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Rick Grimaldi

Partner


Philadelphia/Washington, D.C./New Jersey/Cleveland

t:610.230.2136/703.682.7096

f:610.230.2151

Email

Service Focus

  • Labor Relations
  • Crisis Communications and Strategy
  • Government Relations
  • Counseling and Advice

Industry Focus

  • Manufacturing
  • Healthcare
  • Hospitality

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  • New Administration Resource Center for Employers
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Overview
Recent Experience
Credentials
Recognitions
Affiliations
Insights

Overview

As an experienced and accomplished labor lawyer, Rick Grimaldi also draws on a diverse background  in government relations, and the media to help businesses become both more successful organizations and better employers.

As a member of the firm’s Labor Relations Practice Group and co-chair of the firm’s Government Relations and Crisis Communications and Strategy practice groups, he partners with clients to achieve labor and employment related goals by combining sound, practical, strategic advice with an understanding that business decisions are never made in a vacuum. He has been involved in a number of high-profile matters of significance to his clients.

Rick is also a sought-after speaker who travels the country helping companies and organizations understand the ever-changing work environment, various employment issues, and how to blend diverse employee populations for maximum effectiveness. He has long been on the front lines of advocating before state and local legislative bodies to develop beneficial laws and policies and on working with clients to navigate potentially damaging situations while maintaining positive reputations. This, combined with his years practicing labor law, makes him uniquely qualified to assist companies as they face an ever changing and challenging legal and policy landscape.

Having spent his career defending the interests of businesses around the world in labor relations matters, Rick is ideally suited to help clients maintain good positive relationships with their employees. He is particularly skilled at helping to foresee and avert troublesome situations, negotiating collective bargaining agreements, and representing employers’ interests during union campaigns. He has achieved positive results defending businesses in major discrimination litigation, union campaigns, collective bargaining and arbitrations. Just as importantly, his ability to devise creative solutions around key provisions such as leave programs and performance management has sparked successful outcomes that have improved productivity and saved clients significant sums of money.

Rick also employs his experience serving the citizens of Pennsylvania as Deputy General Counsel to Governor Tom Ridge and Chief Counsel of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry and his lengthy tenure in the media to advocate for clients in front of government agencies, legislative and regulatory bodies, as the co-chair of the Fisher Phillips Government Relations Group, as well as working with them to prepare for and navigate crisis situations that may arise from government investigations, workplace injuries, litigation, or labor strife.

He has been named to Best Lawyers in America and is internationally recognized as an outstanding trainer and presenter by both clients and trade associations. He works closely with senior executives and management teams to provide hands-on and practical leadership and workplace training.

Rick has written and published extensively. He is the author of FLEX: A Leader’s Guide to Staying Nimble and Mastering Transformative Change in the Workplace (Wiley, 2021), an influential guidebook for corporate executives, and the forthcoming, Age Appropriate: How to Leverage a Multi-Generational Workforce and Win the Market.

Recent Experience

Experience

  • Successfully managed a union organizing campaign on behalf of a food products company with distribution in all 50 states in the U.S. and in over 40 countries, that resulted in the company remaining union free.

  • Led a team that favorably changed labor law on behalf of employers nationwide by successfully overturning National Labor Relations Board precedent that had previously made it easier for unions to organize small groups of employees, known as micro units, within a larger employer.
  • Obtained Defense Verdict in “Sex-Plus” Case
  • Won dismissal of age and disability claims brought against a large retail client.
  • Counseled a large gaming client to victory in a union campaign.
  • Successfully defended a major law firm against a disability discrimination claim by the EEOC.
  • Obtained successful trial result for a large financial industry client.

  • Developed strategy for major retail and hospitality clients resulting in decertification of the unions representing their employees.

  • Achieved a favorable contract for a major health care client who had been at impasse with the union representing its staff.
  • Counsel in successful defense of Unfair Labor Practice Charges alleging multiple violations of the National Labor Relations Act in which the NLRB sought injunctive relief against the employer.

Credentials

Education

  • J.D., Villanova University School of Law
  • B.A., magna cum laude, Temple University

Bar Admissions

  • Pennsylvania
  • New Jersey
  • District of Columbia
  • Ohio

Court Admissions

  • District of Columbia Court of Appeals
  • 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 Pennsylvania
  • U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. Supreme Court

Recognitions

  • Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America (2018-2019, 2021-2025)
  • Listed in Pennsylvania Super Lawyers, (2007-2017)

Affiliations

Professional Activities

  • Board of Directors, Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (2013-2017)
  • Board of Directors, Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce (2007-2013)
  • Member, The American Employment Law Council
  • Member, Pennsylvania Society
  • Lifetime Member, Continental Who’s Who of National Business Leaders
  • Board Member, Secretary, Officer, and Executive Committee Member, Eluna (formerly the Moyer Foundation) (2010-2017)
  • Former Chief Counsel, Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry
  • Former Deputy General Counsel, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge
  • Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Secretary, Officer, Yacht Club of Stone Harbor New Jersey

Community Activities

  • Member, Ambassador, The Moyer Foundation/Eluna

Insights

  • Insights

    04/25/25

    First 100 Days Report for Employers

    Benjamin M. Ebbink, Rick Grimaldi

    Read more 

  • Insights

    04/25/25

    Safeguarding Your Corporate Leaders Against Rising Security Threats: FP’s Guide on Executive Protection

    Rick Grimaldi, Andrew J. Sommer, Hannah Sweiss, Kristin R.B. White

    Read more 

  • News

    04/23/25

    Law360 Covers Launch of Firm’s Crisis Communications and Strategy Group

    John M. Polson, Rick Grimaldi, Jeannie Muzinic, Melanie L. Webber

    Read more 

  • News

    04/22/25

    Fisher Phillips Launches Crisis Communications Practice, Merging Legal Strategy with Public Relations Experience

    Rick Grimaldi, Jeannie Muzinic, John M. Polson, Melanie L. Webber

    Read more 

  • Event

    03/21/25

    Federal Insider

    Benjamin M. Ebbink, Rick Grimaldi, Braden Lawes, Sheila M. Abron, Robin Repass

    Read more 

  • Insights

    03/12/25

    No Slowing Down: Employers’ Recap of the Trump Administration’s First 50 Days

    Benjamin M. Ebbink, Rick Grimaldi, Lauren Laing

    Read more 

  • Event

    Monday, March 3, 2025 – Thursday, March 6, 2025

    FP PeopleLaw 2025

    John M. Polson, Sheldon J. Blumling, Benjamin M. Ebbink, Rick Grimaldi, William D. Wright

    Read more 

  • News

    02/24/25

    Republished Insight: A Whirlwind Start: Employers’ Recap of First 21 Days of the Trump Administration

    Benjamin M. Ebbink, Rick Grimaldi, Lauren Laing

    Read more 

  • Event

    02/21/25

    Federal Insider

    Rick Grimaldi, Benjamin M. Ebbink, Braden Lawes, David S. Jones

    Read more 

  • Insights

    02/10/25

    A Whirlwind Start: Employers’ Recap of First 21 Days of the Trump Administration

    Benjamin M. Ebbink, Rick Grimaldi, Lauren Laing

    Read more 

View All 

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