A partner in the firm’s Labor, Employment and Employee Benefits Group, Nick’s practice includes traditional private- and public-sector labor law, litigation of employment disputes, and counseling on labor, employment and human resource matters.
Nick’s background as Labor Counsel for the City of Boston and as an Assistant District Attorney in Suffolk County, translates to his work at Mirick. He is well known in the region as a strong negotiator and advocate for his clients.
While maintaining a diverse practice, he has developed a significant emphasis on labor relations. Nick regularly counsels clients on traditional labor issues, including election campaigns, complex contract formation disputes, grievance adjustment and arbitration, unfair labor charges, strikes, picketing, and other work stoppage issues and reduction-in-force planning. Nick has negotiated over 250 collective bargaining agreements and successfully represented public sector/public safety clients at the JLMC. His workplace safety practice includes defending OSHA and MA DLS inspections. He has appeared before numerous state and federal agencies including the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the Massachusetts Division of Labor Relations (DLR), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD), and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
- New England School of Law JD (1996)
- Northeastern University BS (1993)
- Massachusetts
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
- U.S. District Court for Massachusetts
- Department of Labor Relations Advisory Council
- National Association of College and University Attorneys
- Labor and Employment Relations Association, Board member
- Massachusetts Municipal Association, Personnel and Labor Relations Policy Committee
- Alpha Omega Council, Trustee
- Recognized by Boston magazine and Law & Politics as a Massachusetts “Super Lawyers” (2013 – present); Massachusetts “Rising Star” (2006 – 2010)
- Recognized as “Top 20 Lawyers in Traditional Labor & Employment Law by Human Resource Executive Magazine and Lawdragon (2017, 2018)
- Selected by Worcester Business Journal as one of the “40 Under Forty” young professionals honored for their professional achievements and community service
- “NLRB General Counsel Expresses Views on Non-Competes Violating the NLRA,” Mirick O’Connell Client Alert, June 6, 2023
- “The National Labor Relations Board Strikes Back: Examining the Latest Developments & Trends Under the Biden Administration,” Mirick O’Connell Labor, Employment and Employee Benefits Annual Seminar (May 4, 2023)
- Labor, Employment and Employee Benefits Legal Update: “The NLRB Pendulum Swings Back: Employers Face Increased Liability for Damages, While It’s Once Again Easier for Smaller Worker Groups to Organize,” Mirick O’Connell Client Alert, December 16, 2022
- Quoted in “Labor’s long fight in Worcester,” Worcester Business Journal, May 30, 2022
- Charter Schools Legal Update: “Don’t Delay: MA Employers Are Now Strictly Liable for Three Times the Amount of Wages for Late Payments With No Safe Harbor for Paying in Full Prior to Suit,” Mirick O’Connell Client Alert, April 8, 2022
- Charter Schools Legal Update: “Remote Public Meetings Authorized Through July 15, 2022,” Mirick O’Connell Client Alert, February 22, 2022
- Labor, Employment and Employee Benefits Legal Update: “OSHA’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) – Temporarily Blocked,” Mirick O’Connell Client Alert, November 8, 2021
- “Handling Public Comment and Public Records Requests in Light of Critical Race Theory, COVID-19 and Other Contentious Issues,” Mirick O’Connell Client Alert, October 14, 2021
- “OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard,” Mirick O’Connell Employment Law Webinar (August 5, 2021)
- “COVID-19 Mandates in the Workplace,” Mirick O’Connell Client Alert, April 21, 2021
- “Board of Elementary and Secondary Education Adopts Emergency Regulations Addressing Student Learning Time,” Mirick O’Connell Client Alert, December 18, 2020
- “How Do Business Owners Protect Themselves, Their Employees and Clients as Businesses Start to Reopen?,” On Air with Mirick O’Connell legal podcast (June 19, 2020)
- “COVID-19: OSHA’s Updated Guidance – Face Masks in the Workplace,” Mirick O’Connell Client Alert, June 18, 2020
- “Update on COVID-19 Workplace Health and Safety Enforcement by OSHA and the Massachusetts Attorney General,” Mirick O’Connell Client Alert, May 22, 2020
- “Employer-Union Relations During COVID-19,” On Air with Mirick O’Connell legal podcast (April 7, 2020)
- “National Labor Relations Board Ends 2019 by Overturning Multiple Obama-Era Labor Decisions,” GGI Insider, March 2020
- Labor, Employment and Employee Benefits Legal Update: “OSHA Increases Penalties and Reminds Employers to Post OSHA 300A Summary of Injuries,” Mirick O’Connell Client Alert, January 29, 2020
