While employed by the NLRB, Ms. Fernbach also mediated employment disputes as a member of the Federal Shared Neutrals Program for employees working in the federal sector. She also received training as a volunteer mediator under the auspices of the EEOC Mediation Office in New York City. In 2017, she retired from the NLRB and immediately became active as an arbitrator/mediator and a law professor.

In 2019, she was appointed by the American Arbitration Association as a labor arbitrator and placed on their panel. She has been selected for numerous labor arbitrations in both the private and public sector. She has also been selected as a permanent arbitrator on multiple collective bargaining agreements. As a neutral, Ms. Fernbach also has experience engaging in workplace investigations and certifying card check agreements.

In 2023, she was appointed as a mediator for the EDNY Federal District Court Mediation Panel. She mediates labor, employment discrimination, and wage and hour cases filed in District Court.

Ms. Fernbach is recognized as a legal expert in her field. She has taught many courses including labor law, employment law, alternative dispute resolution, and collective bargaining. Upon her retirement from the NLRB, she taught at Hofstra University, Maurice A. Deane School of Law as a Visiting Assistant Professor and served as a co-advisor for the school’s Journal of Labor & Employment Law. She also teaches as an adjunct professor at her alma mater, St. Johns Law School.

Throughout her career, she has achieved numerous promotions, awards, and recognition for her outstanding federal public service. In 2015, she was selected by her peers as a fellow of the College of Labor & Employment Lawyers, an honorary legal organization that recognizes only the most accomplished members of the labor and employment law community. She has been invited to speak before many organizations, including the American Bar Association, New York State Bar Association, New York City Bar Association, Practicing Law Institute, Nassau County Bar Association, Cornell Institute of Labor Relations, Hofstra Labor Studies Program, and the Labor Employment Relations Association (LERA).

Ms. Fernbach is an Executive Board Member of the Labor & Employment Law Section of the NYS Bar Association, Member of the Dispute Resolution Section of the NYS Bar Association, Executive Board Member of the LI-LERA Chapter and a member of the Labor and Dispute Resolution Sections of the Nassau County Bar Association.

Ms. Fernbach graduated from St. John’s University School of Law in 1977 with honors as a member of the St. John’s Law Review.

She is available to mediate labor and employment law cases virtually, at our Main office or New York City office.