People: Kristina M. Launey, Partner

Kristina M. Launey

Partner

Sacramento
Direct: (916) 448-0159
Fax: (916) 558-4839
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Ms. Launey is a partner in the Labor & Employment Department of Seyfarth Shaw LLP.  She is an efficient and effective litigator and counselor, specializing in all aspects of employment law, who provides clients with options and helps them achieve results in light of their businesses realities. 

In her counseling practice, Ms. Launey facilitates employers’ compliance with all federal and state employment laws, such as those governing reasonable accommodations, leaves of absence, payment of wages, workplace violence, privacy, and exemptions.  She also frequently represents clients before a variety of administrative agencies, including the EEOC, DFEH, DOL, and DLSE. 

Ms. Launey also has extensive experience litigating single, multi-plaintiff, and class actions in federal and state courts involving, as exemplar, discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, to employment torts, contract, and wage and hour claims, arising under Title VII, Sections 1981 and 1983, the ADEA, FLSA, ADA and California’s FEHA, Labor, and other Codes and regulations.  She also has experience litigating RICO, ERISA, contract and wrongful death cases.  In addition to resolving matters through litigation, Ms. Launey frequently helps clients resolve disputes through various alternative dispute resolution methods.

A member of Seyfarth’s ADA Title III Specialty Team, Kristina regularly provides advice and defends clients in litigation arising under Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act and related California disability access laws - the Unruh Act and Disabled Persons Act.  Specifically, she has defended disability access lawsuits ranging from the very complex and contentious to those resulting in relatively simply settlements.  Her Title III clients include a large non-profit symphony, hotels, restaurants, retailers, financial service providers, manufacturers, investment companies, property owners, salons, gas stations, and technology companies.  In her Title III practice, Ms. Launey has counseled clients on issues ranging from the creation of a new product and configuring special event design to comply with disability access laws, to compliance with service animal, reservations, effective communication, and ticketing requirements of California law and the ADA 2010 Standards.  Ms. Launey has also assisted clients with unique alternative dispute resolution methods and on cutting-edge issues, including website accessibility and captioning videos posted on the internet. 

Ms. Launey practiced employment law prior to joining Seyfarth as a Deputy in the California Legislative Counsel’s Office, where she drafted legislation affecting employers, advised the Legislature on compliance with employment laws, and supervised outside counsel in litigation.  Through her current work as Seyfarth’s California Legislative Team Leader, she helps employers understand, navigate, and implement the requirements of new legislation that impacts the way they do business in California.

Ms. Launey is a partner in the Labor & Employment Department of Seyfarth Shaw LLP.  She is an efficient and effective litigator and counselor, specializing in all aspects of employment law, who provides clients with options and helps them achieve results in light of their businesses realities. 

In her counseling practice, Ms. Launey facilitates employers’ compliance with all federal and state employment laws, such as those governing reasonable accommodations, leaves of absence, payment of wages, workplace violence, privacy, and exemptions.  She also frequently represents clients before a variety of administrative agencies, including the EEOC, DFEH, DOL, and DLSE. 

Ms. Launey also has extensive experience litigating single, multi-plaintiff, and class actions in federal and state courts involving, as exemplar, discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, to employment torts, contract, and wage and hour claims, arising under Title VII, Sections 1981 and 1983, the ADEA, FLSA, ADA and California’s FEHA, Labor, and other Codes and regulations.  She also has experience litigating RICO, ERISA, contract and wrongful death cases.  In addition to resolving matters through litigation, Ms. Launey frequently helps clients resolve disputes through various alternative dispute resolution methods.

A member of Seyfarth’s ADA Title III Specialty Team, Kristina regularly provides advice and defends clients in litigation arising under Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act and related California disability access laws - the Unruh Act and Disabled Persons Act.  Specifically, she has defended disability access lawsuits ranging from the very complex and contentious to those resulting in relatively simply settlements.  Her Title III clients include a large non-profit symphony, hotels, restaurants, retailers, financial service providers, manufacturers, investment companies, property owners, salons, gas stations, and technology companies.  In her Title III practice, Ms. Launey has counseled clients on issues ranging from the creation of a new product and configuring special event design to comply with disability access laws, to compliance with service animal, reservations, effective communication, and ticketing requirements of California law and the ADA 2010 Standards.  Ms. Launey has also assisted clients with unique alternative dispute resolution methods and on cutting-edge issues, including website accessibility and captioning videos posted on the internet. 

Ms. Launey practiced employment law prior to joining Seyfarth as a Deputy in the California Legislative Counsel’s Office, where she drafted legislation affecting employers, advised the Legislature on compliance with employment laws, and supervised outside counsel in litigation.  Through her current work as Seyfarth’s California Legislative Team Leader, she helps employers understand, navigate, and implement the requirements of new legislation that impacts the way they do business in California.

Education

  • J.D., University of California, Davis, King Hall School of Law (2002)
  • B.A., University of California, Berkeley (1999)

Admissions

  • California

Courts

  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
  • U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Affiliations

  • State Bar of California (Labor and Employment Law Section)
  • Sacramento County Bar (Labor and Employment Law Section)
  • California Chamber of Commerce Labor and Employment Legislative Committee (Member)
  • Boys and Girls’ Club of Greater Sacramento (Board Member)
  • Seyfarth Women’s Network National Leadership Team (Member)\
  • Seyfarth California Legislative Team (Leader)

Presentations

  • “The New ADA Title III Regulations and Their Impact on Your Hotels,” Presentation to the Wyoming Lodging and Restaurant Association (March 2012)
  • “Elimination of Bias,” Presentation to the Sacramento Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel (September 2011)
  • California Legislative Update: Presentation at the Seyfarth Shaw In-House Counsel Symposium (November 2012)
  • “New Accessibility Requirements: Get Up to Speed,” Presentations to the Intercontinental Hotels Group Investors Conference (October 2010)
  • “A Hotelier’s Guide to ADA Title III Regulations,” Sponsored by the American Hotel and Lodging Association (October 2010)
  • “Understanding the New ADA Title III Regulations: The Retailer’s Perspective,” Sponsored by the Retail Industry Leaders Association (September 2010)
  • “ADA Basics,” Powerpoint presentation for large information technology company (January 2009)
  • Seyfarth Shaw California Annual Employment Law Update for California Employers (2007-2012)
  • “California Wage and Hour Update: Surfing the Next Wave of Wage & Hour Litigation,” Seyfarth Shaw Breakfast Briefing (October 2008)
  • “Issues of Religion in the Workplace,” Seyfarth Shaw Breakfast Briefing (May 2007) and presented to the Sacramento Area Human Resources Association and San Joaquin Human Resources Association (October 2007- 2008)
  • “Workplace Investigations: An In-Depth Discussion,” presented to the Sacramento Area Human Resources Association (October 2007)

Publications

  • Contributor, “The Americans with Disabilities Act Guide for Lodging Owners & Operators,” American Hotel & Lodging Association (2012)
  • Contributor, “Cal-Peculiarities: How California Employment Law is Different,” Seyfarth Shaw (2011-2012)
  • Chapter Author, “Chapter 2 - The Genesis of a Wage-Hour Lawsuit,” Wage & Hour Collective and Class Litigation, ALM Law Journal Press (2012). Definitive treatise on wage and hour litigation.
  • Seyfarth Shaw California Labor and Employment Legislation Alerts (2007-2012)