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Robert K. Sholl is a shareholder in Reinhart’s Labor and Employment and Litigation practices. He advises and defends employers in the full range of labor and employment law matters.

Best Lawyers in America twice named Mr. Sholl the Milwaukee “Lawyer of the Year,” in 2021 (Employment Law-Management) and in 2017 (Litigation-Labor and Employment Law). It lists him in three separate categories: Litigation-Labor and Employment Law; Labor Law-Management; and Employment Law-Management.

Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business ranks Mr. Sholl in the top tier of Wisconsin Labor and Employment attorneys (one of only seven Wisconsin attorneys achieving this ranking).

Mr. Sholl represents management exclusively. His employment practice encompasses employment discrimination, workplace harassment, non-compete agreements, whistleblower and breach of employment contract lawsuits before state and federal agencies and courts. He defends employers in unemployment and worker’s compensation hearings, wage/hour disputes (including class actions) and employee health and safety disputes. His traditional labor practice includes collective bargaining, unfair labor practice hearings before the National Labor Relations Board, and labor arbitrations.

Education

  • J.D., University of Chicago Law School
  • M.A., Industrial Relations, University of Warwick Business School (Coventry, England)
  • A.B., Dartmouth College (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Highest Distinction in Major, Senior Fellow)

Bar Admissions

Wisconsin | Illinois

Matters

  • Successfully defends race, age, disability, retaliation and other employment discrimination claims brought after employers terminate underperforming employees. Most recently, he obtained a directed verdict in a disability discrimination lawsuit in which the plaintiff alleged he was terminated the day after he announced he needed surgery for a chronic medical condition and would be off of work for a significant period of time.
  • Counsels numerous companies through reductions-in-force, including assisting unionized employers in bargaining over the effects of mass layoffs and in fulfilling the obligations imposed by their collective bargaining agreements and by the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.
  • Successfully defends unionized employers in labor arbitrations. Recently, in a case in which the union challenged the employer’s right to require post-accident medical testing, he obtained an arbitration decision ordering the employee to undergo evaluation by an independent health care provider, thereby allowing the employer to determine whether the employee was “fit for duty” and to satisfy its duty to maintain a safe workplace.

Honors & Affiliations

Honors

  • Fellow of the American Bar Foundation
  • Fellow, Wisconsin Law Foundation
  • Best Lawyers in America "Lawyer of the Year" Employment Law - Management (2021)
  • Best Lawyers in America “Lawyer of the Year” Litigation - Labor and Employment Law (2017)
  • Best Lawyers in America (Employment Law-Management; Labor Law-Management; Litigation-Labor and Employment Law)
  • Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business (Labor & Employment)
  • Super Lawyers: Super Lawyer - Wisconsin (Labor & Employment) 
  • Senior Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America, The Trial Lawyer Honorary Society
  • Wisconsin Top Rated Lawyer in Labor and Employment, Martindale-Hubbell AV® Preeminent Peer Review Rated

Affiliations

  • State Bar of Wisconsin (Chair of the Board of Directors of the Labor & Employment Law Section)
  • Labor and Employment Relations Association, Wisconsin Chapter (former President and Vice President/Management)
  • Metro Milwaukee Society for Human Resources Management, Employment Practices Committee (past Co-Chair)
  • Future Milwaukee graduate
  • Milwaukee Children's Choir (former President)
  • Rotary Club of Milwaukee (former Chair of Personnel Committee and Co-Chair of Tyrotarian Committee)
  • St. Matthew's Ev. Lutheran Church (Lay Assistant; Member, Personnel Committee; former Council member)
  • Three Harbors Council, Boy Scouts of America (Recipient of the Silver Beaver Award; Member of Health and Safety Committee and Properties Committee; former Wood Badge Staff)

News & Insights

Publications

  • Co-author of a three-volume treatise for attorneys, Wisconsin Employment Law, and co-author of Hiring and Firing in Wisconsin, each published by the State Bar of Wisconsin and updated bi-annually; the latter received the Award of Professional Excellence from the American Continuing Legal Education Association.
  • Co-author of "Age Discrimination and the Modern Reduction in Force," published in the Marquette Law Review.
  • Co-author of "Agreements to Arbitrate Statutory Employment Claims," "Plant Closing Legislation" and "Family & Medical Leave Acts:  Where Lie the 'Greater Rights'?," all three articles published in the Wisconsin Lawyer; the last was awarded a Certificate of Commendation by the State Bar of Wisconsin.
  • Author of "Wrongful Discharge in Wisconsin:  The Supreme Court Retrenches," "Does Wisconsin's Fair Employment Act Provide a Private Civil Cause of Action?" and "An Employment Discrimination Hearing on the Merits-If Merited," all three articles published in the Milwaukee Lawyer.
  • Author, "USA Regional Employment, Third Edition, Wisconsin," Chambers and Partners (September 2020)
  • Author, "USA Regional Employment, Second Edition, Wisconsin," Chambers and Partners (September 2019)