Tracey Truesdale

Tracey Truesdale is a seasoned labor and employment attorney with over 30 years of experience representing management. A member of Franczek’s Labor & Employment Practice Group and its former co-chair, Tracey combines deep legal expertise with practical HR insight, having served in-house as Employee Relations Director at CNA Insurance. Her background also includes service as a Special Assistant Illinois Attorney General and Special Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney and partner in the international law firm Ogletree Deakins.

Tracey has extensive experience in occupational safety and health (OSHA) matters. She advises and defends employers in high-stakes OSHA investigations, including those involving fatalities and catastrophic incidents. Her work includes negotiating with federal OSHA regarding citations and penalties, litigating complaints before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, and defending retaliation claims under the OSH Act.

Her employment law practice covers strategic counseling on workforce reductions and mergers and acquisitions; proactive advice on employee discipline, discharge, and leave issues (including FMLA, ADA, and state/local paid sick leave laws); and drafting of employee handbooks and personnel policies. Tracey also has a strong record of success in employment litigation, including single and multi-plaintiff discrimination cases, whistleblower actions under Sarbanes-Oxley, Dodd-Frank, and OSHA Section 11(c), and arbitration and mediation under FINRA and private ADR programs.

In traditional labor matters, Tracey advises clients on collective bargaining strategies and represents them in union organizing and decertification campaigns. She has handled “bet the company” labor disputes, including interest arbitration for a global steel manufacturer, unfair labor practice charges, and a wide range of contract interpretation and discipline arbitrations.

Tracey was elected a Fellow in the College of Labor & Employment Lawyers in 2020 and has been recognized as an Illinois Super Lawyer each year since. She also devotes time to pro bono service as outside counsel to Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church in Oak Park, where she is a member of the congregation.

Selected Publications

• "Illinois Enacts Expansive Job Protections for Military Service Members,” SHRM Online, December 10, 2018”
• “Update on Cook County and Chicago Paid-Sick-Leave Laws,” SHRM Online, June 8,2017
• “University Professor Lacks Grounds for Retaliation Claim,” SHRM Online, March 13, 2015
• “Overtime and Tax Consequences of Year-End Bonuses,” SHRM Online, January 14, 2014