Robert P. Brooks is the firm’s Managing Partner and Chairman of the firm’s Labor and Employment Law Group. He represents management in all facets of labor relations and employment law in the public and private sectors.
Bob’s labor and employment experience includes counseling employers on day-to-day personnel administration as well as on such complex administrative law issues as OSHA compliance and wage and hour issues under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Bob also regularly and successfully handles collective bargaining negotiations and the defense of union organizing campaigns. He has successfully represented employers in employment discrimination matters, and represents employers in a wide variety of labor arbitration and administrative proceedings. In addition, he lectures frequently to groups and private companies on many of the issues facing human resource professionals on a daily basis.
Bob is Immediate Past President of the Board of Governors of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Providence and he is the recipient of the RI Bar Association’s Dorothy Lohmann Community Service Award, given in recognition for his work with the Boys and Girls Clubs. He serves on the AP&S Executive Committee and is a member of its Diversity Committee.
The Latest
•04.24.20
AP&S Ranked in Chambers and Partners USA
•12.12.19 / News
Bob Brooks Receives President’s Award from RI Hospitality Association
•11.20.19 / News
Bob Brooks Featured in Lawdragon’s Lawyer Limelight
•10.16.19 / News
24 AP&S Attorneys Named to Super Lawyers and Rising Stars 2019
Honors
•Named in 2019 as one of the Top 100 Most Powerful Employment Attorneys in the Nation by Lawdragon Magazine and Human Resource Executive.
•Named in 2012 - 2018 as one of the “Top 20 Most Powerful Labor Attorneys in the Nation” by Lawdragon Magazine and Human Resource Executive.
•Best Lawyers’ 2012, 2014 and 2019 Lawyer of the Year, Labor Law- Management, Providence.
•Recognized in the 2006-2020 Chambers USA America’s Leading Business Lawyers in the area of Labor and Employment Law.
•Selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2007-2020 editions in the field of Labor and Employment Law.
•Benchmark Litigation, Labor & Employment Star, 2019.
•Professional Excellence in the Law, Labor and Employment, Rhode Island Monthly, 2019.
•Selected as a Rhode Island Super Lawyer, 2007-2019.
•AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell, its highest rating for attorneys.
In the Community
•Immediate Past President, Boys & Girls Club of Providence.
•Member, East Greenwich Personnel Board.
•Treasurer, East Greenwich Little League.
•2003 Graduate Leadership Rhode Island.
Seminars / Publications
•Co-Author, Leave Laws: Rhode Island, Practical Law Labor & Employment, Thomson Reuters, 2018.
•Co-Author, Independent Contractors: Rhode Island, Practical Law Labor & Employment, Thomson Reuters, 2018.
•Co-Author, Background Check Laws: Rhode Island, Practical Law Labor & Employment, Thomson Reuters, 2018.
•Co-Author, Non-Compete Laws: Rhode Island, Practical Law Labor & Employment, Thomson Reuters, 2018.
•Contributing Editor, Practical Law Company, Rhode Island State Q&A Surveys for the following areas of Labor & Employment Law:
Anti-discrimination Laws - July, 2014
Leave Laws - July, 2014
Leave Policy Language - October, 2013
Drug Testing Laws - July, 2013
Wage and Hour Laws - August, 2013
Non-compete Laws - August, 2013
Trade Secret Laws - August, 2013
•Inside The Minds Series, Complying With Employment Regulations, Understanding Key New Employment Regulations, Aspatore Books 2012.
Blog
Governor Raimondo Issues Executive Order Requiring Cloth Face Coverings For Rhode Island Employees
By Robert P. Brooks on April 14, 2020 On the Job Blog
Governor Gina Raimondo issued an Executive Order which takes effect Saturday, April 18, 2020, requiring that all customer/client-facing businesses and...
Posted In: Coronavirus, COVID -19, Employees, Employers, Face Masks
Guidance for Businesses and Employers Responding to the Coronavirus Disease
By Robert P. Brooks and Kathryn Rogers O’Brien on March 6, 2020 On the Job Blog
Recently, businesses have been inundated with information regarding the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) that emerged in China in 2019. Since then,...
Posted In: Coronavirus, COVID -19, Employees, Employers
Department of Labor Proposed Rule Change Raises Salary Level For Exempt Employees
By Robert P. Brooks on March 18, 2019 On the Job Blog
The U.S. Department of Labor (the “D.O.L.”) announced on Friday, March 7, 2019, that it will be reviewing the salary...
Posted In: Department of Labor, Employees, Employers, Employment Law
New Rhode Island Paid Sick and Safe Leave Act to Take Effect July 1, 2018
By Robert P. Brooks on June 28, 2018 On the Job Blog
The new Rhode Island Healthy and Safe Families Workplaces Act (“Paid Sick and Safe Leave Act”) takes effect on July...
Posted In: Employees, Employers, Employment Law
