Attorney
Area of Focus
Additional Services
Industry
Education
Case Western Reserve University School of Law, JD, 1986
John Carroll University, BA, 1983
Bar Admissions
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals
U.S. Supreme Court
Christopher J. Carney Partner
Contact Information

- Area of Focus
- Industry
- Education
Case Western Reserve University School of Law, JD, 1986
John Carroll University, BA, 1983
- Bar Admissions
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals
U.S. Supreme Court
Biography
Chris serves as Partner-in-Charge of the Cleveland Office and is also Chair of the Labor & Employment Practice Group. He represents private and public clients in civil rights litigation in both federal and state courts, such as employment discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims. In addition, Chris has substantial experience in restrictive covenant and trade secret litigation. Chris also advises firm clients on labor and employment compliance issues involving discrimination and harassment under federal and state law (Title VII, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)); personnel matters (drug testing, privacy, appropriate discipline and termination procedures); restrictive covenant and trade secret issues, wage and hour and family leave compliance; and safety and health compliance. Chris is certified as a Labor & Employment Specialist by the Ohio State Bar Association.
In addition to his experience in employment litigation, Chris has expanded his practice to include business and product liability defense litigation, including class action defense of product liability matters. In this regard, Chris represents a number of consumer product manufacturers in both state and federal court throughout the U.S.
Chris is AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated through Martindale-Hubbell.
- Biography
Chris serves as Partner-in-Charge of the Cleveland Office and is also Chair of the Labor & Employment Practice Group. He represents private and public clients in civil rights litigation in both federal and state courts, such as employment discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims. In addition, Chris has substantial experience in restrictive covenant and trade secret litigation. Chris also advises firm clients on labor and employment compliance issues involving discrimination and harassment under federal and state law (Title VII, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)); personnel matters (drug testing, privacy, appropriate discipline and termination procedures); restrictive covenant and trade secret issues, wage and hour and family leave compliance; and safety and health compliance. Chris is certified as a Labor & Employment Specialist by the Ohio State Bar Association.
In addition to his experience in employment litigation, Chris has expanded his practice to include business and product liability defense litigation, including class action defense of product liability matters. In this regard, Chris represents a number of consumer product manufacturers in both state and federal court throughout the U.S.
Chris is AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated through Martindale-Hubbell. - Professional & Civic Activities
- Chris is a member of the American, Ohio State, Federal and Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Associations, including the litigation and labor & employment sections for each bar association. In addition, Chris was on the Board of the Federal Bar Association for the Northern District of Ohio and was the editor of its quarterly newsletter, Inter Alia.
- Chris is currently on the Board of Youth Challenge and was previously on YC's Executive Committee. Chris was also an alumni board member for Case Western University School of Law.
- Articles & Presentations
- "The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act - A Closer Look, as the Date for Implementation Approaches," Co-Author Stephen P. Bond, Labor & Employment, Brouse McDowell Alert (April 4, 2023)
- "Workplace Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers," Co-Author Stephen P. Bond, Labor & Employment, Brouse McDowell Alert (March 30, 2023)
- "New Federal Appropriations Act Includes New Provisions Protecting Pregnant Employees," Co-Author Stephen P. Bond, Labor & Employment, Brouse McDowell Client Alert (January 20, 2023)
- "FTC Proposes Rule to Ban Virtually All Non-Compete Agreements," Co-Author Stephen Bond, Labor & Employment, Brouse McDowell Client Alert (January 9, 2023)
- "Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Lifts Stay on OSHA ETS for Vaccination and Testing for Employers with 100 or More Employees," Co-Author Stephen P. Bond, Labor & Employment, Brouse McDowell Client Alert (December 20, 2021)
- "COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates Paused by the Courts for Many," Co-Authors Stephen P. Bond & Nicole M. Thorn, Health Care, Brouse McDowell Client Alert (December 2, 2021)
- "OSHA Issues its Temporary Standard for Vaccination and Testing for Employers with 100 or More Employees," Labor & Employment, Brouse McDowell Client Alert (November 5, 2021)
- "Upcoming Vaccination Mandate has Akron-area Businesses Asking Questions," Media Mention, Akron Beacon Journal (September 11, 2021)
- "Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccinations are Coming," Labor & Employment, Brouse McDowell Client Alert (September 10, 2021)
- "OSHA's Emergency Temporary Standard for Health Care Employers and COVID-19 Guidance for Non-Health Employers," Health Care and Labor & Employment, Brouse McDowell Client Alert (June 17, 2021)
- “Department of Labor Updates Rules for Use of Federal Paid Sick Leave and Emergency FMLA,” Co-Author with Stephen Bond, Labor & Employment, Brouse McDowell Client Alert (September 18, 2020)
- “The Supreme Court Rules Employers Cannot Terminate Employees for Being Gay or Transgender,” Co-Author with Stephen Bond and Kerri Keller, Labor & Employment, Brouse McDowell Client Alert (June 15, 2020)
- “OSHA Now Requiring All Employers with More than 10 Employees to Determine if COVID-19 Cases are Work-Related,” Labor & Employment, Brouse McDowell Client Alert (May 21, 2020)
- “Keeping Your Distance: Construction Projects, Social Distancing & COVID-19,” Co-speaker with James T. Dixon of Brouse McDowell and Julie Sumner of Monarch Endeavors, Brouse McDowell Webinar (April 27, 2020)
- "HR Rules of Engagement for COVID-19," Co-speaker with Faith Huber and Kim Marlette of ConnectedHR, ConnectedHR Webinar (April 9, 2020)
- “Latest Government Guidance on Requesting Employee Documentation to Approve Leaves Under New Federal Programs,” Co-Author Stephen P. Bond, Labor & Employment, Brouse McDowell Client Alert (April 3, 2020)
- “The DOL Poster for The Families First Coronavirus Response Act,” Co-Author Stephen P. Bond, Labor & Employment, Brouse McDowell Client Alert (March 26, 2020)
- “DOL Issues Compliance Assistance Under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act,” Co-Author Stephen P. Bond, Labor & Employment, Brouse McDowell Client Alert (March 25, 2020)
- “Handling the COVID-19 Pandemic,” Co-Author Kerri Keller and Stephen Bond, Labor & Employment, Brouse McDowell Client Alert (March 13, 2020)
- "Salary Threshold Officially Raised by the Trump Administration," Labor & Employment, Brouse McDowell Client Alert (September 26, 2019)
- "Overtime rules: What businesses should know about the federal wage and hour changes," Smart Business, Akron/Canton (June 2019)
- “Sixth Circuit Holds that Multiple Sexual Assaults Constitute a Single Occurrence,” Insurance Coverage Counselor, Brouse McDowell Blog (May 14, 2019)
- "I Want to Save my FMLA for a Rainier Day," Co-Author Stephen P. Bond; Labor & Employment, Brouse McDowell Client Alert (March 18, 2019)
- "The Department of Labor Sets the FLSA Exemption Threshold at $35,308," Co-Author Kerri L. Keller; Labor & Employment, Brouse McDowell Client Alert (March 15, 2019)
- "Be Prepared for a New Version of Overtime Rules to be Announced this Spring," Co-Author Stephen P. Bond; Labor & Employment, Brouse McDowell Client Alert (February 21, 2019)
- "Business Dispute Allegations do not Trigger EPL Coverage," Insurance Coverage Counselor, Brouse McDowell Blog (June 7, 2018)
- "Federal Labor Board Announces Important Legal Shift That Affects Virtually All Employers," Co-Author Stephen P. Bond, Labor & Employment, Brouse McDowell Client Alert (December 15, 2017)
- "Sexual Harassment and Misconduct in the Workplace is Making the Headlines Everyday," Co-Authors R. Scot Harvey and Kerri L. Keller, Labor & Employment, Brouse McDowell Client Alert (December 1, 2017)
- "Sixth Circuit Holds that Number of ‘Occurrences’ is Based on Number of ‘Causes’," Insurance Coverage Counselor, Brouse McDowell Blog (October 17, 2017)
- "Massachusetts High Court Hold No Coverage for Counterclaim," Insurance Coverage Counselor, Brouse McDowell Blog (July 26, 2017)
- "Ohio Seventh District Orders Trial on Claim for Bad Faith Claims-Handling," Insurance Coverage Counselor, Brouse McDowell Blog (February, 2017)
- "Republicans Roll Out the American Health Care Act – Employer Priorities," Co-Author Stephen P. Bond, Labor & Employment, Brouse McDowell Client Alert (March 8. 2017)
- "DOL’s Overtime Rule Stopped in its Tracks," Labor & Employment, Brouse McDowell Client Alert (November 23, 2016)
- "OSHA Announces New Rules to Increase its Penalties," Co-Author Stephen P. Bond, Labor & Employment, Brouse McDowell Client Alert (July 6, 2016)
- "A Glimmer of Good News for Uber: Coverage for Negligent Hiring and Retention Claims," Insurance Coverage Counselor, Brouse McDowell Blog (March 1, 2016)
- "The Importance of Timely Reporting Claims Under an Employment Practices Liability Policy," Insurance Coverage Counselor, Brouse McDowell Blog (October 14, 2015)
- "Employment Practices Liability Insurance – Is it Right for Your Business?" Insurance Coverage Counselor, Brouse McDowell Blog (May 1, 2015)
- "The Changing Landscape of Health Care Reform," Panel Presentation, Cleveland, Ohio (September 8, 2014)
- "The Affordable Care Act - Nuts and Bolts for 2014," Seminar Presentation, Akron, Ohio (June 26, 2013)
- "How the Legal Ramifications of the Affordable Care Act Play Out for Employers," Smart Business (August 2012)
- "NLRB's Employer Posting Rule Upheld," co-author with Stephen Bond, Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Journal ( May 2012)
- "Social Media Missteps," Smart Business (January 2012)
- "Spoliation of Evidence and New E-Discovery Rules, Inter Alia," co-author with Amanda Leffler (Spring 2007)
- "OSHA and Wage & Hour issues - How Small Businesses Are Affected," General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Section of the American Bar Association's quarterly publication, Vol. 17, No. 5. (July/August 2000)
- Representative Engagements
- Ongoing representation of private, independent school in all labor and employment matters
- Ongoing representation of an international consumer product manufacturer in product liability litigation throughout the U.S
- Ongoing representation of a larger consumer product manufacturer in product liability class action litigation in U.S. District Court
- Successful representation in defending large frozen food manufacturer against allegations of race discrimination in Ohio state court
- Successful representation in defending municipality against unfair labor practice charges before Ohio State Employment Relations Board
- Successful representation in international wallcovering manufacturer and distributor in trade secret litigation in U.S. District Court
- Successful representation in large privately held lumber company in non-compete and trade secret litigation in Ohio state court, including successful appeals
- Successful representation in large physicians practice group in shareholder derivative action
- Distinctions
- Ohio Super Lawyers® through a peer- and achievement-based review conducted by the research team at Super Lawyers, a service of Thomson Reuters legal division — 2008-2022
- The Best Lawyers in America© through a peer-review survey as listed in the Commercial Litigation section — 2013-2023
- Cleveland’s Legal Leaders™ – Top Rated Lawyer in Arbitration, General Practice, and Labor and Employment — 2013
- News
February 28, 2023Brouse Represented SURTECO in $255M Acquisition of Laminates Business from OMNOVA Solutions
December 29, 202224 Brouse Attorneys Named 2023 Ohio Super Lawyers and Rising Stars
August 18, 2022The Best Lawyers in America 2023 Recognizes 27 Brouse Attorneys in 32 Practice Areas and 5 Attorneys as "Ones to Watch"
June 24, 2022Brouse McDowell Wins Appeal for Westlake Manufacturer
December 30, 202130 Brouse Attorneys Named 2022 Ohio Super Lawyers and Rising Stars
September 11, 2021Chris Carney Addresses Upcoming Vaccination Mandate in the Akron Beacon Journal
August 19, 2021The Best Lawyers in America 2022 Recognizes 28 Brouse Attorneys in 32 Practice Areas and 6 Attorneys as "Ones to Watch"
December 09, 202022 Brouse Attorneys Named 2021 Ohio Super Lawyers and Rising Stars
August 20, 2020The Best Lawyers in America 2021 Recognizes 28 Brouse Attorneys in 33 Practice Areas and 4 Attorneys as "Ones to Watch"
January 24, 2020Brouse McDowell Announces Election of Two New Executive Committee Members
December 09, 201927 Brouse McDowell Attorneys named 2020 Ohio Super Lawyers and Rising Stars
August 15, 2019Twenty-eight Brouse McDowell Attorneys Recognized in 33 Practice Areas to The Best Lawyers in America© 2020
April 09, 2019Brouse Recognizes Attorneys And Staff For Their Years Of Service
December 05, 201833 Brouse McDowell Attorneys named 2019 Ohio Super Lawyers and Rising Stars
September 24, 20184 Brouse Attorneys Attend Akron Children's Bruce F. Rothmann Memorial Golf Tournament
August 15, 201825 Brouse McDowell Attorneys Recognized in 19 Practice Areas to The Best Lawyers in America© 2019
December 08, 201726 Brouse McDowell Attorneys named 2018 Ohio Super Lawyers and Rising Stars
August 15, 201723 Brouse McDowell Attorneys named to The Best Lawyers in America© 2018
December 04, 2014Brouse McDowell Announces 2015 Ohio Super Lawyers and Rising Stars
August 25, 2014Brouse McDowell Attorneys named to The Best Lawyers in America© 2015
August 19, 2013Christopher J. Carney Appointed Partner-in-Charge of Brouse McDowell's Cleveland Office
August 15, 2013Brouse McDowell Announces 2014 Best Lawyers in America®
- Seminars & Events
November 11, 2021Brouse Briefing Webinar Series: OSHA COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Guidelines
April 27, 2020Webinar: Keeping Your Distance: Construction Projects, Social Distancing & COVID-19
April 09, 2020Webinar: Chris Carney to Speak at ConnectedHR's Webinar "HR Rules of Engagement for COVID 19"
October 23, 2014The Changing Landscape of Health Care Reform
- Client Advisories
April 04, 2023Labor & Employment Alert: The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act - A Closer Look, as the Date for Implementation Approaches
March 30, 2023Labor & Employment Alert: Workplace Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers
January 20, 2023Labor & Employment Alert: New Federal Appropriations Act Includes New Provisions Protecting Pregnant Employees
January 09, 2023Labor & Employment Alert: FTC Proposes Rule to Ban Virtually All Non-Compete Agreements
December 20, 2021Labor & Employment Alert: Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Lifts Stay on OSHA ETS for Vaccination and Testing for Employers with 100 or More Employees
December 02, 2021Health Care Alert: COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates Paused by the Courts for Many
November 05, 2021Labor & Employment Alert: OSHA Issues its Emergency Temporary Standard for Vaccination and Testing for Employers with 100 or More Employees
September 10, 2021Labor & Employment Alert: Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccinations are Coming
September 18, 2020Client Alert: Department of Labor Updates Rules for Use of Federal Paid Sick Leave and Emergency FMLA
June 15, 2020Client Alert: The Supreme Court Rules Employers Cannot Terminate Employees for Being Gay or Transgender
March 26, 2020Labor & Employment Alert: The DOL Poster for The Families First Coronavirus Response Act
March 25, 2020Labor & Employment Alert: DOL Issues Compliance Assistance Under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act
March 13, 2020Labor & Employment Alert: Handling the COVID-19 Pandemic
September 25, 2019Labor & Employment Alert: Salary Threshold Officially Raised by the Trump Administration
March 18, 2019Labor & Employment Alert: I Want to Save My FMLA for a Rainier Day
March 15, 2019Labor & Employment Alert: The Department of Labor Sets the FLSA Exemption Threshold at $35,308
February 21, 2019Labor & Employment Alert: Be Prepared for a New Version of Overtime Rules to be Announced this Spring
December 15, 2017Federal Labor Board Announces Important Legal Shift That Affects Virtually All Employers
December 01, 2017Sexual Harassment and Misconduct in the Workplace is Making the Headlines Everyday
March 08, 2017Republicans Roll Out the American Health Care Act – Employer Priorities
November 23, 2016DOL's Overtime Rule Stopped in its Tracks
July 06, 2016OSHA Announces New Rules to Increases its Penalties
- Articles
- Blogs
Insurance Blog
May 14, 2019Insurance Blog: Sixth Circuit Holds that Multiple Sexual Assaults Constitute a Single Occurrence
June 7, 2018Blog: Business Dispute Allegations do not Trigger EPL Coverage
October 17, 2017Sixth Circuit Holds that Number of "Occurrences" is Based on Number of "Causes"
July 26, 2017Massachusetts High Court Hold No Coverage for Counterclaim
February 20, 2017Ohio Seventh District Orders Trial on Claim for Bad Faith Claims-Handling
March 1, 2016A Glimmer of Good News for Uber: Coverage for Negligent Hiring and Retention Claims
October 14, 2015The Importance of Timely Reporting Claims Under an Employment Practices Liability Policy
May 1, 2015Employment Practices Liability Insurance – Is it Right for Your Business?