• People
  • Services & Industries
  • Insights
  • Innovation
  • Offices
  • My Binder
  • PDF
Phillip Bauknight photo

Phillip C. Bauknight

Partner


New Jersey/New York

t:908.516.1059

f:908.516.1051

Email

Service Focus

  • Employment Discrimination and Harassment
  • Litigation and Trials
  • Workplace Safety and Catastrophe Management

Industry Focus

  • Energy
  • Manufacturing

Trending

  • COVID-19/Vaccine Resource Center
Find Other Professionals
Select from the following options for a referral to a resource with a different focus.
Services
or
Industries
Overview
Credentials
Recognitions
Affiliations
Insights

Overview

Phil represents and serves as trusted counsel for employers in a broad range of employment, business, and labor issues. As part of his practice, Phil handles OSHA and workplace safety matters across the country. He routinely helps clients contest and litigate OSHA citations and has experience representing employers during OSHA inspections and investigations, conducting OSHA compliance audits, and defending whistleblower/retaliation claims as well as providing OSHA compliance counseling to clients.

Phil represents an array of clients, including those from the manufacturing, construction, technology, healthcare, franchising, retail, and financial services industries, including numerous publicly traded companies with nationwide and international operations. He regularly appears in federal, state, appellate, and administrative courts as well as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and various state agencies.

Phil’s litigation practice covers a broad range of employment law, including Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, CEPA, the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, the New York City Human Rights Law, the New York State Human Rights Law, and other federal and state anti-discrimination and whistleblower laws.  Phil also has extensive experience managing complex business and employment disputes and representing clients regarding enforcement of restrictive employment covenants.

Phil also advises and counsels his clients on employee hiring, discipline, and termination issues, performance management, discrimination, retaliation, employee leave, and disability accommodations issues.   He is a skilled advocate, litigator, and counselor who is devoted to reaching efficient and practical solutions to real-world problems.

Phil is an active member in both his professional and personal communities. He was honored as a 2023 “Leader in Technology” by NJBiz and was selected as a “New Leader of the Bar” in the New Jersey Law Journal’s 2020 Professional Excellence Awards. Phil also serves on the Executive Committee for the New Jersey American Society of Safety Professionals (NJASSP).  Phil previously served as an Executive Committee Member of the National Black Lawyers and was selected to their Top 40 under 40 List from 2015 to 2020.  He is also a former Trustee of the West Orange Scholarship Fund.

Phil is an experienced public speaker known for his dynamic and engaging style and author who presents and writes on a range of employment issues, including those related to workplace safety and business issues. He frequently speaks at legal seminars for organizations such as Thomson Reuters and Celesq and for professional organizations such as the Association of Corporate Counsel, the NJASSP, the American Society of Safety Professionals, the New Jersey Technology and Manufacturing Association, the Society for Human Resource Management, the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations, and many others. Phil also has been quoted and interviewed by premier publications such as CNBC, Bloomberg, the New Jersey Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Law.Com, NJ Biz, and SHRM among others.

Credentials

Education

  • J.D., 2008, Rutgers Law School
  • B.A., 2005, Rutgers University

Bar Admissions

  • New Jersey
  • New York

Court Admissions

  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York

Recognitions

  • Honored as a 2023 “Leader in Technology” by NJBiz
  • Selected Among the 2022 “40 Under 40” by NJBiz
  • Listed in Lawdragon’s 500 Leading U.S. Corporate Employment Lawyers (2021 - 2025)
  • Honored as "New Leader of the Bar" in the New Jersey Law Journal’s 2020 Professional Excellence Awards
  • Selected to the New Jersey Super Lawyers - Rising Stars List (2014 - 2018)
  • Selected to The National Black Lawyers Top 40 under 40 List (2015 - 2020)
  • IADC Trial Academy Graduate (2013)
  • Winner, Morris County Bar Association, Young Lawyers Mock Trial Competition (2009)

Award Methodology

Affiliations

Professional Activities

  • National Black Lawyers Top 40 Under 40, Executive Committee Member (2015-2020)
  • West Orange Scholarship Fund, Trustee (2016-2019)
  • American Bar Association Tort, Trial, and Insurance Practice Section - Employment Law and Litigation Committee, Membership and Diversity Chair, (2016-present); Membership Chair (2015-2016); Publications Chair (2014-2015); Vice Chair (2013-2014)
  • Lead Author/Editor, Employment Law and Litigation Committee's section of the American Bar Association Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Law Journal (2014)
  • American Bar Association - Forum on Franchising
  • New Jersey Bar Association, Member

Community Activities

  • West Orange Scholarship Fund, Trustee - (2016-present)
  • President of the Union County Boys and Girls Club Bike Exchange - (2012-2013)

Insights

  • News

    03/31/25

    Partners Quoted for Insight on Benefits, Risks, and Legal Implications of AI for Safety Professionals

    Phillip C. Bauknight, David J. Walton

    Read more 

  • Insights

    03/14/25

    Artificial Intelligence for the Safety Professional – Benefits, Risks, and Legal Implications

    Phillip C. Bauknight, David J. Walton

    Read more 

  • Event

    07/11/24

    17th Annual Employment Law Symposium

    David B. Lichtenberg, Phillip C. Bauknight, Jessica T. Cook, Rosemary S. Gousman, Sarah Wieselthier, Brent A. Bouma, R. Shane Kagan, Annamaria Del Buono, Nicole Espin

    Read more 

  • Event

    03/21/24

    Best Practices to Navigate an OSHA Inspection

    Phillip C. Bauknight

    Read more 

  • Insights

    02/22/24

    FP Snapshot on Workplace Safety: Will SCOTUS Whistleblower Ruling Have Broader Impact on OSHA Investigations?

    Phillip C. Bauknight, Todd B. Logsdon

    Read more 

  • Insights

    11/27/23

    FP Snapshot on Manufacturing: Top 3 Compliance Challenges Stemming from OSHA and Labor Board Collaboration

    Phillip C. Bauknight, JonVieve D. Hill

    Read more 

  • Event

    10/27/23

    How to Survive an OSHA Inspection

    Phillip C. Bauknight

    Read more 

  • Event

    06/13/23

    New Jersey Breakfast Briefing: When OSHA Knocks – Best Practices for Navigating an OSHA Inspection

    Phillip C. Bauknight

    Read more 

  • Podcasts

    05/13/23

    SHE and Legal Partnerships

    Phillip C. Bauknight

    Read more 

  • Event

    04/26/23

    How to Survive an OSHA Inspection

    Phillip C. Bauknight

    Read more 

View All 

We Also Recommend

Subscribe to Our Latest Insights 

©2025 Fisher & Phillips LLP. All Rights Reserved. Attorney Advertising.

  • Privacy Policy
  • Legal Notices
  • Client Payment Portal
  • My Binder