San Diego Employer Defense Attorneys

Employment Defense – Protecting Employers From Legal Liability

At the Watkins Firm, we have almost four decades of experience providing sound counsel and advice to support and protect our business owners and employer clients in San Diego and across California.

Your Watkins Firm employment defense attorney will help you to develop, adopt and implement employee handbooks and effective employment policies and procedures and resolve any employee disputes that might arise. When an employment dispute ends up in an agency hearing or litigation we offer skilled employer defense based upon a successful track record of proven success.

The State of California is perhaps the most complex and challenging legal environments for any employer.  We help our employer clients to stay up to date on the latest changes and best practices.  We work to keep important documentation updated and work relationships moving forward.

The Watkins Firm serves as general counsel to businesses of all sizes and across the spectrum of vertical markets providing sound advice and counsel on any issue associated with the responsibilities and actions of an employer.  The Watkins Firm helps many clients to manage daily human resources issues, counseling employers through challenges such as discipline and termination while avoiding the risks of litigation.

3 Key Takeaways For California Employer Defense

• California is the most challenging, regulated, and litigious state for any employer. 
• Watkins Firm provides more than four decades of experience to help our California employer clients to take all appropriate measures to comply with laws, regulatory requirements, and ordinances while reducing or eliminating exposure to employment defense disputes and lawsuits.
• California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) places workers directly into the shoes of the Attorney General in class action law suits that pay a share of the resulting award to the employee(s) who brought the class action.  Draw on the Watkins Firm’s 40+ years of successful strategies to prevent PAGA actions, mitigate or remediate any exposure and protect your rights and interests as a California employer.

The Best Defense is a Good Offense

The best defense is a good offensive strategy.  Watkins Firm employer defense attorneys work with our corporate and business employers to develop strong contracts, implement updated employee handbooks and enforceable policies and procedures which guide the process from the first interview to termination or separation.  We work with companies of all sizes from just a few employees to national corporations.  We manage any individual dispute or cases as large as a Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) class action lawsuit.

Federal, state and local laws, ordinances and regulatory compliance issues are constantly being changed and updated.  San Diego and Southern California employers need an experienced, trustworthy legal partner who is available to answer questions and resolve problems.  Wage and hour plaintiffs lawsuits have increased significantly over the past few years here in San Diego.  The Watkins Firm has a strong track record defending our employer clients before state and federal agencies such as the California Labor Commissioner and the EDD, in mediation and arbitration and at trial.

We work with Southern California employers to keep them up to date on the constantly changing environment and helping them to maintain strong employer practices in the midst of one of the most challenging legal and workplace environments in the country.  If you are a San Diego employer the Watkins Firm is here to help.

The Moment You Become Aware of a Potential Dispute Contact an Experienced, Proven San Diego Employer Defense Attorney at the Watkins Firm

How do you keep up with all the changes?  What should you do if you get wind of a developing employee-related dispute or receive a letter from an outside law firm seeking information on one or more of your current or former employees?  It doesn’t cost you anything to take immediate action. We invite you to review the strong recommendations of our clients and contact the Watkins Firm or call 858-535-1511 for a complimentary consultation today.

Listen to our Recent Sound Business Insights Podcasts:

“Episode 39 – What Keeps Employers Up at Night

“Episode 18 – Private Attorneys General Act – PAGA”

“Episode 23 – Managing Employees in San Diego”

Proven San Diego Employer Defense Attorneys

At the Watkins Firm, we have more than four decades of experience and expertise in employment defense, protecting and representing employers, managers and business clients in the following actions:

• Employment Contract Disputes
• Enforcement of Trade Secrets
• Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Disputes
• Wage and Hour Disputes
• Misclassification Hearings and Actions
• Unpaid Overtime Lawsuits
• Employer Retaliation
• California Private Attorneys General Act or PAGA Actions
• Race / Color / National Origin Discrimination Claims
• Accusations of Sexual Harassment
• Wrongful Termination Cases
• Disputes Involving Commission, Bonus or Overtime
• ERISA / Benefits Disputes
• Violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• Qui-Tam / Whistleblower / False Claims

We help our clients to stay abreast of and in compliance with employment related laws so that they can keep their attention sharply focused on the business at hand.  Our attorneys help San Diego area employers to develop employment contracts, employee manuals, human resources policies, and other workplace structures and documents that protect the company while fostering a productive work environment.

We provide access to our experienced employer defense paralegal who helps to keep costs down while providing the guidance and support you need. The Watkins works to support our employer clients in a cost-effective and efficient manner. You need up-to-date information. You need answers. You need the Watkins Firm.

Are you in the midst of an employment dispute, or do you have concerns about existing policies, procedures, handbooks and employment contracts?  Are you concerned about wage and hour issues, or questions about independent contractors or employee misclassification? We answer questions and help to provide sound advice and counsel based upon the situation at hand.

There are most often actions you can easily take to remediate or mitigate the issues at hand and substantially reduce the legal and financial exposure you face, or eliminate it altogether.

The moment you become aware of a potential dispute contact an experienced, proven San Diego employer defense attorney at the Watkins Firm.

We invite you to review the strong recommendations of our clients and contact the Watkins Firm or call 858-535-1511 for a complimentary consultation today.

Employment Defense Before Federal or California Agencies and Labor Commissions

If you as a San Diego or California employer have been contacted by a federal or State of California Labor or Employment agency you need to contact the Watkins Firm immediately for a free consultation at 858-535-1511.  The agencies will often make a soft approach like “it’s just an informal conference.”  There is nothing informal about it.  The initial portion of the discussion will focus upon your knowledge of all California and federal laws regarding employment.  What follows next is a sudden shift to a “settlement discussion.”  This is where one breaks out the check book.

We represent employers in hearings and conferences before federal and state agencies to protect them from exposure to financial liability while defending employee related lawsuits and allegations as well as allegations of wage theft.  We help to prepare our clients for the questions of the agent or Labor Commissioner and to organize the information necessary to mount a strong rebuttal.  Our goal is to ask for a dismissal of the case outright.  Once a violation is established it can often escalate to a larger legal exposure up to and including a class action PAGA action.

Defense of California Private Attorneys General Act or PAGA Actions

The Private Attorneys General Act or PAGA allows your employees to act as a “proxy” for the State or a type of internal attorneys general.  This allows employees to attempt to bypass the arbitration agreements contained within your employment contracts and pursue civil penalties in a class action as if they were an actual agency of the State of California.

PAGA actions result in a qui tam or whistleblower type claim.  In qui tam claims those who assist a government agency in a case may receive part or all of the recovered financial damages or resulting penalties recovered in by the agency as a result of the prosecution of the case.  In a PAGA action the employee(s) step into the shoes of the California government agency and pursue claims for financial damages against your business or entity.

Seek Prompt Resolutions of Conflicts With Employees

Taking immediate action to remediate or mitigate issues and areas of potential exposure can substantially reduce or eliminate legal and financial exposure for San Diego and Southern California Employers.

• When employees have genuine complaints, good-faith efforts to address their concerns quickly, within the bounds of what the law requires, generally go a long way.

• When employees have misunderstandings, there are effective ways to approach them respectfully and clarify the situations that may have led to those misunderstandings.

The overwhelming majority of employment litigation results from employers not addressing employee issues in a timely and effective fashion. A properly handled employment dispute can generally be resolved without any need for litigation if it is addressed soon enough.

The Watkins Firm strongly believes that the effective defense of employers from employee legal actions starts with intensive efforts to resolve disputes before a complaint is filed. Of course, we are also prepared to zealously defend your interests in any litigation that occurs. We are experienced at defending employers against both individual and class action complaints by employees

Contact Experienced Business Owner and Employer Defense Lawyers

Take proactive steps to defend yourself and your business against conflicts with employees. Establish a smooth and productive work environment that leverages the skill of each employee to take your business to the next level. We invite you to review the strong recommendations of our clients and contact the Watkins Firm or call 858-535-1511 for a complimentary consultation today.