Bio

Dr. Mike Schumann earned a B.S. in Biology and M.S. in Animal Science from Oregon State University, his J.D. with a concentration in labor and employment law from DePaul University and his Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky. Mr. Schumann began his career in the construction business and later worked for more than 12 years in the food manufacturing industry in a variety of positions. Prior to becoming a co-founder of a Richmond, Kentucky law firm, Mr. Schumann practiced law in Chicago concentrating in labor, employment, safety and workers' compensation litigation for large corporate and insurance company clients. He was employed by one of the largest workers' compensation defense firms in the state and also has extensive experience negotiating collective bargaining agreements. He has dealt with the UFCW, Teamsters, IBEW, and Service Employees International Unions.

Dr. Michael Schumann was elected as President of the Kentucky Safety & Health Network (KSHN)– which is a non-profit organization run by a volunteer board of directors from Business, Labor, Education and Government. The KSHN, along with the Kentucky Department of Labor, sponsors the annual Governor’s Conference on Safety & Health in Louisville each year. The KSHN also provides over $ 30,000 each year in student scholarships.

Mr. Schumann has extensive experience with both Federal and Kentucky OSHA, involving areas such as safety training, pre-inspection compliance, wall-to wall inspections, citations, administrative reviews and litigation. He is a member of the Board of the Kentucky Safety & Health Network, is an authorized instructor of Federal OSHA’s Training Institute Education Center at EKU, and former chair of the OTIEC construction courses.

At Eastern Kentucky University, Mr. Schumann is a professor and instructor in both the undergraduate and graduate programs. His courses include: ergonomics, safety management, legal aspects of fire protection and safety, hazard identification, principals of occupational safety & health legislation, workers compensation/labor law, and legislation/legal compliance.
Mr. Schumann has conducted over 50 management training seminars, dealing with issues such as safety management; the Americans With Disabilities Act; the FMLA; workers compensation; and human resource issues for such organizations as: United Airlines, Coca-Cola of Chicago, Jewel Food Stores, The Chicago Bar Association, The Kentucky Bar Association, Kemper Insurance, Borg- Warner, EBI Insurance, Abbott Labs, and the Illinois Workers' Compensation Lawyers Association.
He has published several articles including one with the Chicago Bar Association entitled "The Americans with Disabilities Act and its effect on Workers' Compensation". He has also co-authored two books, the first entitled: "Food Safety Law" and the second, "Legal Liabilities for Safety and Loss Prevention Professionals".

Primary Areas of Academic Interest:

Loss Prevention & Safety (Legal Aspects)
OSHA
Fire Law
Workers Compensation
Labor Law
Ergonomics