Jonathan B. Orleans is a business litigator with more than 25 years of experience in a broad range of cases, particularly employment litigation. He represents businesses and individuals in disputes arising out of non-competition and non-solicitation agreements, employment contracts, and other commercial agreements. He also handles cases arising under federal and state antidiscrimination statutes, ERISA, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Connecticut Uniform Trade Secrets Act, and the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act, and advises businesses on compliance with laws and regulations concerning employment. Jon tries cases in both the federal and state courts and practices before state and federal administrative agencies.

Jon represents both employers and senior executives in the negotiation of employment contracts and separation agreements. He regularly assists employers with the development and application of personnel policies. 

Jon has lectured to lawyers and businesspeople on topics including classification of employees under the FLSA, restrictive covenants in employment contracts, employment discrimination law, employer regulation of employees' speech and appearance, wage and hour laws, and mediation of employment claims.

Before joining Pullman & Comley, Jon clerked for the Honorable M. Joseph Blumenfeld, Senior U.S. District Judge in Hartford, and practiced for 23 years with another prominent Connecticut firm, where he served as Managing Shareholder for six years.

In 2007, Jon was appointed by Connecticut’s Chief Justice to the Civil Commission of the Connecticut Judicial Branch, a body charged with developing practices to improve the state courts’ handling of civil cases. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Federal Practice Section of the Connecticut Bar Association.  In 2011-12, Jon will teach Civil Procedure at the University of Connecticut School of Law.

Representative Experience

• Represents a large provider of retirement plans and services in class action litigation under ERISA
• Represents a bank defendant in a multidistrict consolidated class action antitrust suit challenging fees charged to merchants who accept payment (credit and debit) cards
• Successfully defended, in trial and on appeal, a marketing firm charged with unfair trade practices and misappropriation of trade secrets in connection with its hiring of a competitor’s employee
• Represented a bank in a breach of contract dispute arising from an agreement to purchase mortgage servicing rights
• Has defended numerous businesses, from manufacturers to law firms, against claims of employment discrimination before the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and state and federal courts
• Represented a physician group that broke away from its employer and obtained a hospital contract, against claims of, inter alia, unfair competition brought by the former employer. Negotiated a favorable settlement
• Obtained an injunction under the federal Fair Housing Act in favor of a nonprofit organization denied permission by municipal authorities to establish a residence for homeless persons with HIV/AIDS
• Represented a business trust with annual revenues of approximately $500 million in a dispute with the trust’s creator concerning the meaning of the trust agreement
• Represented a high-technology manufacturer in the enforcement of a non-competition and non-solicitation agreement against a former employee
• Obtained an injunction under Title IX (the federal statute prohibiting gender discrimination in collegiate athletics) preventing a university from eliminating its varsity women’s volleyball team

Professional Affiliations

• American Bar Association - Litigation Section; Labor and Employment Section
• Connecticut Bar Association - Litigation Section; Labor and Employment Section; Federal Practice Section
• Connecticut Bar Foundation - Fellow
• Council on Law in Higher Education

Community Involvement

• American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut - board of directors, legal advisor
• Bridgeport Public Education Fund - board of directors
• Connecticut Fair Housing Center - board of directors
• Fairfield Theatre Company, Inc. - board of directors

Honors & Awards

• Named as 2012 “Stamford Best Lawyers Employment Law – Management Lawyer of the Year” by The Best Lawyers in America 
• Listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the areas of litigation - labor and employment and employment law - management
• Selected to the Connecticut Super Lawyers list from 2006 to 2011/2012 in the areas of labor and employment law