Ernest B. Orsatti
Attorney
- Location: Pittsburgh
- Office Phone: 888-534-6016
- Fax: 724-837-1348
- Cell: 412-523-9893
- Email: ebo@qrlegal.com
Contact Information
- Labor and Employment
Practice Areas
Biography
Ernest B. Orsatti concentrates his practice in labor and employment law in Western Pennsylvania and throughout the country. He has represented unions in more than 3,000 labor arbitration proceedings and provides counsel to unions on a daily basis. He also negotiates collective bargaining agreements, including national multi-employer/multi-union agreements, with experience in the private and public sectors. Ernie also serves a neutral arbitrator. He has extensive experience representing local and international unions in state and federal litigation, and representation before administrative agencies such as the National Labor Relations Board, United States Department of Labor, Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the Ohio Supreme Court, the West Virginia Supreme Court, and various federal and state appellate courts.
Ernie also has extensive experience handling and/or litigating cases related to alleged breach of duty of fair representation, injunctions, Section 301 suits to enforce collective bargaining agreements, employment discrimination, hot cargo, RICO, antitrust, Section 303 damage claims, Section 301 damage claims, secondary boycotts, Davis-Bacon Act, petitions to enforce and to vacate arbitration awards, WARN Act, ERISA, unfair labor practice charges, representation cases, the Wage Payment and Collection Law, Prevailing Wage Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, Landrum-Griffin Act, hiring hall matters, construction industry picketing, AFL-CIO Article XX work jurisdiction, and serving as fund counsel to pension and health and welfare funds.
A graduate of Central Catholic High School, Ernie earned his degree in Political Science from Marquette University and his J.D. from the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University (formerly Duquesne University School of Law). He served on active duty in the United States Army and as a part-time military lawyer in the United States Army Reserves Judge Advocate General’s Corp, ascending to the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Ernie is an active member of the labor and employment law section of the American Bar Association, where he served as a chapter editor for the treatise “The Developing Labor Law.” He has also been a contributing editor to the treatise “How Arbitration Works” by Elkouri & Elkouri. Ernie is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, The Westmoreland Bar Association, and the Allegheny County Bar Association, where he serves as a member of the Professional Ethics Committee. Ernie is a member of the AFL-CIO Union Lawyers Alliance. Ernie served on the legal committee of the Pittsburgh chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. He is a member of WPELA (Western Pennsylvania Employment Lawyers Association).
Ernie has lectured about labor law for continuing legal education programs, union officials, and law school classes. He is rated AV® Preeminent™ by Martindale-Hubbell and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America®. Ernie has been named by Lawdragon as one of the top 500 plaintiff employment lawyers in the country since 2021 and has been designated a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer since 2004.
Ernie resides in the Pittsburgh area and enjoys a good round of golf.
Bar Admissions
- Pennsylvania
- U.S. District Court, Western Pennsylvania
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, Fourth Circuit, Sixth Circuit
- U.S. Supreme Court
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court
Education
- J.D., Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University (formerly Duquesne University School of Law), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1974
- B.A., Political Science, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1971
- US Army Command and General Staff College, 1981
Representative Cases
- Welch Foods, Inc. v. Gen. Teamsters, Local Union No. 397
- Limbach Co. v. Sheetmetal Workers International Union of America et al.
- US Secretary of Labor v. Teamsters Local Union No. 30
- City of Bradford v. Teamsters Local Union No. 110
- Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission v. Teamsters Local Union No. 250
- Sternitske v. Yellow Freight and Teamsters Local Union No. 249
- Giant Eagle Markets, Inc. v. Teamsters Local Union No. 249
- Arco Polymers, Inc. v. Oil, Chemical & Atomic Workers Union Local 8-74
- Packard et al. v. Pittsburgh Transportation Co.
- Felice v. Sever and Teamsters Local Union No 30
- US Secretary of Labor v. Teamsters Local Union No. 538
- Leonarski v. Grocery & Food Warehousemen Local 635 and OK Grocery
- Taylor Milk Co. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters
- Krevda Brothers v. Teamsters Local Union No, 538
- MAC JAM, Inc v. Teamsters Local Union No. 250
Honors and Awards
- Rated AV® Preeminent™ by Martindale-Hubbell
- Best Lawyers in America® 2003-present
- Pennsylvania Super Lawyer, 2004-present
- Lawdragon Top 500 Plaintiff Employment Lawyers, 2021-present
Professional Associations and Memberships
- American Bar Association
- Pennsylvania Bar Association
- Westmoreland Bar Association
- Allegheny County Bar Association
- AFL-CIO Union Lawyers Alliance
- WPELA (Western Pennsylvania Employment Lawyers Association)