The Firm successfully represented a public university in a discrimination and harassment case by a former employee who claimed that he was terminated and harassed because the university did not adequately protect him from claims and publications about his conduct, that the university was biased against him in its investigation of the complaints about him, and that his termination was based on his status as a light-skinned, Latino, heterosexual male. He alleged that because the claims made against him were by minority women in the LBGTQ community, the university’s treatment of him must have been based on his protected characteristics. The plaintiff aggressively litigated this case, seeking millions of dollars in alleged lost wages, lost pension, and emotional distress damages. The Firm succeeded in obtaining a complete judgment for its client through a Motion for Summary Judgment, in which the trial court found that the Plaintiff failed to meet his burdens of proving that his termination and treatment by the university were based on his protected characteristics. This was a total victory for our client.
The Firm successfully represented an international mining company when the employer was sued in a state-court class action that challenged the company’s classification of its Maintenance Supervisors as salaried, exempt employees. The lawsuit sought millions of dollars in allegedly unpaid overtime, meal-period and rest-period compensation, and PAGA civil penalties. After the trial court certified the class, attorneys at the firm wrote, argued, and won a Motion for Summary Judgment, by which the judge found that our client had, as a matter of law, properly classified its Maintenance Supervisors. This was a total victory for our client.
The Firm defended an international distribution/logistics company in state court, and then the federal court, against class-action claims that the company failed to properly pay its drivers and failed to provide proper meal periods to these employees. Working in concert with another law firm, our Firm first succeeded in defeating class certification. Then, we successfully obtained voluntary dismissals by some of the remaining, named plaintiffs and obtained summary judgment against the other remaining, named plaintiffs. In addition, our client was awarded by the trial court more than One Million Dollars attorneys’ fees and costs.
In other wage-and-hour class-action cases involving claims of unpaid overtime, unlawful meal-period and/or rest-period practices, erroneous paycheck reporting, and seeking PAGA civil penalties, the Firm has represented—among others—a foreign insurance company, a quick-service restaurant franchisee, and a multinational, employer-benefits company in quickly and cost-effectively resolving their claims.
On the traditional labor-law front, the Firm guided one of Kern County’s largest employers through protracted collective-bargaining negotiations that resulted in a four-month lockout of all union-represented employees. The parties ultimately resolved the lockout and the associated unfair labor practice charges and reached a new collective bargaining agreement that successfully addressed many of the Company’s key business objectives.
The Firm defended a large employer in the Port of Los Angeles against a former employee’s claims of age discrimination and wrongful termination. After conducting an aggressive discovery campaign, the Firm won summary judgment for its client on all claims.
The Firm has successfully advised employers throughout the United States on their union-avoidance strategies, including conducting management training, running numerous campaigns, defending unfair labor practice charges, negotiating collective bargaining agreements, and leading efforts to decertify incumbent unions.