Attorney Bios

Frank L. Carrabba

  Frank L. Carrabba has been engaged in the practice of labor and employment law for over 47 years. He is Board Certified in Labor and Employment law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. For over seventeen years, Mr. Carrabba has held an AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating through Martindale-Hubbell Legal Directory, the highest rating given by this directory, in legal ability and ethical standards. He was also featured as one of Texas’ Top Rated Lawyers in 2012 and 2013 by Martindale-Hubbell. In addition, Mr. Carrabba was selected as a Texas Super Lawyer by his peers in a comprehensive nomination and polling process as being among the top 5% of the practicing attorneys in Texas in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. Texas Super Lawyers is currently a Thomson Reuters service. He was also selected as one of the Top Lawyers in Houston in 2004 and 2005 in a polling process conducted by H Texas Magazine.

He began his career in 1971 in Washington, D.C. where he served as an attorney-advisor to a member (judge) of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Thereafter, from 1973 to 1977, he was a trial attorney for the NLRB in Houston and San Antonio, Texas. The first case he tried at the NLRB, Eastex, Inc., resulted in a United States Supreme Court decision in 1978.

In 1977, Mr. Carrabba went into the private practice of labor and employment law representing employers exclusively. He currently advises management clients in all areas of labor and employment law, including employment discrimination, Title VII, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act, Affirmative Action Programs, wrongful termination, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the National Labor Relations Act, collective bargaining, arbitration, retaliatory discharge under the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, labor relations (employee handbooks) and personnel policies.

Successful matters that he has handled on behalf of employers include a United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit win over the National Labor Relations Board in 2013; a Federal District Court victory for a construction company where a union was seeking over $8,000,000.00 in alleged damages; a Federal Court jury trial involving allegations of race and national origin discrimination; a State Court jury trial alleging age discrimination; and a dismissal of an NLRB case by an Administrative Law Judge.

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY:

  • Shareholder, Law Office of Frank L. Carrabba, A Professional Corporation, February 1, 1985 to present;
  • Partner, Saccomanno, Clegg, Martin & Kipple, Houston, Texas, 1980 to January 31, 1985;
  • Associate, Saccomanno, Clegg, Martin & Kipple, Houston, Texas, 1978 to 1980;
  • Head of Labor Section, Childs, Fortenbach, Beck & Guyton, Houston, Texas, 1977 to 1978;
  • Trial Attorney, National Labor Relations Board, Region 23, Houston and San Antonio, Texas, 1973 to 1977;
  • Attorney Advisor to Board member (Judge) Ralph E. Kennedy, National Labor Relations Board, Washington, D.C., 1971 to 1973.

LEGAL PUBLICATIONS:

  • Associate Editor, Texas Employment Law Handbook, 1989 to present, Texas Association of Business;
  • Author, A Management Guide to Union Organizing In The Construction Industry, 1996, 2004, Independent Electrical Contractors – Texas Gulf Coast Chapter;
  • Co-Author, Labor Relations Guide, 1996, 2003, Houston Chapter, Associated General Contractors of America, Inc.;
  • Contributing Editor, The Developing Labor Law, Second Edition, 1983 and supplements thereto, An American Bar Association and Bureau of National Affairs Publication;
  • Author: Comment, The Revised Philadelphia Plan As An Instrument For Insuring Equal Employment Opportunity In The Construction Trades: Its Legality And Possible Alternatives, 8 Houston Law Review 342 (1970) reprinted in 1971 Yearbook of Procurement Articles, and author of articles for various other Labor Publications.

LECTURER:

  • Employment Law Seminar, May, 2018, Independent Electrical Contractors, Texas Gulf Coast Chapter, Houston, Texas;
  • Employment Law Seminar, June, 2017, Independent Electrical Contractors, Texas Gulf Coast Chapter, Houston, Texas;
  • Employment Law Seminar, June, 2016, Independent Electrical Contractors, Texas Gulf Coast Chapter, Houston, Texas;
  • Labor Relations Seminar, May, 2016, Independent Electrical Contractors, Texas Gulf Coast Chapter, Houston, Texas;
  • Labor Seminar, Ignorance of the Law Can Be Very Costly, August, 2015, Independent Electrical Contractors of Texas, Half Moon Bay, California;
  • Labor Relations Seminar, April, 2015, Independent Electrical Contractors, Texas Gulf Coast Chapter, Houston, Texas;
  • Employment Law Seminar, March, 2015, Independent Electrical Contractors, Texas Gulf Coast Chapter, Houston, Texas;
  • Labor Relations Seminar, March, 2015, Centex Independent Electrical Contractors, Austin, Texas;
  • Labor Relations Seminar, January, 2015, Independent Electrical Contractors, Texas Gulf Coast Chapter, Houston, Texas;
  • Employee Classification, January, 2013, CenTex Independent Electrical Contractors;
  • What Has the Obama NLRB Done to You Lately, June, 2012, Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC) – Texas Gulf Coast, Houston, Texas;
  • The Obama NLRB – What It Means for Your Company, April, 2010, AGC – Houston Chapter, Houston, Texas;
  • Labor Relations Workshop, Your Rights Under the National Labor Relations Act, March, 2010, CenTex Independent Electrical Contractors;
  • Recent Developments Concerning Union Organizing and the NLRB, March, 2010, CenTex Independent Electrical Contractors;
  • Labor Updates: Changes at the NLRB Under the Obama Administration, April, 2009, Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC) – Texas Gulf Coast, Houston, Texas;
  • How to Successfully Defend Against Unemployment Claims, May, 2008, Texas Association of Business and Baytown Chamber of Commerce;
  • What to Do When You Receive a Charge of Discrimination from the EEOC, April, 2008, Ellis County, Texas HR Consortium;
  • Labor Relations Seminar, October, 2007, Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC) – Texas Gulf Coast Chapter;
  • How to Successfully Defend Against Unemployment Claims, July, 2007, Texas Association of Business – Houston Coastal Chapter and Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce;
  • Hiring Issues, June, 2006, AGC Houston Chapter, Houston, Texas;
  • How to Protect Yourself When Hiring – Employment Applications, February, 2006, Baytown Chamber of Commerce;
  • Labor Relations Seminar, October, 2005, AGC Houston Chapter, Houston, Texas;
  • Unemployment Claims, April, 2005, Texas Association of Business – Tyler Employment Relations Conference;
  • Union Tactics Seminar, December, 2003, Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC) – Texas Gulf Coast;
  • How to Conduct A Proper Investigation: Fair Credit Reporting Act and National Labor Relations Act Considerations, July, 2003, AGC Houston Chapter;
  • Hiring and Firing Practices, February, 2003, Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), Houston Chapter;
  • Labor and Employment Law Seminar, 2002, Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC) – Texas Gulf Coast Chapter;
  • Labor Law Seminar, 2000, IEC – Texas Gulf Coast, CenTex (Austin) and San Antonio Chapters;
  • Labor and Employment Law Update, 1999, IEC of Texas Annual Convention, Austin, Texas;
  • Current Union Salting Tactics and Their Effects on Employers, 1999, Houston Management Lawyers Forum;
  • NLRB Mock Trial, 1998, IEC of Texas Annual Convention, Galveston, Texas;
  • Labor Relations Seminar, 1997, Houston Chapter, Associated General Contractors of America, Inc. (AGC);
  • Employment Law Update – A Management Perspective, 1995, Houston Chapter, AGC;
  • 17th Annual Employment Relations Symposium, 1995, Texas Association of Business & Chambers of Commerce, San Antonio, Texas;
  • Union Organizing and the Changing Labor Climate under the Clinton Administration, 1993, 1994, Associated Builders & Contractors (ABC), Houston Chapter;
  • Employment Discrimination Law Seminar, 1985, Retail Grocers Association of Houston;
  • Labor Law Seminar, 1983, Texas Restaurant Association, Texas Retail Merchants Association and Texas Hospital Association, Houston, Texas;
  • Labor Law Seminar, 1980, Industrial Relations Research Association, Houston, Texas;
  • Legal Research and Writing, 1970-1971, University of Houston Law Center.

BAR ASSOCIATIONS:

  • Member: American Bar Association (Committee on Development of the Law Under the National Labor Relations Act, Labor and Employment Law Section and Litigation Law Section);
  • Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit;
  • State Bar of Texas, (Labor and Employment Law and Litigation Law Sections);
  • Houston Bar Association (Labor and Employment Law and Litigation Law Sections);
  • Houston Management (Labor) Lawyers’ Forum.

EDUCATION:

  • Georgetown University Law Center and George Washington University School of Law, graduate labor law courses;
  • University of Houston (B.B.A., 1968; J.D., 1971);
  • Member, Order of the Barons;
  • Associate Editor, Houston Law Review.

COURTS TO WHICH ADMITTED TO PRACTICE:

  • United States Supreme Court;
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit;
  • United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida
  • Texas State Courts.

RECENT REPORTED CASES:

  • Independent Electrical Contractors of Houston, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board,
    2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 12231 (5th Cir. June 17, 2013)
  • Pollock Electric, Inc., 349 NLRB No. 69 (2007)
  • Sheet Metal Workers Int’l Ass’n Local Union No. 67 v. Todd-Ford Mgmt. Co.,
    2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34398 (W.D. Tex. March 9, 2006)
  • CenTex Independent Electrical Contractors Assoc., Inc., 344 NLRB 1393 (2005)

REFERENCES:
Will be furnished upon request.