Keith Rasher represents employers in litigation related to wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, and wage and hour matters, among other employment and labor issues.
Keith takes a practical approach to identifying employment issues and works to structure an effective strategy to resolve them. While he has focused his practice on litigation, he also advises employers pre-litigation to minimize potential liability or facilitate a favorable resolution before a lawsuit is filed.
With deep experience in California and federal employment laws, Keith counsels on employer best practices including those related to employee policies and wage and hour policies. He has significant experience litigating cases brought under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), the California Labor Code, and the Family Medical Leave Act/California Family Rights Act.
Keith has secured multiple defense judgments and verdicts at trial and in arbitrations in wage and hour and FEHA matters. He also has obtained numerous summary judgment rulings in employment matters dismissing cases against employers, including the recent dismissal of a client from a purported joint employment case on the basis that they did not have day-to-day control over the plaintiff’s work being conducted at another entity.
Keith also has significant experience defending against Private Attorneys General Act matters in California. He assists clients in preparing effective strategies to defend against or attempt to prevent the filing of those employee claims related to alleged Labor Code violations. He recently tried a PAGA case and secured a complete defense verdict, a rare occurrence in California.
Keith has secured the dismissal of wage and hour class actions at the summary judgment and pleading stages. He also has experience with arbitrating cases, policy handbook preparation for employers, labor management, and day-to-day HR counseling on all California-related employment matters. These include FEHA, wage and hour, disability claims, and leave laws, as well as their intersection with federal requirements.
Keith also has experience in business litigation issues, fraud and misrepresentation claims, premises liability, and product liability claims.
experience
- Secured a complete defense verdict in a Private Attorneys General Act trial involving claims that an auto dealership’s pay plan unlawfully borrowed from bonuses to pay minimum wages, violating California Labor Codes. The case spanned over five years, culminating in an eight-day bench trial in Ventura County Superior Court that ended in a rare complete defense verdict in a PAGA case.
- Secured multiple defense judgments and verdicts at trial or arbitration, in wage and hour matters and California Fair Employment and Housing Act matters.
- Obtained numerous summary judgment rulings in employment matters dismissing cases against employers.
- Secured a client’s dismissal from a purported joint employment case on the basis that they did not jointly employ the plaintiff, showing that the client did not have day-to-day control over the plaintiff’s work being conducted at another entity.
- Secured summary judgment dismissing all claims in a complex arbitration case for an employer facing allegations of disability discrimination, failure to accommodate, wrongful termination, and other claims after a former employee alleged he was wrongfully terminated as a result of his surgeries and medical leave.
- Secured summary adjudication for an employer in a disability discrimination and wrongful termination case in which a former employee alleged that her work caused depression and anxiety and the company should have lowered her job standards. Proved there was no discriminatory intent, as the plaintiff was terminated for performance and an arbitrator found the client had provided all requested accommodations.
- Won partial summary judgment in a wrongful termination, disability discrimination, and harassment case, proving there was no discriminatory intent or adverse employment action on the employer’s behalf against an employee who had taken leave for an injury and then resigned.
- Listed in “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch” (by BL Rankings) in Los Angeles, California for Labor and Employment Law – Management, 2022-2025
- Top Labor & Employment Lawyers, Daily Journal, 2024
I spend my free time playing guitar and drums, spending as much time outdoors as possible, reading cookbooks, and trying to cook like Bobby Flay and Gordon Ramsay. I am an avid Lakers, Dodgers, and USC Trojans fan.