Perry Confalone is a partner in the firm's Honolulu office and leads the Labor & Employment Practice Group. Mr. Confalone has more than 26 years of experience counseling and defending Hawaii businesses in all aspects of labor and employment law including contract negotiation, labor arbitration, and defense of wrongful discharge, discrimination, and harassment claims. Mr. Confalone advises clients regarding labor and employment law compliance as well as mediation and settlement strategies. He is listed in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, for Labor & Employment.

Representative Matters

Wrongful Discharge, Discrimination Counsel for a defendant resort hotel in a case of first impression addressing marital status discrimination in employment. The Hawaii Supreme Court narrowed the common law doctrine of discharge in violation of public policy and affirmed a favorable summary judgment standard for dismissal of infliction of emotional distress claims in the employment setting. [Ross v. Stouffer Hotels, 76 Hawaii 454 (1996)]

Administrative Law Counsel for defendants in a case of first impression in which the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that sovereign immunity did not shield the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission from liability to defendants for negligent investigation of defenses to discrimination claims before bringing suit. [Tseu, State Ex Rel. Hobbs v. Jeyte, 88 Hawaii 85 (1998)]

Railway Labor Act Obtained dismissal of Teamsters Election petition under the National Labor Relations Act concerning an aircraft refueling company on grounds that the Company was covered by the Railway Labor Act. [Bradley Pacific Aviation 34 NMB No. 20 (2007)]

Collective Bargaining Chief Management Negotiator for the Honolulu public transit system (The Bus) for labor contract negotiations in 2000 and 2003 with the Hawaii Teamsters and Allied Workers Union, Local 996.

ADA Obtained summary judgment against a plaintiff chef afflicted with post polio syndrome who asserted he was forced to quit because the employer's alleged failure to accommodate his disability made work unbearable. Summary judgment was granted on grounds that plaintiff was not disabled within the meaning of Hawaii law, notwithstanding his diagnosis and his qualification for total disability social security benefits shortly following his termination.

Labor Arbitrations Represented employers in numerous arbitrations upholding management rights to, among other things, change work schedules, subcontract, assign work outside the bargaining unit, discipline for insubordination and terminate for excessive absenteeism, incompetence and dishonesty. [In re Oahu Transit Services and Hawaii Teamsters and Allied Workers, Local 996, 120 LA 604 (2004)]

Whistleblowing Obtained summary judgment on all claims in a wrongful discharge case in which a manager for an employer providing ground maintenance services for military installations claimed he was terminated for reporting alleged violations of government contracts. [Kraus v. Management Training Services, 10 IER Cases (BNA) 773 (U.S.D.C. 1994)]

National Labor Relations Board Represented the employer in a two week unit clarification hearing regarding the supervisory status of various positions; represented various employers regarding election petitions, unfair labor practice charges, strikes and unlawful picketing; prepared appellate briefs before the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals for a case reversing the NLRB and awarding attorneys fees against the Board on behalf of a small business employer under the Equal Access to Justice Act. [Leeward Autowreckers v. NLRB, 841 F. 2d 1143 (D.C. Cir. 1988)]

Publications and Presentations American Bar Association Annual Meeting 2006, "Recent Developments in Collective Bargaining"; "Defending Wrongful Discharge Claims Under Hawaii Law," National Business Institute 1994; "Trouble Free Hiring," Lorman Education Services 2001; "ADA: the Defense Perspective," Hawaii State Bar Association Annual Convention 2002; Society for Human Resources Management 2002 State Conference "What's Next In Employment Legislation, Regulation and Cases?"; SHRM 2004 State Conference, "Realistic Examples of the ADA Reasonable Accommodation Process."

Distinctions

• Listed in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, for Labor & Employment
• Selected by attorney peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2010 in the field of Labor and Employment Law; listed in The Best Lawyers in America since 2006 
• Selected by attorney peers for inclusion in Hawaii Super Lawyers, Employment & Labor, Washington Law & Politics
• Highest "AV" Professional Rating, Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory
• 2007-08 Chairman, Board of Directors, Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii/Executive Committee, Chamber "Individual Member of the Year" Award, 1998, for successfully advocating legislative reforms to "arrest and court record" discrimination and employer statutory immunity regarding job references
• 2007-08 Board of Directors, First Vice Chair/Executive Committee, Goodwill Industries of Hawaii; Goodwill "Community Partner of the Year," 1997
• Hawaii State Bar Association "Niu Award" 2002 for pro bono legal services for the homeless
• "Niu Award" - Hawaii State Bar Association, 2002
• "Individual Member of the Year" Award - Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, 1998
• "Community Partner of the Year" Award - Goodwill Industries of Hawaii, 1997

Affiliations

• Hawaii State Bar Association
• American Bar Association
• Society for Human Resource Management
• Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii (past Chairman of the Board)
• Goodwill Industries of Hawaii (Chair-elect)