Tim serves as a trusted advisor for his clients, focusing on partnering with companies to find solutions to their employment problems and lawsuits that fit their expectations and business needs.
Employers face ever-changing and complex employment laws. Tim provides comprehensive counsel to help his clients comply with these laws and avoid litigation.
Tim has been representing employers for over two decades, successfully defeating class certification, winning trials and arbitrations, and negotiating favorable settlements. Tim’s litigation practice primarily involves defending wage/hour class and representative “PAGA” actions. He also routinely defends claims for workplace harassment, wrongful termination, employment discrimination, retaliation, and breach of employment contracts.
Tim’s recent trial and arbitration experience includes a defense verdict in a jury trial involving claims for off-the-clock work and alleged missed meal and rest breaks, a defense verdict in a collective-action bench trial involving claims for unlawful deductions and failure to pay wages, a judgment for the defense in an age and disability discrimination lawsuit, a summary judgment victory dismissing age claims in arbitration, and a defense verdict in a jury trial involving claims for misclassification and unpaid overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
To help companies mitigate risk, Tim collaborates with his clients to advise on litigation avoidance and proactively plan and develop strategies to protect their business. This has provided him with considerable insight into the significant challenges employers face trying to comply with the complex web of employment laws. Tim applies this knowledge when counseling clients and, if needed, when defending litigation. He provides an efficient, effective defense, while minimizing disruption to business operations. As part of his advice practice, Tim assists clients with workforce restructuring, wage and hour audits, employment contacts, employment policies, covenants not to compete, employee handbooks, misconduct investigations, and a host of other compliance issues.
Experience
Representative Class and Collective Actions
- Won summary judgment against the class representative, dismissing entire class action alleging meal period violations, claims for penalties under California Labor Code section 226, restitution under the California Unfair Competition Law (UCL) and penalties under the California Private Attorney General Act (PAGA).
- Defended meal break claim against putative state-wide class; court denied classwide discovery prior to seeking certification and limited discovery to only the location where the class representative worked.
- Represented oil refinery in putative class action in the US District Court for the Central District of California brought by employees of its subcontractor alleging Labor Code Section 2810 violations; motion to dismiss granted.
- Represented company in a class and collective action lawsuit in which the plaintiffs claimed that they were improperly classified as exempt executives and denied overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act and state labor laws.
- Defended class claims brought by sales representative alleging unpaid commissions upon termination of employment in the US District Court Southern District of California; obtained dismissal of individual and class allegations before commencement of discovery.
- Defended wage-and-hour class action in the US District Court for the Central District of California alleging failure to provide meal and rest periods, failure to provide accurate wage statements, and failure to timely pay wages upon termination of employment; obtained dismissal of individual and class allegations before commencement of discovery.
- Defended wage-and-hour class action in Superior Court of California, County of Alameda, alleging failure to timely pay wages upon termination of employment pursuant to California Labor Code section 201-203; claims favorably resolved.
- Defended class claims alleging failure to provide meal periods and rest breaks, inadequate wage statements, and “waiting-time” penalties; class certification denied.
- Represented national retail store in a wage-and-hour class action in the US District Court for the Central District of California brought by employees alleging unlawful deductions from final paychecks. The court denied class certification of state law claims. Prevailed at trial against opt-in plaintiffs.
- Represented national retail store in a wage-and-hour class action in the US District Court for the Central District of California brought by employees alleging that they were misclassified as managers and denied overtime pay and meal and rest breaks. The court denied class certification of state law claims and denied certification of FLSA collective action.
- Represented national retail store in a wage-and-hour action in Los Angeles County Superior Court brought by managers alleging that they had been misclassified as exempt employees. The court denied class certification in part and the remaining claims were favorably resolved.
- Represented national retail store in a wage-and-hour class action in the US District Court for the Central District of California brought by employees alleging that they were misclassified as managers and denied overtime pay. The court granted defendant’s motion to deny class certification and denied plaintiff’s motion for class certification.
- Represented construction supply store in wage-and-hour class action in the Los Angeles County Superior Court brought by managers alleging that they had been misclassified as exempt employees. Obtained dismissal of class allegations and favorable plaintiff settlement before the commencement of discovery.
- Represented hospital in JAMS class action arbitration brought by hourly employees alleging improperly conducted AWS elections, failure to pay overtime, meal and rest period claims, and related alleged violations. The claims were favorably resolved.
- Represented security company in a wage-and-hour class action in Los Angeles Superior Court brought by a former employee alleging missed meal and rest breaks, off-the-clock work, and failure to pay overtime.
- Represented oil refinery in wage-and-hour class action in the US District Court for the Northern District of California brought by employees alleging meal break violations; claims favorably resolved.
- Represented oil refinery in wage and hour class action in the US District Court for the Central District of California brought by employees alleging meal break violations and failure to pay wages upon termination of employment; claims favorably resolved.
- Defended international media conglomerate in a wage-and-hour action in California state court brought by employees alleging that they were not paid commissions owed to them upon the termination of their employment.
- Defended waste management company in a state wage-and-hour class action and national collective action in the US District Court for the Central District of California brought by employees alleging misclassification and failure to pay overtime.
- Defended financial institution in wage-and-hour class action in Los Angeles County Superior Court alleging business development officers were misclassified as outside salespeople.
- Defended national retail store in wage-and-hour class action in the US District Court for the Southern District of California alleging that nonexempt managers work off the clock.
Representative Single-Plaintiff Cases
- Defended age discrimination claim in arbitration; judgment for the defense.
- Defended race and age discrimination, breach of contract, and wrongful termination lawsuit; case voluntarily dismissed by plaintiff with prejudice before hearing on motion for summary judgment.
- Defended disability and age discrimination, breach of contract, and wrongful termination lawsuit; dismissed on summary judgment.
- Defended disability discrimination lawsuit; case favorably resolved before the commencement of discovery.
- Defended claims for Labor Code 970 fraudulent inducement and unfair competition; dismissed on motion to quash; upheld by Court of Appeal.
- Defended national origin and disability discrimination, labor code, breach of contract, and wrongful termination lawsuit; case dismissed by court in its entirety.
- Defended race discrimination lawsuit; dismissed on summary judgment.
- Defended breach of contract and wrongful termination claims; favorably resolved before completion of plaintiff’s deposition.
- Defended claims for age and disability discrimination; discrimination and retaliation claims dismissed on summary judgment.
- Defended an insurance company in age and gender discrimination lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court. The case was compelled to arbitration. After an evidentiary hearing, all claims were dismissed and a complete judgment entered in the company’s favor.
- Defended international airline in race discrimination lawsuit in the US District Court for the District of Arizona. The lawsuit was favorably resolved before discovery commenced.
- Defended temporary staffing company against sexual harassment claim in California state court. The lawsuit was favorably resolved before summary judgment motions were filed.
- Defended state-operated public benefit corporation in discrimination lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The lawsuit was favorably resolved before summary judgment motions were filed.
- Defended international airline in sexual harassment and age discrimination lawsuits filed in California state court. The lawsuits were favorably resolved before summary judgment motions were filed.
- Defended a nonprofit religious corporation in a matter in the US District Court for the Central District of California against claims brought by five former employees alleging, among other things, wrongful termination, failure to pay overtime, and negligent hiring. The lawsuit was favorably resolved before summary judgment motions were filed.
Other Representative Matters and Projects
- Represented multiple companies in connection with Department of Labor investigations and California Employment Development Department audits.
- Assisted multiple different corporations with responses to petition for Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA benefits).
- Represented international corporation in connection with a reduction of workforce and worksite consolidation.
- Represented international airlines in an antitrust action brought by travel agents alleging that the airlines unlawfully conspired to reduce their commission rates.
- Represented multinational company in connection with a stock option backdating investigation. Revised and updated a Fortune 500 company’s employment agreements to comply with federal and California labor and employment laws.
- Advised multinational corporations in connection with a reduction of their workforces, including compliance with the WARN Act and Older Workers Benefit Protection Act.
- Advised international corporation regarding FMLA and CFRA leave and related ADA matters.
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The George Washington University Law SchoolJD
with Honors, Editor, George Washington Law Review
2000 -
University of PennsylvaniaBAHistory and Polical Science
cum laude, with distinction in History
1997
- Member, State Bar of California
- Member, New York State Bar Association
- Contributor, "Cal-Peculiarities: How California Employment Law is Different," 2014-2024
- Co-author, Seventh Circuit Reaffirms the Importance of Identifying a Proper Comparator in Discrimination Claims, Employment Law Lookout, June 21, 2022
- Co-author, "Don’t Throw the Class Waiver Baby Out With the Arbitration Agreement Bathwater," Wage & Hour Litigation Blog, October 8, 2015
- Co-author, "The New Comcast Decision: Not Hungry? No Meal Break Waiver Needed," Wage & Hour Litigation Blog, September 10, 2014
- Co-author, "It’s Not All About the Benjamins – What Really Makes an Exempt Executive," California Peculiarities Employment Law Blog, March 5, 2014
- Co-author, "A Road to Nowhere: Strong Policies Drive Defeat of Driver Reimbursement and Off-the-Clock Claims," Wage & Hour Litigation Blog, December 9, 2013
- Chapter Author, Chapter 6 – Decertification, Wage & Hour Collective and Class Litigation, ALM Law Journal Press, Definitive treatise on wage and hour litigation, 2012
- Co-author, "Employee Blogs Pose Potential Problems for Business," Internet Law Services, December 2006
- Co-author, "Employers Can Defeat Class and Collective Action Overtime Claims," Compensation, Benefits and Employment Law Focus Newsletter, December 2006
- Co-author, "Enforceability of Covenants Not to Compete in California," Compensation, Benefits and Employment Law Focus Newsletter, December 2004
- Co-author, "Ethical Problems Caused by Job Searches," New York Law Journal, October 2000
- California
- New York
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- 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. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
- Presenter, "California Employment Law Update: From Independent Contractors to Arbitration Agreements," CEO Elevation, March 2018
- Presenter, "Arbitration Agreements Gone Bad: How to Avoid Arbitration Pitfalls," Association of Corporate Counsel, Southern California Chapter, October 2014
- Presenter, "PAGA - The Four Letter Word Every In-House Counsel Needs to Know," Association of Corporate Counsel of America, Southern California Chapter, June 2012