Kevin Sullivan represents employers in all aspects of employment law, particularly wage and hour class, collective, and representative Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) actions. He also advises on compliance and strategic issues.
Drawing on his experience representing employers in all types of claims, Kevin provides counsel on best practices for employers to avoid disputes and defend their interests when conflicts arise. He advises on a broad range of employment issues, including complying with the California Labor Code and Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) wage and hour laws. This includes situations related to exempt and independent contractor misclassification, overtime, and minimum wage issues; meal and rest breaks; expense reimbursements; and compliant wage statements that meet California’s technical requirements. Kevin also advises on potential discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, breach of contract, and defamation issues.
As an experienced litigator, Kevin represents employers before state and federal courts and in arbitration regarding all aspects of employment litigation. He also handles matters before the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and other administrative agencies. A focus of Kevin’s practice is defending employers against claims brought under the California Labor Code and FLSA wage and hour laws in class, collective, and representative PAGA actions in federal and state courts.
- Obtained summary judgment and a dismissal with prejudice in a case brought by two plaintiffs alleging claims for wrongful termination in violation of public policy, whistleblower retaliation, sexual harassment, age harassment, age discrimination, disability discrimination, failure to prevent age and disability discrimination, failure to prevent sexual and age harassment, failure to prevent retaliation, breach of implied-in-fact contract, breach of express contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and defamation.
- Obtained summary judgment in a single-plaintiff case alleging claims for failure to provide meal periods and failure to pay all wages due upon termination.
- Defeated class certification where the employee claimed that a nationwide apartment- complex employer failed to pay him overtime and minimum wages for alleged off-the-clock work and also failed to provide him compliant meal and rest breaks.
- Prevailed on a motion to strike class allegations by showing that the plaintiffs failed to act with excusable neglect when they missed the deadline to file for class certification.
- Defeated class certification where the employee claimed that a fast food franchisee- employer failed to provide shift leaders and assistant managers with minimum and overtime wages for alleged off-the-clock work, meal and rest breaks, wages due at termination, reimbursement for company-required safety footwear, and accurate paystubs.
- Defeated class certification where the employee claimed that a retail store employer failed to provide hourly employees with reimbursement for mileage commuting to work, meal breaks, rest breaks, minimum wages and overtime wages for alleged off-the-clock work, time spent commuting, accurate paystubs, and all wages due at termination.
- Successfully compelled arbitration on behalf of a fast food franchisee-employer of an employee’s individual wage and hour claims while simultaneously forcing dismissal of class and Private Attorney General Act (“PAGA”) representative claims.
- Successfully negotiated the dismissal of class claims brought by an employee alleging that the employer failed to provide retail store employees with minimum and overtime wages for alleged off-the-clock work on closing shifts, where managers would allegedly keep the employees after clocking out but before closing and locking the store.
- Successfully compelled arbitration on behalf of multiple non-signatory defendants of an employee’s religious discrimination, wrongful termination, and retaliation claims, where the employee claimed that the arbitration agreement was entered into with a prior entity that was not a named defendant.
- Successfully obtained a voluntary dismissal of class claims, following motions to strike such claims, brought by an employee alleging that a fast food franchisee-employer failed to provide hourly employees meal breaks, rest breaks, overtime wages for alleged off-the-clock work, minimum wages for alleged off-the-clock work meal and rest breaks, accurate paystubs, all wages due at termination, unlawful deductions and unreimbursed business expenses, split-shift premiums, and reporting time pay.
- Successfully compelled arbitration of an employee’s disability discrimination and wage and hour claims, where the employee claimed that an employer waived its right to seek arbitration because the employer did not immediately request arbitration and had engaged in discovery.
- Successfully disposed of a 400,000-person class action for a temporary staffing agency in which the plaintiff alleged that our client did not pay California temporary employees for part (or all) time spent in orientation meetings.
- Obtained summary judgment on behalf of an insurance company in a wage and hour class action in which property inspectors for vendors the company contracted with were seeking more than $200 million. The inspectors argued the company was their “joint employer,” however, the court agreed they did not satisfy the standards for an employer-employee relationship.
- Super Lawyers Southern California, Employment & Labor: Employer, 2017- 2020
- Quoted, “PAGA Compromise Gets Divided Response”
Los Angeles Business Journal, July 8, 2024 - Quoted, “California Top Court Weighs How to Split Big Labor Law Cases
Bloomberg Law Daily Labor Report, Nov. 8, 2023 - Quoted, “The Labor Laws Employers Need to Pay Attention to in 2023”
Workplace Intelligence Insider Newsletter, May 1, 2023