Brett Swearingen is a Senior Counsel in Miller Johnson’s Employment and Labor practice.  A native of Southwest Michigan, Brett’s practice focuses on employment and ERISA litigation, as well as counseling clients on employment matters and dealing with the government.

Expertise in Employment, ERISA, and Regulatory Law

Mr. Swearingen litigates on behalf of clients in complex matters of employment and ERISA law, including FLSA collective actions, multiemployer pension withdrawal liability disputes, and government investigations.  In addition, Brett regularly advises clients—especially state and federal contractors and grantees—on compliance with civil rights laws, as well as religious non-profits on matters regarding employment law and religious liberty.  Brett is also experienced in the statistical analysis of workplace issues, such as using “disparate impact analysis” to help employers test for (and root out) potential discriminatory effects of workplace policies and practices.

Brett previously served as Counselor to the Deputy Secretary at the United States Department of Labor. At the DOL, he advised the Deputy Secretary and Secretary on employee benefits and civil rights matters and was a key advisor on several important rulemakings within the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), including regulations concerning ESG investing, proxy voting, and fiduciary investment advice, and reforms to OFCCP’s enforcement procedures and religious exemption.

Prior to his time at DOL, Brett was a litigator in the employee benefits practice of a global law firm, where he defended clients in several multi-million dollar ERISA withdrawal liability cases against multiemployer pension funds concerning alleged evade or avoid liability, successor liability, and employer challenges to pension funds’ discount rates.

Mr. Swearingen is currently licensed in Michigan and Washington, D.C.

Honors

Mr. Swearingen has been recognized as a Best Lawyers in America®: Ones to Watch in Government Relations Practice and Labor and Employment Law – Management 2023-2025.

Brett currently serves on the Michigan Civil Rights Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and is also on the Board of Catholic Charities of West Michigan.

Education

Mr. Swearingen received his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School in 2014 and a B.A. in Political Science from Wheaton College (IL) in 2003.  Prior to law school, he also spent a year studying at St. John’s Seminary in Boston.