Labor & Employment

Defended an executive accused of misappropriation of trade secrets and unfair competition by his former employer.  Negotiated protocols for return of alleged confidential information, release of claims, and ground rules for solicitation of customers.

Assisted a service client with more than 1,000 employees in resolving PAGA complaints which alleged numerous Labor Code violations regarding minimum wage, overtime, rounding meal and rest breaks, expense reimbursements, and paystubs.

Defended a service employer charged with refusal to bargain in good faith and unlawful recognition of another labor organization as the exclusive bargaining representative of the affected employees.  Following extensive briefing, the NLRB Regional Director dismissed the charge and determined that the affected employees were properly accreted to a preexisting bargaining unit.

A very successful product distributor needed assistance in ensuring compliance with California’s wage and hour laws.  Newmeyer Dillion helped the business transition to a system that helped the business document its compliance, improve its management systems, while at the same time improving employee morale.  Newmeyer Dillion then performed a detailed analysis of unique issues affecting executive level staff to make sure the business was fully informed when making key business decisions.

Handled defense of client with more than 500 employees in resolving PAGA complaints which alleged numerous Labor Code violations regarding minimum wage, overtime, rounding meal and rest breaks, expense reimbursements, and paystubs.

Defended a restaurant in several lawsuits arising out its kitchen personnel.  Single-handedly uncovered a plot amongst various former employees to defraud the employer through litigation, implicating even their counsel.  Litigation ended in “waiver of cost” deals for the employer for which they paid nothing.

Took over an age discrimination lawsuit against a major homebuilder and within 60 days, through his own informal discovery efforts and deposition was able to show that the plaintiff had engaged in various illegal activities to compel a settlement that required the client to pay nothing.

Successfully pursued former high level employee of a large, international company who left and began to compete against our client relying on trade secrets and proprietary information.  Through formal and informal discovery techniques, was able to reveal a plot to unfairly compete against the client.  Compelled a settlement that saw the return of all trade secret information and payment of hundreds of thousands of dollars to the client in damages.

Appealed Employment Development Department’s finding of an employment relationship between employer-client and an entirety category of its workers, which determination would have been detrimental to the client’s ability to operate. Tara crafted an innovative legal argument for her client, which resulted in a three judge panel of the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board unanimously deciding to reverse the findings of the EDD, determining that the workers were independent contractors and not employees.

Newmeyer Dillion successfully defended a national homebuilder against claims brought by purchasers seeking to cancel the purchase contract for a new home in Las Vegas. Claimants demanded a refund of deposits that the contract stated were nonrefundable and that were unlikely to be recouped if the home was later sold to another buyer with different tastes. The dispute was the first to test the homebuilder’s Nevada-specific contract, which we drafted and tailored from the homebuilder’s California contract with an eye toward managing litigation risk in the jurisdiction in order to protect the client from the outset. Our strategy focused on demonstrating that the provisions of this Nevada-specific purchase agreement protected the homebuilder throughout the construction process and did not entitle the claimants to a refund. Ultimately, the arbitrator agreed that our client was not required to issue a refund or provide a credit to the claimants towards the purchase of a new home, in a rare total defense arbitration award.