Matthew Ruza

Matthew Ruza is an experienced litigator in both state and federal court. He represents and advises employers in all aspects and stages of employment litigation, arbitration and mediation. Matthew focuses on complex litigation, handling a variety of disputes, with a particular emphasis on wage and hour collective and corresponding state law class action cases. In particular, he has focused on the following wage and hour issues:

• Alleged exemption misclassification of employees
• Allegations of unpaid overtime
• Off-the-clock, preliminary and postliminary unpaid time, and meal and rest break violations
• Suits brought by independent contractors claiming to be hourly employees

Matt also has significant experience in handling a variety of disputes, including breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, trade secret violations and non-competition claims. He further represents employers in a variety of more standard employment litigation claims involving:

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
• The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)
• The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
• The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
• The Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act
• The Illinois Minimum Wage Law

Prior to law school, Matthew graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree from the School of Kinesiology in Sport Management. While at Michigan, he worked for the University of Michigan Football Team as a student assistant.