Welcome to KOHP.com

Eric J. Pelton
Member

Birmingham Office
280 North Old Woodward Avenue, Suite 400
Birmingham, Michigan 48009

epelton@kohp.com
P: 248.645.0000
F: 248.645.1385

Biography

Mr. Pelton is a founding member of the firm, and serves as its managing member. He has represented employers in litigation and concerning traditional labor matters for over 20 years. He has tried, arbitrated, and mediated dozens of cases throughout the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic States and the District of Columbia. He has also enjoyed representing clients on election law issues and previously served on the Michigan Board of State Canvassers.

Mr. Pelton has been identified by Chambers USA as a leader in the employment field in Michigan. He is also listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the employment and labor field. His practice has included the following areas:

Jury Trials. Mr. Pelton has successfully tried cases to juries on behalf of numerous clients in the automotive, beverage, restaurant and food service, garment, medical, radio and television, and retail industries in the federal courts and state courts of Michigan, Kentucky, and Wisconsin.

Class Actions. Mr. Pelton has an active class action practice. He was lead counsel representing a major retailer in defeating certification of a purported class of over 70,000 employees and former employees alleging off-the-clock work and denial of breaks.

Arbitrations and Mediations. Mr. Pelton has arbitrated numerous labor relations cases as well as non-union discrimination, FMLA, and executive contract claims. He has successfully enforced pre-dispute arbitration agreements for employers in a half dozen states.

Appellate. Mr. Pelton has argued in the Michigan Supreme Court and represented employers in the intermediate appellate courts of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois. He has also handled appeals in the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the Sixth, Seventh, and D.C. Circuits.

Administrative. Mr. Pelton has represented employers on federal and state law administrative matters in over ten States and in the District of Columbia.

Restrictive Covenants. Mr. Pelton has represented the interests of employers in non-compete and trade secret litigation in the federal and state courts of Michigan, New York, Ohio, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. These cases have involved such industries as insurance, real estate, automotive, computers, medical, chemical, and sports equipment.

Election Law. Mr. Pelton has represented the Republican Party and judicial, mayoral, and other candidates in the federal and state courts in Michigan.

At Syracuse University College of Law, Mr. Pelton served as an Executive Editor of the Law Review. He has conducted many workshops and client seminars on employment and labor law topics, has lectured on wage and hour issues for the prestigious National Employment Law Institute, and has served as an adjunct faculty member at Wayne State University Law School. He is a contributing author of Employment Law in Michigan: An Employer’s Guide and State of the Law in Michigan: Employment and Labor Law, both published by the Institute of Continuing Legal Education. Mr. Pelton is also a Commissioner of the State Bar of Michigan, appointed by the Michigan Supreme Court, and serves on the Federalist Society’s Labor and Employment Practice Group National Executive Committee.

Bar and Court Admissions
Michigan
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan
U.S. District Court, Western District of Wisconsin
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
U.S. District Court, District of Columbia

Memberships and Activities
State Bar of Michigan
      (Commissioner 2006 - ; Member, Section of Labor and Employment Law)
Oakland County Bar Association
      (Bar Foundation Charter Fellow)
Society of Human Resource Management
Michigan Chapter of Federalist Society
      (Member, 1990-Present; Director, 1991-1999 President, 1998;
       Board of Advisors, 2005 - )
Federalist Society
      (Labor and Employment Section National Executive Committee (2009 - )
Michigan State University
      (National Board Committee Member, 2007 - )
Michigan State University College of Social Science Alumni
      (Board Member, 1995-2007; President, 1999-2001)