DISCRIMINATION AND CIVIL RIGHTS LAW • EMPLOYMENT LAW & LABOR RELATIONS • LITIGATION • WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH • NON-COMPETITION AND TRADE SECRETS
After graduating from college and law school with honors, Jacob M. Sitman spent a year learning about what it means to be successful in a courtroom by clerking for a civil trial judge. Since that time, he has honed his skills practicing, almost exclusively, Labor and Employment law. He worked at a labor and employment boutique firm, and then at a large Philadelphia law firm for more than a decade. Mr. Sitman is also the former Northampton County Assistant Solicitor for Labor & Employment Matters.
Now as a Shareholder and the Chair of the Firm’s Employment Law & Labor Relations Group, Mr. Sitman represents employers and executives in a wide array of employment law and traditional labor matters. A skilled litigator, Mr. Sitman often represents employers in federal and state court in defense of claims of discrimination, harassment, whistleblower, breach of contract, wrongful discharge and workplace safety claims filed in state and federal courts, with administrative agencies and in arbitration (union grievance, Act 111 and private employment claims), including but not limited to matters filed with the U.S. Department of Labor, EEOC, PHRC, NLRB and OSHA. He has also been successful in wage and hour, noncompete and trade secret litigation and appeals.
Mr. Sitman also counsels and trains business owners, executives and human resource managers in ways to reduce the risk of legal claims and how to make smart, strategic and cost-effective personnel-related decisions. He relies on his varied experience in matters of wage and hour compliance, reductions in force, family and medical leave, sexual harassment avoidance and investigations, employee benefits, disability accommodations, employee health and workplace safety, and labor-management relations, including collective bargaining, alleged unfair labor practice charges and union grievance arbitrations. Mr. Sitman drafts employment and severance agreements, noncompete agreements, employee handbooks and personnel policies of all kinds, including those dealing with social media and employee use of technology in the workplace.
He is an author and frequent speaker on labor and employment law topics for various chambers of commerce and industry trade groups, has been awarded a “preeminent” rating, and is regularly recognized by his peers as one of Pennsylvania’s leading attorneys practicing labor and employment law.
EDUCATION
- Rutgers University School of Law, J.D., with honors
- Muhlenberg College, B.A., Economics and International Studies, cum laude
BAR ADMISSIONS
- Pennsylvania
- New Jersey
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
- U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
- U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
- American Bar Association
- Pennsylvania Bar Association
- Member of the Governing Council for the Labor and Employment Law Section
- New Jersey Bar Association
- Montgomery County Bar Association
- Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
- Fort Washington Business Alliance
REPORTED DECISIONS
- Joseph W. Davis, Inc. v. Int’l Union of Operating Engineers, Local 542, 636 F. Supp. 2d 403 (E.D. Pa. 2008)
- Strickland v. Trion Group, Inc., 463 F. Supp. 2d 921 (E.D. Pa. 2006)
HONORS & AFFILIATIONS
- Martindale Hubbell Lawyers’ Rating “AV® Preeminent™,” highest professional ranking
- Selected for inclusion in Pennsylvania Super Lawyers, 2015 – Present
- Selected for inclusion in Pennsylvania Super Lawyers – Rising Stars Edition, 2008, 2011, 2012
- Named a “Select Lawyer” in:
- Employment Discrimination Law and Labor & Employment Law, 2014
- Labor & Employment Law, 2015
- Employment Discrimination Law; Labor & Employment Law; and Unemployment Compensation Law, 2016-2017
- “Top Rated Lawyer” in Labor and Employment by American Lawyer Media, 2014
- Included in “Top Attorneys” list, Employment Law, Suburban Life, 2014 – 2015
- Chapter Author, Wage and Hour Laws, A State-by-State Survey (BNA Books), 2006-2009
- Pro bono mediator of employment disputes for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2013 – present
RECENT SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
- Panelist, “Legal and Fair Housing Update,” PAA East Trade Show
- Presenter, “Smile, You’re on Nanny Camera,” Pennsylvania Assisted Living Association Spring Conference
- Panelist, “Preventing Devastating Sexual Harassment Claims,” Northeast Pennsylvania Manufacturers and Employers Association
- Presenter, “Sexual and Other Harassment Prevention Training,” Lehigh Valley Planning Commission
- Presenter, “Medical Marijuana in the Workplace,” Mid-Atlantic Employee Association Legal Conference
- Keynote Speaker, “Labor & Employment Regulatory Developments,” Northeast Pennsylvania Manufacturers and Employers Association Annual Labor Law Summit
- Panel Moderator and Speaker, “Workplace Investigations in Pennsylvania,” Lorman Education Services
- Presenter, “Must Interns Be Paid?” Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce Nonprofit Business Partner Council
- Seminar co-presenter, “Minding the Store: Protecting Your Company’s Confidential Information (and Debunking Common Myths About Noncompetes),” Upper Bucks Chamber of Commerce
- Panelist, “Finding & Hiring Employees,” Upper Bucks Chamber of Commerce
- Presenter, “Employee Handbooks: An Important Tool to Improve Productivity and Reduce Risk of Employee Claims,” Northeast Pennsylvania Manufacturers and Employers Association
- Presenter, “Exempt or Non-Exempt (under the FLSA)? That is the Question,” MAEA Human Resource Schuylkill Roundtable
- Presenter, “Employee Leave from Work: Understanding the FMLA, ADA and Workers Compensation,” Arbor Insurance Seminar
- Presenter, “Handling Employee Performance Evaluations and Discipline,” PAA East Trade Show
COMMUNITY ACTIVITY
- Upper Dublin Township, Commissioner, Human Relations Commission
- Muhlenberg College, Member, Board of Associates
- Temple Sinai of Dresher, Member, Board of Directors
- Developmental Enterprises Corporation, Former Member, Board of Directors
- Upper Dublin Soccer Club, Volunteer, Advisor and Coach
- Philadelphia Homeless Advocacy Project, Former Coordinator
CALL DIRECT
610-797-9000, ext. 383
ASSISTANT INFORMATION
Christina Mazur
610-797-9000 ext. 397
