Counseling and Training
The most
valuable legal advice is that which prevents problems before
they arise. The firm's practice model relies heavily on avoiding
litigation through anticipatory advice and training, saving
our clients the cost and disruption of lawsuits by employees.
Employers
need a quick response from attorneys who know how to solve problems,
not just recite the law. Our employment attorneys have extensive
experience in virtually all aspects of public workplace law
and the practical ability to apply the law and solve problems
in a timely manner. Most of our attorneys have worked in the
public sector and fully understand the practical and political
realities that our clients face.
We are skilled
at navigating the complicated web of employment laws, collectively
bargained contracts, civil service rules, charter provisions,
local codes and ordinances, and personnel rules that intersect
in public employment. The types of matters on which we regularly
advise employers include:
- Discipline
and discharge of employees, including assessing risk, advising
on due process procedures, and reviewing or preparing documentation
- Internal
police investigations and discipline, including compliance
with the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights
Act
- Responding
to claims of harassment, discrimination or retaliation
- Managing
the absent employee without violating the FMLA, CFRA, ADA,
FEHA or the myriad of other leave laws
- Managing
employee performance
- Implementing
and enforcing drug and alcohol policies
- Developing
lawful hiring and background screening processes
- Designing
workplace violence prevention programs and managing incidents
of violence or threatened violence, including obtaining restraining
orders or injunctions
- Drafting
employment policies and employment manuals
- Compliance
with FLSA overtime standards, including exempt classification
issues
- Addressing
budget shortfalls through personnel actions such as layoffs
or use of contingent workers or retirees
RSHS also
offers workplace training programs designed to increase management
skill and expertise and thereby avoid costly mistakes. Our knowledgeable
attorneys and consultants provide training on a broad range
of issues including the following:
- Preventing
workplace harassment and discrimination, including AB 1825
supervisory harassment training
- Conducting
lawful and effective hiring processes
- Employee
classification and compensation
- Managing
absenteeism
- Accommodating
employee disabilities and religious beliefs
- Performance
management
- Discipline
and discharge
- Conducting
workplace investigations
- Essentials
of labor relations, including contract negotiations and administration
Employment
Litigation Defense
When employment
disputes arise, RSHS provides representation for employers and
individual supervisors. Our approach to employment litigation
is defined by three standards: quality, integrity and cost-effectiveness.
If you want a lawyer who will bury the opposition with every
discovery request and motion known to man, you need another
law firm. If you want a law firm that engages in an immediate
and objective assessment of the facts and law, identifies and
pursues winning arguments and/or settlement opportunities, and
files only those motions with the best chance of success, then
we are the firm you want.
We have
litigated extensively before state and federal courts, arbitrators,
and administrative tribunals in virtually all aspects of public
workplace law. Our attorneys have an impressive record of success
at knocking out lawsuits on summary judgment. Where it is necessary
to go the distance, we have skilled trial lawyers who are at
home in the courtroom and in front of juries. Collectively,
we have defended race, gender, sexual orientation, age, national
origin, religion, and disability discrimination claims, harassment
and retaliation claims, failures to accommodate, wrongful discharge
suits, speech and whistleblower cases, defamation lawsuits,
negligent hiring and retention claims, FLSA overtime suits,
civil service terminations, and tenure denials. We also have
several experienced appellate lawyers on our team.
Workplace
Investigations
Our attorneys
and consultants often perform independent workplace investigations.
We are typically called upon to investigate especially sensitive
issues such as complaints involving elected officials or matters
headed toward litigation. Depending on the client's needs, we
may staff an investigation with one of our attorneys, skilled
human resource professionals, and/or private investigators.
