Art represents employers in high-stakes employment litigation and labor relations matters.

Repeatedly named as one of the top 75 employment attorneys in California by The Los Angeles Daily Journal and the San Francisco Recorder, he has defended numerous employers in individual and class action lawsuits, including federal and state bench and jury trials. He regularly represents large and mid-sized corporations in these matters, and has first-chaired more than 100 employment litigations, arbitrations, and NLRB trials.

Art is a counselor of choice for employers facing state and federal litigation involving complex claims of misclassification, overtime, meal period, discrimination, disability, harassment, wrongful termination, OSHA, whistleblower, retaliation, trade secret violations, and cyberbullying in California and other states.

In the early stages of class actions, he works closely with in-house counsel and human resources executives to analyze personnel policies, practices and compliance in light of federal and California laws, evaluate pay practices and compensation data, and develop creative strategies to win summary judgment or defeat class certification. Art has helped numerous clients successfully resolve disputes in early mediation before expending large legal fees, often before an initial status conference or the hearing on class certification. He is one of the few California attorneys to have defended several wage class actions through trial. He has counseled employers through self-audits of personnel and pay practices and advised on obtaining releases of claims from employees in order to avoid litigation or class certification.

Art was a trial attorney with the NLRB early in his career and represents employers in labor relations, including organizing campaigns, bargaining negotiations, strikes, picketing, boycotts, grievance and arbitrations, unfair labor practice proceedings, Section 301 litigation, and multi-employer trust fund matters.

He has written over 175 articles and speaks extensively about employment law topics, including compliance under the FLSA and the California Labor Code. Every day, he brainstorms with clients to address and resolve difficult personnel issues and disputes involving California and federal employment, discrimination, and trade secret laws. Art is the author of “Doing Business in California: An Employment Law Handbook” and “Complying With the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act and the California Pregnancy Disability Leave Law.”

Thompson Coburn LLP

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