David C. Jenkins

Shareholder and Management Committee Member

E-mail: djenkins@k-plaw.com
Phone: 617.654.1761
Practice Areas: General Municipal, Employment & Labor, Litigation

Attorney David Jenkins has over 40 years of labor and employment law related experience.  He serves as labor counsel to numerous municipal clients for collective bargaining, individual employment contracts and employee benefits, grievance and arbitration, and disciplinary hearings before state and federal agencies.  He also acts as lead trial attorney in major litigation in state and federal courts and agencies such as the MCAD involving labor and employment, allegations of tort, and civil rights violations against public sector clients.  In addition to his expertise in labor and employment law, Attorney Jenkins possesses broad-based knowledge in general municipal law.

Attorney Jenkins is also the primary contact for several town counsel clients assisting them in a full array of general municipal issues, including town meetings, municipal charters and by-laws, conflict of interest, public records, the Open Meeting Law, and municipal finance.

Representative Matters

  • Negotiating agreements with numerous public employee unions including police, fire, public works, library, and schools over employment contracts and benefits.  Actively involved in negotiations involving increases in employee health insurance contribution rates, co-pay amounts, and other health insurance changes.
  • Negotiating non-union employment contracts and advising public sector employers on the implementation of the agreements.
  • Defending and/or resolving arbitration matters involving such subjects as discipline, lost detail pay, sick leave buyback, and uniform allowance calculation.
  • Representing municipal clients before the Civil Service Commission and Board of Conciliation and Arbitration in employee discipline, discharge and employment bypass cases.
  • Representing municipal clients in state and federal court in numerous employment related matters.

Select Recent Decisions

  • Trudeau v. Melrose – MCAD, defense verdict
  • Erali v. Town of Orange – United States District Court, defense verdict
  • Megalli v. Town of Marshfield – United States District Court jury trial, defense verdict
  • Taylor v. Town of Freetown – United States District Court, defense summary judgment
  • Lambert v. Town of Montague – Franklin Superior Court jury trial, defense verdict
  • Wynn v. Concord-Carlyle School District – Middlesex Superior Court, defense summary judgment
  • Rijos v. Chelsea, Suffolk Superior Court, defense verdict

Prior Experience

National Association of Government Employees, Boston, MA
Counsel (1978-1982)
Represented public employee union and members in all matters arising out of collective bargaining relationship and representation of police officers in all employment related matters including internal disciplinary procedure and civil rights litigation.

Memberships & Affiliations

  • Massachusetts Bar Association

Bar & Court Admissions

  • Massachusetts Bar
  • U.S. District Court (Mass.)
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
  • Supreme Court of the United States

Education
Suffolk University Law School
Juris Doctor, cum laude, 1977

Suffolk University
Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, 1974

Speaking Engagements

  • Massachusetts Municipal Association Personnel Administration, Presentation of Employment Matters
  • “Police and Fire Injured in Line of Duty,” Massachusetts Association of Fire Chiefs, February 6, 2013