Affiliations

• American Bar Association
• Beverly Hills Bar Association
• Los Angeles County Bar Association

Representative Engagements

• Head v. Costco Wholesale Corp., Case No. B222841 (Cal. Ct. App. February 10, 2011) (affirming summary judgment against certified class of 800 managers claiming miscalculation of overtime pay upon reclassification of managers from exempt to nonexempt)
• The San DiegoUnion-Tribune, LLC, Case No. 37-2009-00082322-CU-OE-CTL (Cal. Super. Ct.) (putative class action alleging that defendant misclassified newspaper carriers as independent contractors instead of employees)
• McClatchy Newspapers, Inc. adv, Galindo, Case No. 34-2009-00033950-CU-OE-GDS (Cal. Super Ct.) (putative class action alleging that defendant misclassified newspaper carriers as independent contractors instead of employees)
• Costco Wholesale Corp. v. Superior Court, 47 Cal. 4th 725 (2009) (reversing Court of Appeal and holding that trial court erred in directing an in camera review of opinion letter Costco received from outside counsel, as that direction violated the attorney-client privilege and statutory prohibitions against requiring disclosure of information claimed to be subject to the attorney-client privilege in order to rule on a claim of privilege)
• NorthCounty Times adv. Dalton, Case No. 08-CV-1072 BTM NLS (S.D. Cal.) (class action alleging that defendant misclassified newspaper carriers as independent contractors instead of employees)
• Alvarado v. Costco Wholesale Corp., Case No. C 06-04015 MJJ (N.D. Cal. 2007) (granting summary judgment against named plaintiff in putative class action for alleged off-the-clock work)
• Marin v. Costco Wholesale Corp., 169 Cal. App. 4th 804 (2008) (reversing judgment and ordering judgment to be issued for the corporate defendant in a class action alleging failure to pay proper overtime on a semi-annual hourly bonus)
• Harrington v. Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Case No. BC 324571 (Cal. Super. Ct.) (wage-hour class action seeking meal-period and rest-break pay, unpaid wages, and uniform and tool cost reimbursement)
• Castenada v. Costco Wholesale Corp., Case No. BC 399302 (Cal. Super. Ct.) (denying class certification to employees alleging they were unpaid while being forced to remain on premises after business hours)
• Ellis v. Costco Wholesale Corp., Case No. C04 3341 MHP (N.D. Cal.) (nationwide gender discrimination class action by women claiming denial of promotion to upper warehouse manager positions)
• Edmisten v. Dollar Tree Stores, Inc., Case No. 03CC00505 (Cal. Super. Ct.) (wage-hour class action seeking wages and penalties for meal-period and rest-break violations)
• Williams v. Dollar Tree Stores, Inc., Case No. 03CC00505 (Cal. Super. Ct.) (wage-hour class action seeking overtime pay for allegedly misclassified store managers)
• Randall v. Costco Wholesale Corp., Case No. BC 296369 (Cal. Super. Ct.) (wage-hour class action by department managers claiming they were misclassified as exempt and are owed overtime pay)
• Ha v. Daewoo Motor America, Inc., Case No. BC 227451 (Cal. Super. Ct.) (wage-hour class action seeking minimum wage and overtime pay by 5,000 student workers who allegedly were employees, not independent contractors)
• Wessling v. AMN Healthcare, Inc., Case No. 01 CV 0757 W (RBB) (putative class action by female employees alleging that exclusion of prescription contraceptives in otherwise comprehensive health care plan violates Title VII)
• Erickson v. Bartell Drug Co., Case No. C00-1213L (W.D. Wash.) (class action by female employees alleging that exclusion of prescription contraceptives in comprehensive health care plan violates Title VII)
• Miranda v. Prudential Ins. Co. of Am., Case No. C96-9372 (W.D. Wash.) (employment discrimination claims of putative class action of insurance sales agents; class action allegations dismissed after discovery)
• Ackerman v. Warnaco Inc., Case No. 94-3527 (W.D. Pa. 1994) (lawsuit by 169 plaintiffs alleging wrongful denial of severance pay after plant  shutdown)
• Elliott v. Kaiser Steel Corp., Case No.   (C.D. Cal.) (class action for retiree benefits by 2400 retirees)
• Selman v. Foote Cone & Belding, JAMS Case No. 1100034348 (September 16, 2002) (complete defense award, after 17-day hearing, against claims of breach of contract, sexual harassment, retaliation, and disability discrimination brought by dismissed executive creative director)
• White v. Ultramar Inc., 21 Cal. 4th 563 (1999) (holding that “managing agent,” whose actions create vicarious employer liability for punitive damages, must be employee who exercised substantial discretionary authority over significant aspects of corporation’s business)
• Burrahm v. Impco Technologies, Inc., Case No. VC 026992 (Cal. Super. Ct. 1999) (complete defense jury verdicts against three plaintiffs on all claims, including breach of contract, fraud, and wrongful termination in breach of public policy)
• Movsesian v. Bosley Medical Institute, Case No. BC 187752 (Cal. Super. Ct. 1999) (defense jury verdicts on behalf of individual defendant on sexual harassment and defamation claims and corporate defendant on retaliation claims)
• Strother v. Southern California Permanente Medical Group, 79 F.3d 859 (9th Cir. 1996) (partially affirming summary judgment and holding that plaintiff alleging harassment in employment cannot pursue claims under California Unruh Act or directly under California Constitution)
• Gonzalez v. MethPath Inc., 214 Cal. App. 3d 422 (1989) (upholding summary judgment and awarding defendant $10,000 in attorney’s fees against plaintiff claiming discriminatory denial of promotion)
• Harris v. Alumax Inc., 897 F.2d 400 (9th Cir. 1985) (upholding summary judgment  against breach of contract and emotional distress claims)
• Potter v. Daewoo Motor America, Inc., Case No. TC012556 (Cal. Super. Ct. 2000) (summary judgment against executive alleging constructive discharge as a whistleblower and asserting pseudo-class allegations on behalf of American workers with respect to Korean expatriates)
• Howard v. Honeywell Inc., Case No. SC033003 (Cal. Super. Ct. 1996) (summary judgment against company paralegal allegedly fired for whistleblowing)
• Hart v. Times Advocate Co., Case No. N65552 (Cal. Super. Ct. 1996) (summary judgment against claim of disability discrimination)
• Adams v. NEC America, Inc., Case No.  BC 127812 (Cal. Super. Ct. 1996) (summary judgment against dismissed salesperson’s claim of breach of employment contract)
• Brown v. AT&T, Case No. CV 93 02656 LGB (C.D. Cal. 1994) (summary judgment granted against claim of race and age discrimination), aff’d mem., (9th Cir. 1996)
• Czerny v. Hilton Hotels Corp., Case No. BC 015653 (Cal. Super. Ct. 1993) (complete defense jury verdict against claims of sexual harassment)
• Portillo v. McAnally Enterprises, Inc. (Cal. Super. Ct. 1988) (complete defense judgment in bench trial on contract and employment discrimination claims)

Publications

Books:

• Age Discrimination in Employment Law (BNA) (2003)
• Public Employee Privacy:  A Legal and Practical Guide To Issues Affecting The Workplace (1995)
• Sexual Harassment In Employment Law (1992 & Supps. 1997, 1999)
• Primer On Sexual Harassment (1992)

Book Chapters:

• Chapter 2, The Hiring Process, Merrick Rossein, Employment Law Deskbook for Human Resources Professionals (West Group 2002)
• Chapter 1, The Legal Context, James J. McDonald, Jr. & Francine B. Kulick, Mental and Emotional Injuries in Employment Litigation (1st ed. 1994)
• Law in the United States, Combating Sexual Harassment at Work, 11 Conditions of Work Digest (1992)

Annual Editions:

• Preventing Sexual Harassment:  A Fact Sheet for Employees (BNA 1993-2006)

Articles:

• Preventing En garde:  Don’t Ignore the Obvious when Preparing to do Battle in Deposition, LA & SF DAILY JOURNAL, December 12, 2001, at 8 (Verdicts & Settlements supplement).
• An Affair to Remember:  The Use and Misuse of Rumors in the Workplace to Prove a Sexually Hostile Environment, 17 Empl. Disc. Rept. (BNA) 512 (October 24, 2001).
• Animus Assessment:  Workers’ Compensation Preemption of Emotional Distress Claims,  LA & SF DAILY JOURNAL, March 21, 2001, at 17 (Supplement on VERDICTS & SETTLEMENTS)
• Arbitrate On [re drafting arbitration agreements], LA & SF DAILY JOURNAL, VERDICTS & SETTLEMENTS, Dec. 15, 2000 at 12.
• Boss, Meet My Lawyer:  Dealing With The Represented Employee, CALIFORNIA LABOR LETTER, June 2000, at 8-10
• Talk to My Lawyer, HOUSE COUNSEL MAGAZINE, July/August 2000, at 33-34
• Supreme Court Clarifies Employer Liability Under Title VII for Supervisor’s Sexual Harassment of Subordinate, 11 EMPL. DISC. REPT. (BNA) 112 (1998)
• Automatic Weapon: State Hostile Environment Law Should be Friendlier to Non-Negligent Employers, L.A. DAILY JOURNAL, July 9, 1998, at A6
• Head Cases:  Differing Definitions of Mental Disability Under State and Federal Law, LA & SF DAILY JOURNAL, April 16, 1998
• Nothing Personal:  Individual Supervisors May Now Have a Shield Against Claims of Discrimination, Aiding and Abetting and Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress, LA & SF DAILY JOURNAL, November 18, 1996, at 18 (Supplement on CALIFORNIA LAW BUSINESS)
• Singled Out —  When Is An Individual Manager or Supervisor Exposed to Liability in An Employment Claim?, LA & SF DAILY JOURNAL, July 27, 1995, at 26 (Supplement on THE WORKPLACE IN TRANSITION)
• Workers’ Compensation Exclusivity — A Return to Basics, LA & SF DAILY JOURNAL,  Nov. 17, 1994, at A7.
• Trend Towards Requiring Union-Represented Employees to Arbitrate Employment Discrimination Claims, 2 EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION REPORT (BNA) 594 (May 11, 1994)
  After Acquired Evidence as a Defense In Wrongful Discharge Actions, 44 Lab. L.J. 531 (1993)
• An Employer’s Guide to the Americans With Disabilities Act:  From Job Qualifications to Reasonable Accommodations, 24 JOHN MARSHALL L. REV. 693 (1991)
• An Employer’s Guide to the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 LAB. L.J. 323 (1991)

Other publications include numerous outlines prepared for distribution at talks for human resources managers and attorneys on such topics as California contract law, drug testing, employee privacy, sexual harassment, wrongful dismissal, employment discrimination, and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Accolades

• Cited as leading lawyer for Labor and Employment in California by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Business Lawyers in its annual editions for 2005 through 2011
• Cited as Southern California Super Lawyer, Employment and Labor, in annual editions 2003-2011