Employer-Side Employment Litigation and Executive Disputes
A single employment claim — whether a discrimination charge, a wage dispute, or a departing executive walking out with confidential information — can consume a company's time, resources, and attention for months or years. California's employment laws are among the most protective in the country, and employers who are unprepared or poorly represented often find themselves at a significant disadvantage from the first demand letter onward.
RV Litigation Group PC defends employers of all sizes — from founder-led startups to established companies — in San Jose, San Francisco, Palo Alto, Oakland, and throughout Santa Clara County and San Francisco County. We also represent executives and professionals in individual disputes over employment agreements, compensation, and separation terms.
Our employment litigation practice is built specifically around the needs of the party paying the bills — the employer. We do not carry the conflicts, incentives, or caseload pressures that come with a plaintiff's contingency practice. Every matter we take on is staffed and billed the same way: as a business decision made in partnership with the client, with clear communication about cost, exposure, and strategy from day one.
What We Handle
We advise and defend employers and, on a selected basis, executives and professionals across the full range of workplace disputes, including:
- Defense of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wrongful-termination claims
- Wage, hour, commission, bonus, and expense-reimbursement disputes
- Employee and independent-contractor classification disputes
- Executive employment agreements and severance disputes
- Confidentiality, trade-secret, and proprietary-information disputes
- Employee solicitation, customer solicitation, and employee-raiding claims
- Workplace investigations and pre-litigation demands
- Employment-related arbitration and court proceedings
- Defense of administrative employment claims before the Civil Rights Department and the EEOC
- Drafting and enforcement of settlement and separation agreements
What the Law Says
Government Code 12940 — FEHA
"It is an unlawful employment practice... for an employer, because of the race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, or veteran or military status of any person... to discriminate against the person..." — California Government Code Section 12940(a)
California's Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) is broader than its federal counterpart, Title VII, in both the categories it protects and the employers it covers — FEHA applies to employers with as few as five employees. Claims typically proceed through the Civil Rights Department (formerly DFEH) before a lawsuit can be filed, and the employer's response at the administrative stage often shapes the trajectory of the entire dispute.
Business & Professions Code 16600 — Restraint of Trade
"Except as provided in this chapter, every contract by which anyone is restrained from engaging in a lawful profession, trade, or business of any kind is to that extent void." — California Business & Professions Code Section 16600
California is famously hostile to non-compete agreements, and courts will generally not enforce a provision that restrains a former employee from working for a competitor. This does not mean employers are without protection — trade secret law, properly scoped confidentiality agreements, and, in narrow circumstances, non-solicitation provisions can still restrict what a departing employee may do with your company's confidential information and relationships. Getting this distinction right at the drafting stage is often what determines whether a company has any real recourse when an employee leaves for a competitor.
Labor Code 2775 — Independent Contractor Classification
California applies the "ABC test" to determine whether a worker is properly classified as an independent contractor rather than an employee. Under this test, a worker is presumed to be an employee unless the hiring entity establishes that the worker is (A) free from the control and direction of the hiring entity, (B) performing work outside the usual course of the hiring entity's business, and (C) customarily engaged in an independently established trade of the same nature. Misclassification exposes a business to claims for unpaid overtime, missed meal and rest breaks, unreimbursed expenses, and statutory penalties — often going back several years.
Real-World Examples
These scenarios illustrate the kinds of employer-side disputes we regularly handle:
A senior sales executive at a San Francisco company resigns and immediately begins working for a direct competitor. Before leaving, she forwarded client contact lists, pricing sheets, and pipeline data to her personal email. The company retains RV Litigation Group PC to evaluate confidentiality and trade secret claims, negotiate the return of company information, and, if necessary, seek injunctive relief to prevent further use of the misappropriated data.
A former employee files a claim alleging unpaid overtime and missed meal breaks spanning two years of employment, along with waiting-time penalties under Labor Code 203. The employer engages counsel to audit its timekeeping records, evaluate potential exposure, and negotiate a resolution before the matter proceeds to a Labor Commissioner hearing or civil litigation.
An Oakland employer terminates an underperforming employee following a documented series of performance issues. The former employee files a charge with the Civil Rights Department alleging the termination was retaliatory. The employer's counsel prepares a detailed position statement supported by performance records, disciplinary history, and witness statements, resulting in a right-to-sue determination without further administrative action.
A Palo Alto startup that has classified its delivery drivers as independent contractors receives a demand letter alleging misclassification under the ABC test. Counsel reviews the company's operational structure, advises on near-term remediation, and negotiates a resolution that limits the company's exposure while the business transitions its workforce model.
What's at Stake
Employment disputes carry financial exposure that goes well beyond a single employee's claim — they can include statutory penalties, attorney fees for the opposing side, and reputational risk. Here is an overview of common claim types.
| Claim Type | Governing Law | Potential Exposure | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discrimination / Harassment / Retaliation | Gov. Code 12940 (FEHA) | Back pay, emotional distress damages, punitive damages, attorney fees | Admin. exhaustion required; 3-year filing window (Gov. Code 12960) |
| Wage & Hour Violations | Labor Code 200-1198.5 | Unpaid wages, waiting-time penalties, PAGA penalties, attorney fees | 3-year SOL (4 years for UCL-based claims) |
| Misclassification | Labor Code 2775 (ABC test) | Back wages, overtime, benefits, penalties | 3-4 year lookback typical |
| Trade Secret / Confidentiality Breach | Civil Code 3426 (CUTSA) | Injunctive relief, actual damages, exemplary damages up to 2x | 3-year SOL (CC 3426.6) |
| Wrongful Termination | Common law / Labor Code 1102.5 | Lost wages, emotional distress, punitive damages | 2-year SOL (tort-based) |
How We Help
At RV Litigation Group PC, we work with employers proactively and reactively — helping prevent disputes where possible, and defending vigorously when litigation is unavoidable.
1. Pre-Litigation Strategy
Many employment disputes can be resolved — or their exposure significantly reduced — before a lawsuit is ever filed. We help employers respond to demand letters, administrative complaints, and departing-employee issues with a clear-eyed assessment of risk and a strategy designed to protect the company's interests.
2. Workplace Investigations
A properly conducted investigation is often the single strongest piece of evidence in defending a later claim. We advise on structuring investigations into harassment, discrimination, and misconduct complaints, and can serve as outside counsel overseeing the process to help preserve privilege where appropriate.
3. Executive Agreements and Separations
We draft and negotiate executive employment agreements, review severance and separation packages, and represent both companies and, on a selected retainer basis, individual executives in disputes over compensation, equity, and post-employment obligations.
4. Confidential Information Protection
When a departing employee takes confidential information, client relationships, or key staff members with them, we move quickly to assess trade secret and contractual claims, send cease-and-desist correspondence, and pursue injunctive relief when the situation calls for it.
5. Administrative Claim Defense
We represent employers before the Civil Rights Department, the EEOC, and the Labor Commissioner's office, preparing position statements and supporting documentation designed to resolve claims at the earliest possible stage.
6. Litigation and Arbitration
When a dispute cannot be resolved short of litigation, we defend employers in state and federal court and before arbitration panels, building the strongest possible factual and legal record at every stage of the case.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. RV Litigation Group PC represents employers, business owners, and — on a selected retainer basis — executives and professionals in individual employment disputes. We do not accept employee-side contingency cases, and we do not represent plaintiffs pursuing PAGA or class action claims against employers.
Immediately. California's Civil Rights Department (formerly DFEH) and the EEOC impose strict response deadlines, and a company's position statement often shapes the entire course of the investigation. Employers typically have a limited window to respond once a complaint is served, and failing to respond thoroughly and on time can significantly weaken the employer's defense.
California generally voids non-compete agreements under Business and Professions Code 16600, but that does not mean former employees have unlimited freedom. Trade secret protections under the California Uniform Trade Secrets Act, along with properly drafted non-solicitation and confidentiality provisions, can still restrict a former employee's use of your confidential information and, in some circumstances, their solicitation of your clients or staff. The enforceability depends heavily on how the agreement was drafted and what information is actually at issue.
Yes. California applies the ABC test under Labor Code 2775 (codifying Dynamex and AB 5) to determine whether a worker is properly classified as an independent contractor. Misclassification exposes a business to claims for unpaid overtime, meal and rest break premiums, expense reimbursement, and penalties. We help employers assess classification decisions and defend against misclassification claims when they arise.
We advise employers on structuring legally sound workplace investigations into harassment, discrimination, and misconduct complaints, and we can serve as outside counsel overseeing an investigation to help preserve attorney-client privilege where appropriate. A properly documented investigation is often the single most important factor in defending a subsequent claim.
