Are you searching for an attorney or law firm with extensive experience defending a California employer in a dispute or labor conference?  The Watkins Firm has represented and defended San Diego employers for more than four decades.  We have a strong proven track record at trial in these cases.  The Watkins Firm has the legal skill, resources and experience to defend you as an employer from the moment of an accusation to the point when and if your case winds up in a Court.  The good news is our seasoned employer defense attorneys are able to resolve most employer related disputes and lawsuits quickly and in a cost-efficient manner long before they reach a Court of Law.

Key Takeaways regarding the defense of a California employer in a dispute or labor conference:

1. The risk of an issue with the California Labor Commissioner or employer-related lawsuit continues to increase across California.
2. There is no such thing as an “informal” hearing – the purpose of the hearing or labor conference is to identify issues and immediately create revenue for the State of California.  A lot of employers feel the intent of these meetings is grossly understated.
3. You need an experienced, proven California employer defense attorney to provide sound counsel, help you to mitigate or remediate exposure, and protect your interests and money.

The Risks Facing a San Diego or California Employer

San Diego employers are unfortunately exposed to an increasing number of labor related lawsuits here in San Diego.  Plaintiff’s attorneys attempt to attract employees in order to file lawsuits and gain leverage.  In many cases they will use a PAGA action (Private Attorneys General Act) to attract other employees with apparently similar issues to increase the value and power of their case.

In addition, the California Labor Commissioner and other Federal and State agencies are aggressively pursing actions against San Diego and California employers in order to raise revenue for California.  These hearings and conferences are often heavily weighted to the employee’s advantage and you will need some additional power in your corner to prevent an expensive finding or outcome.

Wage and Hour Violations

The Watkins Firm has more than four decades of experience defending a California employer in a dispute or labor conference extends to wage and hour violations and litigation.  The most common wage and hour allegations and violations have to do with work conducted “off the clock” or the failure to effectively pay employees under California’s minimum wage provisions.  Issues surrounding rest breaks, meals and other mandated labor requirements are quite common here in Southern California.

However, one of the most concerning and potentially expensive exposures San Diego employers face is the misclassification of an employee as an independent contract.  Recent changes in California law have established the legal presumption that any worker in California is to be considered an employee unless and until the employer can prove otherwise.  The establishment of a new “A-B-C” test makes it quite difficult to justify a 1099 classification in today’s work environment.

Proven Track Record Defending a California Employer in a Dispute or Labor Conference  

Defending a California employer in a dispute or labor conference is incredibly fact specific.  The good news is there is often a lot we can do to help to mitigate exposure and greatly reduce or eliminate financial exposure in your case.

This is why it is important to work with the experienced employer defense attorneys at the Watkins Firm.  We have served the San Diego business community for decades and have extensive experience defending a San Diego employer in a dispute with an employee or group of employees.  We work to establish the leverage required to open constructive negotiations with other parties in the case.  We are able to resolve most of our client’s cases through effective, leveraged negotiation.

Mediation and arbitration are effective alternatives to trying the case in a court of law.

Pro-tip: “California has earned a reputation as, hands down, the hardest state in which to be an employer. It’s earned. It really is. The state of California has hired or licensed a whole bunch of lawyers out there to be bounty hunters, and instead of funding any regulation and enforcement, they just said, we can say whatever we want. And they’ll be a lawyer out there who want to get attorney’s fees out of an employer and be a bounty hunter to try to catch you at the tiniest mistakes and make you pay dearly for it.

What’s the best word of caution? Pay attention and have a good lawyer! You need an attorney who stays up to speed and takes those little technical matters seriously, because it doesn’t cost much to be in compliance. It really doesn’t, but it costs so much to get caught. Usually you don’t get caught for a few months and before you know it, you could literally lose hundreds of thousands of dollars for an accounting error or the way you put your paychecks out or your refusal or failure to put up a little sign in your break room. All those little things. There’s some lawyer out there, Mr. Bounty Hunter, looking for you to try to collect five, 10, $15,000 in fees for tiny mistakes.

A good defense starts with a good offense!  Employment contracts, human resource manuals, employee handbooks, rules and regulations, training, and staying up to speed on the ever-changing laws in California.

And if we find a problem, we remediate it.  Immediately. When you do defense work, you want to get rid of cases as soon as possible. Nobody in business makes money just staying in litigation. The most important piece of advice you I often give an employer is the second that you become aware of any potential employee related dispute, Pick up the phone and call us at the Watkins Firm, We can tell you ‘that mole isn’t cancer, or, that sounds like a genuine problem. Let’s take action! Call us, and you describe what’s going on with a certain troubled employee. And we can tell you like skin cancer, oh, that fact scenario doesn’t really fit something that I would go ahead and fight with them or we can say, oh, this one looks bad because of the things they’re complaining about or just the general facts. I would handle it this way. And so you can turn a $20,000 or $30,000 lawsuit situation into empowerment where you can stand your ground or maybe you make some concessions because you got some advice from your lawyer. You need to know when you got to worry about it and when you don’t.” – Dan Watkins, Founding Partner

The Key To Employer Defense – Immediate Action

The key to defending a California employer in a dispute or labor hearings is to take action immediately, as soon as you, the employer, become aware of any issue.  The sooner you contact the employer defense attorneys at the Watkins Firm the greater the opportunity to resolve the matter at hand in a timely and cost-efficient manner.

If you are a San Diego employer and are concerned about a legal dispute with an employee we invite you to review our podcast Episode 39 – What Keeps Employers Up at Night as well as the strong recommendations of our clients and contact the Watkins Firm or call 858-535-1511 for a complimentary consultation today.  Learn more about how we can help to minimize the impact of any potential dispute and keep this challenge from growing bigger while resolving the matter quickly and efficiently.