David J. Kaufman

David works with employers on compliance issues related to laws such as the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, Equal Employment Opportunity laws, federal wage and hour laws and other federal and state laws affecting employment. David counsels clients regarding employment policies, workplace misconduct and employee discipline and discharge.

David also represents employers in federal and state court, as well as before federal and state administrative agencies, in employment discrimination and wrongful discharge litigation. David has successfully both brought and defended lawsuits regarding enforcement of non-competition, non-solicitation and non-disclosure agreements.

David is a member of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, the New Partners Board of the Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center, and he is also actively involved in performing pro bono legal work on behalf of the Cleveland Legal Aid Society.

David joined Calfee in 2007 and was elected Partner in 2014.

Honors & Recognitions

• Benchmark Litigation, "Labor & Employment Star" – U.S. (National), Midwest, and Ohio (2019-2023)
• The Best Lawyers in America^®, Employment Law - Management (2025)
• Ohio Super Lawyers, Ohio Rising Stars (2015-2018)

Education

J.D., Emory University School of Law, 2004

B.A., Georgetown University, 2000

Experience

Recent examples of David’s experience include the following:

• The former employee of Calfee’s client, an Ohio manufacturing company, filed a lawsuit against the company, alleging that he was a victim of age discrimination because his employment was terminated. The Plaintiff had operated his machinery at approximately 10-20% of the speed at which other employees ran their machines, resulting in significant delays and backups. When the company’s plant manager repeatedly instructed him to run his machine at the appropriate speed, Plaintiff refused or would do so only to turn the speed back down when the plant manager walked away. Since his termination, the company’s ability to run and ship products on time has increased dramatically. On behalf of the company, we aggressively defended against the Plaintiff’s allegations. While we were prepared to file a summary judgment motion, we ultimately resolved the case for significantly less than the nuisance value.
• Serving as counsel for the Defendants in a recent matter involving a former employer who brought claims against the client company for Intentional/Negligent Misrepresentation, Breach of Contract, Promissory Estoppel, Breach of the Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing, Unjust Enrichment, Violation of state Wage Law for failure to pay wages and PTO on the date of his alleged termination, and COBRA Notice Violation. Following a meeting with company management in which the employee was not granted the salary increase they were seeking, the employee departed the company premises for the day, not indicating that they were resigning or would be unavailable for any length of time. After several workdays passed without the Company hearing from Plaintiff despite the Company's attempts to contact the employee, including requesting local law enforcement to perform a wellness check (which proved the employee to be alive and well), it was clear to the Company that Plaintiff had abandoned their job. In the lawsuit, among other damages, the Plaintiff claims they were owed a higher salary than the one indicated in their job offer letter, for the time worked at the Company, that they are owed reimbursement for expenses and various other damages. Calfee aggressively represented the Defendants through initial written discovery, demonstrating to Plaintiff and his counsel that their allegations were untruthful and that they had no legal basis to pursue them. On behalf of our clients, we negotiated a settlement for less than one month of salary to Plaintiff, significantly less than a nuisance value.
• Obtained summary judgment for an employer on all claims brought by a former employee, including race and sex discrimination and retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Equal Pay Act, and Ohio’s Whistleblower statute.
• Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a manufacturing client in a national origin discrimination lawsuit where the plaintiff alleged that she had been subject to different terms and conditions of employment and then termination because of her nationality.
• Successfully represented a national client by commencing litigation against a former employee seeking to enforce the terms of a non-competition and non-solicitation agreement.
• Settled at less than 1% of the claimant’s alleged damages a claim alleging sexual harassment by a supervisor as well as sex and disability discrimination.
• Obtained dismissal of a lawsuit against a client that claimed damages related to an alleged workplace injury.
• In two cases brought against a municipality alleging civil rights violations, succeeded in obtaining summary judgment in one case and settling the other case for a total of $0 to the plaintiff.

Professional & Community

• Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, Member
• Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center, New Partners Board
• Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, Community Commitment Honor Society Member (pro bono volunteer, 2024)