Chris Bailey represents employers of all sizes in employer-employee disputes and advises on litigation avoidance and human resources issues. He has successfully defended employers against discrimination and harassment charges, handling jury trials, bench trials, arbitrations and appellate work. 

Chris has handled disputes before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the National Labor Relations Board and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, as well as multiple state agencies. He has extensive experience drafting and litigating non-competition, non-solicit and non-disclosure agreements.

In traditional labor matters, Chris has represented clients in the private and public sectors in matters related to union avoidance campaigns, collective bargaining, unfair labor practice charge handling and grievance arbitrations. He advises clients on union-management relationships and other day-to-day questions as they arise.

For Chris, the nuances of employment and labor law share similarities with his previous career experience as a police officer — both areas involve the investigation of claims that can be highly personal in nature. Before joining the firm, Chris was a police officer for University City, Missouri, for seven years. He also served for three years as prosecutor for the city of Black Jack, Missouri.

Professional Affiliations

• The Missouri Bar
• Illinois State Bar Association
• Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis

Honors & Awards

• Benchmark Litigation, Labor & Employment Star, 2018-2021
• The Best Lawyers in America, Employment Law – Management, Labor Law – Management, 2020-2023, Litigation - Labor and Employment, 2021-2023

Representative Matters

• Successfully defended against a plaintiff’s claim of wrongful termination and retaliation.  After a three-day trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the defendant as to all claims. (Ricky Koehler v. Kehrer Brothers Construction, Inc., Clinton County, Illinois, Circuit Court)
• Successfully defended against a former employer’s effort to enforce a non-compete agreement and claims that the new employer had tortiously interfered with the former employer’s contractual relationships.  After a bench trial, the court returned a verdict in favor of the defendants as to all claims.  (Mid-States Petroleum Equipment, Inc. v. Neumayer Equipment Company, Inc. and Nathan McNally, Boone County, Missouri, Circuit Court).
• Successfully defended against a former employee’s claim of wrongful termination and violation of the Illinois Healthcare Right of Conscience Act and successfully briefed and argued the employee’s appeal of the trial court’s decision.  (Joseph Goodrich v. Good Samaritan Regional Health Center, Jefferson County, Illinois, Circuit Court; Illinois Court of Appeals, 5^th District)
• Successfully defended a manufacturing company against a union employee’s claim that he had been terminated without just cause. An arbitrator ruled in favor of the company, which maintained that the employee had been terminated after too many absences, in violation of its attendance points system.
• Successfully defended a plaintiff’s claims of race discrimination and retaliation. The trial court’s judgment in favor of the employer was affirmed on appeal. (Marian Meredith v. Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri, U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit Court of Appeals)
• Successfully defended against a former employee’s claim of breach of contract and defamation and successfully briefed and argued the employee’s appeal of the trial court’s decision.  (Patricia Hensley v. Ursuline Academy, St. Louis County, Missouri, Circuit Court; Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District)
• Successfully defended against a former employee’s claims of defamation, emotional distress and others based on the termination of the employee’s employment.  (Jill Otto v. Diocese of Jefferson City, St. Martin’s Catholic Church, et al).
• Successfully obtained permanent injunctive relief to prevent former employees from opening a competing business and soliciting customers in violation of non-compete agreements.  (NutriFormance, LLC v. Austin Jones, et al., St. Louis County, Missouri, Circuit Court)

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