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 When Jim Mesnier moved to Sacramento from St. Louis, Missouri in 1980, he was surprised that the Sacramento County Bar Association did not have a section dedicated to labor and employment law. After settling into his practice, Jim took matters into his own hands. Using the labor bar in St. Louis as a model, Jim established what would become the Labor and Employment Law Section of the Sacramento County Bar. "The concept behind the section was to create an environment where labor practitioners could leave our differences at the door and get to know each other as individuals," according to Jim. As envisioned, the section would be governed by an executive committee comprised of equal numbers of labor and management attorneys, and attorneys serving as neutrals. Jim proposed the new section in the Fall of 1985 and presented it to the Sacramento County Bar Association (SCBA) where it was enthusiastically received. With the SCBA's approval, the Labor and Employment Law section was born.
Along with Jim, some early executive committee members included Christine Bologna, Bob Bonsall, Paul Burns, Roy Chastain, John Cohenour, Larry Kay, Nancy Kirk, John LaRocco, Pat Poyner, and Bob Rediger. Working together, the executive committee planned monthly luncheons featuring prominent speakers in the field of labor and employment law. The very first section luncheon featured Ralph Kennedy of the National Labor Relations Board and drew over twenty-five people.
In the twenty years since its establishment, the Labor and Employment Law Section has grown tremendously. Today, the section has approximately 250 members and is the second largest of the 18 sections of the Sacramento County Bar - just 50 members shy of the Family Law section. Fueling this growth has been the dramatic expansion of both federal and state labor and employment laws. With these new laws, the practice of labor and employment law now involves more than just discrimination and sexual harassment. Practitioners now must also be familiar with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, their California equivalents, and numerous other statutes and regulations. In addition, new issues are always on the horizon. According to executive committee member Brian Crone, some of today's hot employment issues involve claims of whistleblower retaliation, trade secret misappropriation, and defamation. Jennifer Barrera, another executive committee member, anticipates immigration compliance and the adequacy of supervisor training becoming hot issues in the near future.
Along with individual employment claims, practitioners in the field also bring and defend class action lawsuits. Class action wage and hour lawsuits, which have received a tremendous amount of publicity over the last few years, continue to generate large amounts of work for both plaintiff and management lawyers. Galen Shimoda, an executive committee member who has filed class action wage and hour lawsuits, does not see any slowdown in the immediate future. According to Galen, despite years of publicity, many employers, especially smaller ones, are still not in compliance with state and federal laws.
While most section members are attorneys in private practice, the section also includes many public sector attorneys and also non-attorneys. Among those practicing in the public sector is SCBA 1st Vice President Stacy Boulware Eurie. Stacy, along with this author, practices in the Employment Law Section of the Attorney General's Office. The difficulty of navigating a complex field of cases, statutes and regulations was what attracted Stacy to the practice of employment law. She enjoys employment law "because it provides attorneys the ability to hone their litigation skills in trial court, administrative, and appellate litigation. No two cases are ever the same and I have thoroughly enjoyed the challenges presented by the new twists and turns that come with each new case."
Paul Starkey, another executive committee member and public sector practitioner, also enjoys the diversity of practice in the field. Paul finds labor and employment law fulfilling because it "is an ever-challenging practice that allows you to be fully engaged as a lawyer: litigator, negotiator, advocate, counselor and peacemaker."
To help practitioners, the Labor and Employment Law section continues to sponsor monthly luncheons featuring prominent speakers in the field. In addition, the section publishes its own newsletter, Laboris Legis, in conjunction with the College of Business Administration at the California State University, Sacramento. The newsletter features articles in the field of labor and employment law and is sent free to all members of the section.
While practice of labor and employment law has evolved over the years, the mission of the section remains the same. The section remains committed to providing a forum for practitioners to get to know each other despite their differing viewpoints. It is this opportunity to meet other practitioners in the field that attracted Karen O'Hara, President of HR to Go and a non-attorney executive committee member, to the section. As long time section member, Karen "enjoys being with others who are passionate about their work and learning something new by the synergy created by this devoted group." So if you practice labor and employment law, or are just interested in the field, please consider joining the section today!
Tim Yeung is a Deputy Attorney General in the Employment Law Section of the Office of the Attorney General. He is the immediate past chair of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the Sacramento County Bar and a current member of the Executive Committee of that Section. He earned his B.S. from U.C. Berkeley and his J.D. from U.C. Davis where he served as Senior Research Editor for the U.C. Davis Law Review.
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