Mark Ishu is a Senior Counsel in the Chicago, IL office of Conn Maciel Carey LLP working in the OSHA and Labor and Employment practice groups.

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Mark advises and represents clients in all aspects of workplace safety and health regulatory matters involving federal OSHA and state OSH programs. He also represents and counsels employers in all aspects of the employer-employment relationship.

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Prior to entering private practice, and for over ten years, Mark was a Trial Attorney for the United States Department of Labor, Office of the Solicitor, where he prosecuted civil violations under federal labor statutes under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, Employee Retirement Income Security Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, Mine Safety and Health Act, Davis Bacon Act, Service Contract Act, Immigration Nationality Act (H-1B, H-2B, H-2A), and whistleblower statutes. Throughout his decade in the Office of the Solicitor of Labor, Mark was dedicated to fostering, promoting, and protecting the welfare of wage earners, job seekers, and retirees in improving working conditions, advancing opportunities for profitable employment, and assuring work-related benefits and rights. To that end, Mark successfully tried cases involving violations of the FLSA in U.S. District Courts as well as OSHA Lockout/Tagout and Confined Space Standards in the Occupational Safety and Health Commission.

 

Mark also served as the OSHA Warrant Coordinator, where he prepared and presented warrant applications to U.S. Magistrate Judges in several Federal District Courts in the Midwest Region. He has successfully defended summary judgment motions in federal court and various administrative tribunals relating to securing retirement benefits for workers, minimum wage for home healthcare workers, overtime/tip credit issues for restaurant workers, and Lockout/Tagout violations in the food processing arena. Additionally, Mark served as a member of the Solicitor’s diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility committee.

 

Prior to joining the Department of Labor, Mark served more than four years as an Assistant Attorney General in the Labor and Employment Division of the Illinois Attorney General’s office, where he prosecuted civil violations under Illinois labor statutes, including the Illinois Minimum Wage Law, Wage Payment and Collection Act, Prevailing Wage Act, Equal Pay Act, and Employee Classification Act. He has tried cases in federal and state court and various administrative tribunals, including employment discrimination issues involving the First Amendment and Title VII in U.S. District Court, and has represented state agencies in EEO related matters and civil service employment personnel hearings.

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A founding member of the Assyrian American Bar Association, Mark resides near Chicago, where he enjoys camping, hiking, and biking with his wife and two children.