Yldefonso López-Morales

Yldefonso López-Morales is a Senior Counsel in the Labor and Employment Law Department. Yldefonso has been associated with O’Neill & Borges since 1999 where he was a member for multiple years. From 1987 to 1988 he served as Law Clerk to Puerto Rico Supreme Court Associate Justice, Honorable Antonio S. Negrón-García.

Yldefonso’s practice includes advising and assisting employers in connection with collective bargaining negotiations, union campaigns, and unfair labor practice charges. His vast experience in this area has allowed him to provide successful assistance to employers in the hotel, retail, security and transportation industries, in connection with representation elections before the National Labor Relations Board. He also represents employers in labor and employment related litigation and arbitration proceedings before the local and federal courts, and before administrative agencies, in connection with claims for all types of employment discrimination, sexual harassment, defamation, wrongful termination, and wage and hour claims.

Yldefonso was the lead counsel for the employer in the landmark opinion of Feliciano Marte v. Sheraton Old San Juan, issued on June 29, 2011, in which the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico established a series of new rules in the context of wrongful discharge and retaliation claims.

Other representatives cases include:

• Dr. Harley Arraut Ramírez, et al. v. Ramón Rodríguez Ramos, et al., Puerto Rico Supreme Court, Case No. CC‑2011-0433 (October 25, 2012)(mandamus, tort, libel and slander);
• UITICE v. ASDA, Puerto Rico Supreme Court, Case No. CC-2002-386 (June 4, 2003)(jurisdictional issues);
• Aurelio Rosado, et al. v. Wackenhut Puerto Rico, Inc., et al., U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Cir., Case No. 05-1325 (December 29, 2005)(age discrimination and ADA);
• Carlos Pérez Reyes v. Gisselle Ortiz Cáceres, Puerto Rico Court of Appeals, Case No. KLAN200100723 (September 27, 2001)(musicians as independent contractors);
• Bermore Malavé Torres, et al. v. Squibb Manufacturing, Inc., Case No. KLAN9700903 (May 26, 1998)(unlawful dismissal, discrimination, revision standard by Appellate Courts).

Also, Yldefonso is recognized as one of the top speakers in labor and employment matters in Puerto Rico. As such, multiple organizations in the banking, pharmaceutical, hospitality, and insurance industries, including Fortune 500 organizations, regularly retain his services for their management trainings and education in all labor and employment matters.

Yldefonso has been a member of the Labor Law Committee of the Puerto Rico Bar Association, and was designated as the Government Affairs Director of the Puerto Rico Chapter of the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) in 2011. For the last 20 years, he has been a frequent speaker for several organizations, such as the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce and the Association of Labor Relations Professionals (ALRP), on the entire spectrum of labor and employment topics, including workplace discipline, discrimination, sexual harassment, union avoidance and maintaining a union-free workplace, among others.