The Watkins Firm has decades of experience in employer defense in California employment litigation and disputes.  The number of lawsuits faced by employers may never be higher than at this point in our history.  Employers face continuous allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination, wrongful termination, retaliation and wage and hour related violations such as unpaid overtime and employee misclassification.

Defending Southern California Employers in a PAGA Action

Recently, the Private Attorneys General Act or PAGA has created a new challenge which has become a common marketing tool for plaintiffs attorneys.  All it takes is a single disgruntled employee with evidence of a potential wage and hour or employee-related violation.  PAGA allows the employee to step into the shoes California’s Attorney General with substantial power to conduct discovery and even recruit additional existing and former employees.

A single dispute can be used by plaintiffs attorneys to generate an opportunity for a PAGA action exposing a California employer to substantial and often business-ending financial exposure.

In addition, federal actions and lawsuits regarding FMLA disputes or ADA violations can result in costly settlements and significant distraction from the primary function of managing and running your business.

Take Immediate Action and Call Our Experienced Attorneys for Employer Defense in Employment Litigation

The most important take-away from this article on employer defense in employment litigation is simple: take immediate action and seek the legal advice and counsel of the proven, experienced employer defense attorneys at the Watkins Firm.  The substantial initial consultation won’t cost you anything.

The Watkins Firm has more than four decades of experience in employer defense in California employment litigation and related disputes, and a track record of success achieving mitigation through an Administrative Court process, dismissal or an outright victory in Court.

The key is to act, and act immediately.  Many employers who felt like the employee had substantial allegations and in some cases seemingly overwhelming evidence have learned our attorneys are skilled at getting to the core of the case and defeating these allegations.  In a day of extensive social media, e-mail, cell phone records and texting the electronic records rarely if ever support an employee’s assertions over the long term.

Did we mention the key is to act, and act immediately?!  There are steps in many PAGA actions as well as wage and hour disputes which can be taken to reduce or eliminate your exposure as an employer.  However, this requires an immediate response and substantive action to any letter from a plaintiff’s attorney or inquiry from a state agency.  The Watkins Firm will guide you through each step of the process and protect your legal and financial business interests.

Pro-Tip: “Wage and hour and overtime disputes are similar, but PAGA, a private attorney general claim against the employer is a really heating up. There are law firms that just do that and they send out constant communications to every area of employee you can imagine. And if anyone’s thinking about leaving your employment, they’re going to be tempted to get a little severance pay involuntary.

And then misclassification of independent contractors. California keeps changing the law and the courts keep changing their interpretation of the California law. So yes, they do really have to stay on top of that. Sexual harassment is always a scary thing because you can get sued for sexual harassment and lose, even though no one was actually harassed because you didn’t investigate it. That’s a separate cause of action. Failing to investigate it according to the law, even if your investigation finds out that it was a false claim, which seems terrible, but it’s true. And then discrimination claims are always there. Retaliation again for somebody making a false claim. If you retaliate against them for lying about you and suing and lying about you, you’re still liable for retaliating against a liar. Again, terrible but true. And then general wrongful termination, how people are terminated and whether or not you comply, you can get stuck with 60 days of pay that you inadvertently didn’t know about.

The most typical type of cases we see are when people aren’t allowed to have breaks. Let’s break it down to the way I look at it. I break it down into claims where you’re going to get hit with attorney’s fees versus claims where there’s no attorney’s fees allowed. Because the ones where you can get stuck for attorney’s fees are the ones you’re likely going to see in a lawsuit or a claim against you because the lawyers rarely go after the ones that are only break time, or only mischaracterization of how they write the paycheck. If it’s not something with an attorney’s fees clause, you’re not going to see it in a PAGA lawsuit.” – Dan Watkins, Founding Partner

Is There Any Good News for an Employer involved in an Employment Dispute in San Diego?

The simply answer is “Yes.”  The good news is there are immediate actions you can take which can have a substantial, positive impact on the challenge in front of you. Watkins Firm lawyers provide effective employer defense in California employment litigation and employment disputes.  Act immediately.

We invite you to review our podcast Episode 10 – The Importance of a Strong Corporate AttorneyA as well as the strong recommendations of our clients and contact the Watkins Firm or call 858-535-1511 for a complimentary consultation today.

The legal burden of proof in these cases is quite high.  Our legal team thoroughly investigates all of the circumstances surrounding the employee’s allegations and the impact the events have had upon the life of the employee.  When we have completed our examination of the employee, other employees and co-workers, as well as their friends and family members another set of facts often tends to arise.

Learn how we’ve helped other California employers who thought there was no hope in their case to achieve victory and to regain the upper hand in employee relationships within the company.