean has been so wonderful to work with. He's always helpful and responsive. He's always our first point of contact when we need legal advice."
- "Sean Crotty is incredibly responsive and regularly demonstrates superior judgment."
- Recognized in Labor & Employment in Michigan, Chambers USA states:
- Crain's Detroit Business, 2023
- Recognized as a Notable Leader in Employment & Labor Law
- Michigan Super Lawyers, 2020-2024
- Recognized as a Rising Star, 2008-2017
- DBusiness, Top Lawyers, 2016
- The Best Lawyers in America
- Recognized in practice areas of:
- Employment Law - Management, 2024-2025
- Labor Law - Management, 2025
- Litigation - Labor and Employment, 2024-2025
- Recognized in practice areas of:
Professional & Community Involvement
Society for Human Resource Management, Member
State Bar of Michigan
- Labor and Employment Law Section
- Civil Procedure and Courts Committee, Member, 2010-2016
Frequent Presenter – Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program
News & Insights
News
Press Releases
Events
Alerts
Publications
Blog Posts
From Chambers USA:
Clients describe Sean as “prompt, courteous and acts as a partner to our business."