Douglas M. Werman

Douglas M. Werman is the founder and principal of Werman Law Office, P.C. in Chicago, Illinois. His practice is concentrated in labor and employment law and resolving workplace disputes. Doug represents clients in claims for owed wages and compensation and in individual employment law claims, including claims under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, breach of contract, whistleblower retaliation, and mass layoff/ WARN Act violations.

A special focus of Doug's practice is the recovery of owed minimum wages, overtime pay, and other earned compensation for employees. He is a nationally known and recognized lawyer in wage and hour law, having successfully litigated over 400 individual, collective and class action cases in Illinois and across the United States resulting in the recovery of many tens of millions of dollars for hundreds of thousands of employees. Doug has served as counsel of record in over 100 state and federal published decisions, including the successful appeal of Ervin v. OS Restaurant Serv., 09-3029 (7th Cir. Jan. 18, 2011), which confirmed the ability for employees to litigate, in the same lawsuit, Fair Labor Standard Act collective action claims together with state law class actions claims for owed minimum wages and overtime pay.

Doug frequently speaks and writes on employment law issues. Among other things, he is a Contributing Editor to the leading treatise on the Fair Labor Standards Act, entitled, "Kerns, The Fair Labor Standards Act," and is a recurring speaker at Illinois Institute for Continuing Education events on wage and hour matters. Doug also assisted in drafting the legislative language of the 2006 amendments to the Illinois Day and Temporary Labor Services Act, the 2006 amendments to the Illinois Minimum Wage Law, and the 2011 "Wage Theft" amendments to the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act. Doug is also active in the American Bar Association's Fair Labor Standards Act Legislation Committee.

Doug graduated from Loyola University of Chicago School of Law in 1990. After his graduation, he worked at national management side labor law firms until starting Werman Law Office, P.C. in 2001. As defense lawyer, Doug represented a broad range of clients in many business areas including telecommunications, retail, transportation, waste management, insurance, warehousing, and construction. His work on behalf of employers included extensive experience with the National Labor Relations Board on a broad range of issues, including unfair labor practice proceedings and union representation cases.