Michael Vogelsang, Employment Attorney in Washington, District of Columbia

Michael L. Vogelsang, Jr., is a principal at The Employment Law Group® law firm, where he frequently handles cases that involve whistleblower retaliation, employment discrimination, wrongful termination, and other workplace claims.

Since joining the firm in 2007, Mr. Vogelsang has gained extensive experience representing federal employees. He specializes in navigating the administrative labyrinth of cases across dozens of departments and agencies, such as: the Department of Defense, the Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Commerce, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and numerous others.

Mr. Vogelsang’s federal employee work includes responding to adverse personnel actions; filing whistleblower complaints with the Office of Special Counsel; litigating discrimination claims before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; and representing federal employees in appeals to the Merit Systems Protection Board.

Mr. Vogelsang’s notable victories for clients include:

• Confirmation of the extraterritorial application of AIR 21’s whistleblower protections to U.S. airline employees who face retaliation outside the United States;
• The grant of default judgment by the EEOC in multiple cases due to agencies’ failure to follow federal regulations when investigating discrimination complaints;
• An award of about $400,000 in damages and fees for a retaliation complaint against a cabinet agency;
• An award of more than $200,000 in emotional-distress damages in a sexual harassment case against a federal agency;
• An award of retroactive promotion, backpay, emotional-distress damages, and reimbursement of all legal fees and costs in a race and gender discrimination case against a cabinet agency;
• And the reinstatement with backpay and a promotion of an employee removed from federal service.

“People shouldn’t let the size of the government or of their employer make them believe that they don’t have a claim or can’t have their voice heard,” Mr. Vogelsang says. “It can be an intimidating process, but TELG can hold your hand and bring down barriers throughout that process.”

Mr. Vogelsang is a fan of the second option, often preferring to take a bold approach to cases. He remains direct and focused when telling clients what they need to know and when pushing to achieve their goals. Mr. Vogelsang enjoys digging into the legal background of cases and takes care to build a nuanced perspective and strategy. His personal goal is to level the playing field for employees, who often suffer from the inconsistency of administrative courts and biased favor shown towards agencies.

Mr. Vogelsang has co-chaired private-sector jury trials in federal courts in the Eastern District of Virginia and the District of Colorado. He is also active in the LGBT+ community and has litigated sexual orientation discrimination cases in both state and federal court.

Before coming to TELG, Mr. Vogelsang worked as a contract project assistant and paralegal, providing support for various class action civil liability cases. He also served as the real estate legal assistant for The Nature Conservancy in its Latin American division. During his tenure with The Nature Conservancy, he assisted the company’s international programs with purchasing and protecting large tracts of valuable grasslands, watersheds, rain forests, deserts, and coastal preserves throughout Central and South America.

Mr. Vogelsang’s interest in Latin America started during his undergraduate years at the American University, where he majored in International Studies and spent a semester abroad studying Latin American culture and Spanish language in Santiago, Chile. As a result, Mr. Vogelsang is conversant in Spanish. He later received his law degree from the American University Washington College of Law and is a member of the Virginia, D.C., and Maryland bars.

Mr. Vogelsang is a member of several professional organizations including the National Employment Lawyers Association, the Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers Association, the American Bar Association, the National LGBT Bar, and the D.C. LGBT Bar.

For the past two years, The Best Lawyers in America has recognized Mr. Vogelsang for his expertise in employment law and litigation. Lawdragon regularly places him on its annual list of top 500 plaintiff-side employment lawyers. In 2019, Super Lawyers also recognized Mr. Vogelsang as a “Rising Star,” an honor only given to 2.5% of practicing attorneys in each state.

In his personal life, Mr. Vogelsang sees himself as a bit of a nerd. His office is decorated with Stars Wars LEGO, and he’s a big fan of comic books, particularly of Marvel’s Thor. Mr. Vogelsang also enjoys hiking and, as a Los Angeles, CA, native, going to the beach. He loves finding new recipes to try out in the kitchen and especially likes North African, Moroccan, and Greek dishes