Brendan D. Cummins
Top rated Employment & Labor attorney in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Cummins & Cummins, LLP
Practice areas: Employment & Labor, Nonprofit Organizations
Licensed in Minnesota since: 1997
Education: Yale Law School
Languages spoken: English, Spanish
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2012 - 2026 
Selected to Rising Stars: 2002 - 2004, 2006, 2011 Cummins & Cummins, LLP
920 Second Avenue SouthSuite 1245
Minneapolis, MN 55402 Phone: 612-465-0108 Email: Brendan D. Cummins Visit website
Details 
Brendan Cummins is a founding partner of Cummins & Cummins, LLP. He represents the major labor federations in Minnesota and has helped craft innovative state and local legislation, including Minnesota's best value contracting and responsible contractor laws. Brendan is a fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. He has been certified as a Labor and Employment Law Specialist by the Minnesota State Bar Association and has served on the Governing Council of the MSBA Labor and Employment Section. He has taught courses at the University of Minnesota Law School, Northwestern University Law School, and Mitchell Hamline School of Law. He has published articles on labor law in national law journals, including the ABA Journal of Labor and Employment Law.
First Admitted: 1997, Minnesota
Professional Webpage: https://www.cummins-law.com/attorneys/brendan-d-cummins/
Bar / Professional Activity
- Fellow, College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. Member of Board of Directors, AFL-CIO Union Lawyers Alliance. Member of American Bar Association, Minnesota State Bar Association, and Hennepin County Bar Association., 2022
Verdicts / Settlements (Case Results)
- Mr. Cummins has helped shape the legal landscape in labor law with victories in reported cases in both federal and state court. Examples include Bierman v. Dayton, 900 F.3d 570 (8th Cir. 2018) (upholding the constitutionality of exclusive representation by labor unions under the Minnesota Public Employment Labor Relations Act); Greene v. Dayton, 806 F.3d 1146 (8th Cir. 2015) (holding that the Minnesota Public Employment Labor Relations Act was not preempted by federal labor law as applied to home care workers); Midwest Pipe Insulation, Inc. v. MD Mechanical, 771 N.W.2d 28 (Minn. 2009) (applying federal labor law Garmon preemption to state-law tort claim challenging union’s market recovery program); Twin City Bricklayers Fringe Benefit Funds v. Superior Waterproofing, 450 F.3d 324 (8th Cir. 2006) (applying federal labor law preemption under section 301 of the LMRA to state-law tort claim); Gerhardson v. Gopher News Co., 698 F.3d 1052 (8th Cir. 2012) (applying federal labor law Garmon preemption broadly to state-law tort claim); Brinkman v. Nasseff Mech. Contractors, 251 F.Supp.3d 1266 (D. Minn. 2017) (applying statute of limitations to dismiss claim against union despite arguments for equitable tolling); Greenley v. LIUNA, 271 F.Supp.3d 1128 (D. Minn. 2017) (applying strict scrutiny under the First Amendment to TCPA claim against a union); Fiend, Inc. v. International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, 827 F.Supp.2d 1030 (D. Minn. 2011) (ruling that a request for an injunction to stay arbitration is a “labor dispute” for purposes of the Norris-LaGuardia Act); Patterson v. IATSE Local 13, 754 F.Supp.2d 1043 (D. Minn. 2010) (holding that the federal duty of fair representation preempted state-law discrimination claims against a union); Osthus v. Laborers Dist. Council, 742 F.Supp.2d 1042 (D. Minn. 2010) (denying the National Labor Relations Board’s request for an injunction to require the union to sign or abide by a Section 8(f) agreement in a secondary activity case); Smith v. Local Union No. 110, Intern. Broth. of Elec. Workers, 681 F.Supp.2d 995 (D. Minn. 2010) (permitting removal of a state case to federal court based on preemption by the duty of fair representation); and Queen City Construction, Inc. v. City of Rochester, et al., 604 N.W.2d 363 (Minn. Ct. App. 1999) (upholding legality of project labor agreements in Minnesota)., 2019
Representative Clients
- The major labor federations in Minnesota, including the Minnesota AFL-CIO, Minnesota State Building and Construction Trades Council, Minneapolis Building and Construction Trades Council, St. Paul Building and Construction Trades Council, Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation, and Saint Paul Regional Labor Federation. Mr. Cummins also represents labor organizations in construction, health care, property services, food processing, entertainment, manufacturing, and hospitality, as well as unions in the public sector., 2019
Transactions
- Mr. Cummins has negotiated numerous collective bargaining agreements, including multi-employer contracts covering thousands of employees, and has negotiated project labor agreements for multi-million-dollar construction projects, including the U.S. Bank Stadium Project., 2019
Special Licenses / Certifications
- Board Certified as a Labor and Employment Specialist by the Minnesota State Bar Association, 2019
Pro bono / Community Service
- Provided pro bono counsel to a worker center serving immigrant workers for more than five years. Served on Pastoral Council of Holy Spirit Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Honors
- Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine, Top Lawyer, 2020
- College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, Fellow, 2019
- Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine, Top Lawyer, 2019
- Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine, Top Lawyer, 2018
Educational Background
- Yale Law School, J.D., 1996, Brown University, B.A., 1993.
Scholarly Lectures / Writings
- Has taught labor law at the University of Minnesota Law School. Has taught courses at the Carlson School of Management, Northwestern University School of Law, Mitchell Hamline Law School, the University of Minnesota Labor Education Service, and the Masters in Advocacy and Political Leadership Program (MAPL). Authored The Law of the Land in Labor Arbitration, 25 ABA Journal of Labor & Employment Law 159 (2010); Taking The Fork In The Road, 29 William Mitchell L. Rev. 1069 (2003); and The Thorny Path to Thornhill: The Origins at Equity of The Free Speech Overbreadth Doctrine, 105 Yale L.J. 1671 (1996). Authored Labor Law Updates for Minnesota State Bar Association Labor and Employment Law Section., 2019
- "Special Considerations In Unionized Workplaces," in Job Applicant Screening: A Practice Guide (updated version for 2019)., Authored, 2019
Other Outstanding Achievements
- Mr. Cummins has crafted numerous innovative state and local legislative initiatives, including Minnesota’s responsible contractor law and best value contracting law, state and local prevailing wage legislation, labor peace ordinances and resolutions, and numerous project labor agreements. Mr. Cummins has helped shape the legal landscape in labor law with victories in reported cases in both federal and state court, including cases defending the constitutionality of union representation in the public sector. Examples include Bierman v. Dayton, 900 F.3d 570 (8th Cir. 2018) (upholding the constitutionality of exclusive representation by labor unions under the Minnesota Public Employment Labor Relations Act); Greene v. Dayton, 806 F.3d 1146 (8th Cir. 2015) (holding that the Minnesota Public Employment Labor Relations Act was not preempted by federal labor law as applied to home care workers); Midwest Pipe Insulation, Inc. v. MD Mechanical, 771 N.W.2d 28 (Minn. 2009) (applying federal labor law Garmon preemption to state-law tort claim challenging union’s market recovery program); Twin City Bricklayers Fringe Benefit Funds v. Superior Waterproofing, 450 F.3d 324 (8th Cir. 2006) (applying federal labor law preemption under section 301 of the LMRA to state-law tort claim); Gerhardson v. Gopher News Co., 698 F.3d 1052 (8th Cir. 2012) (applying federal labor law Garmon preemption broadly to state-law tort claim); Fiend, Inc. v. International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, 827 F.Supp.2d 1030 (D. Minn. 2011) (ruling that a request for an injunction to stay arbitration is a “labor dispute” for purposes of the Norris-LaGuardia Act); Patterson v. IATSE Local 13, 754 F.Supp.2d 1043 (D. Minn. 2010) (holding that the federal duty of fair representation preempted state-law discrimination claims against a union); Osthus v. Laborers Dist. Council,742 F.Supp.2d 1042 (D. Minn. 2010) (denying the National Labor Relations Board’s request for an injunction to require the union to sign or abide by a Section 8(f) agreement in a secondary activity case); Smith v. Local Union No. 110, Intern. Broth. of Elec. Workers, 681 F.Supp.2d 995 (D. Minn. 2010) (permitting removal of a state case to federal court based on preemption by the duty of fair representation); and Queen City Construction, Inc. v. City of Rochester, et al., 604 N.W.2d 363 (Minn. Ct. App. 1999) (upholding legality of project labor agreements in Minnesota)., 2019
Office location for Brendan D. Cummins
920 Second Avenue South
Suite 1245
Minneapolis, MN 55402
Selections
15 Years Super Lawyers
5 Years Rising Stars
- Super Lawyers: 2012 - 2026
- Rising Stars: 2002 - 2004, 2006, 2011
Certificates and credentials
MSBA Board Certified Specialists
Labor and Employment
Labor and Employment
