Stephen J. Jones

Tenacious. Focused. Strategic. These are the core qualities upon which Steve Jones has built his employment litigation practice. Steve is a trusted advisor and experienced trial attorney representing employers of every size. Steve leads the firm’s Labor & Employment Class Action Team and is regularly called upon to defend “bet the company,” high-stakes litigation. His experience includes defense of over 50 class and collective actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Title VII and obtaining over two dozen dismissals of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and ERISA claims in the last three years alone.

Steve’s practice is at the forefront of cutting-edge law. For example, he is defending an international food company in the first case ever filed under the whistleblower provisions of the Food Safety Modernization Act. He recently obtained a temporary restraining order enforcing employment agreements prohibiting the solicitation of customer referral sources in an evolving area of New York non-competition law. Steve has also developed innovative auditing methodologies in EEO and wage-hour areas, thereby reducing or eliminating his clients’ exposure to class action litigation.

Steve is recognized as an industry thought leader, regularly providing commentary to the news media on legal developments, presenting CLEs and writing articles, including one advocating for specific legislative reforms to the country’s overtime laws published in the Rochester Business Journal in December 2013. In 2014, the New York Law Journal chose Steve for its Rising Stars Award—the only Rochester attorney to receive the award that year, based on his contributions to the practice of law. Steve is also peer rated as a Super Lawyer, Employment Litigation Defense by Super Lawyers Magazine.

Steve served for over a year on special assignment as in-house counsel to Eastman Kodak Company, where he was responsible for managing external counsel and counseling business units. This experience has proven invaluable in understanding the pressures and budgetary constraints placed on his in-house clients.