Legal Expertise

Liebert Cassidy Whitmore provides audits in the areas of personnel policies and FLSA practices.

Liebert Cassidy Whitmore represents and advises edcuational clients on a broad spectrum of issues in business and facilities, both transactional and litigation.

 

 

Liebert Cassidy Whitmore provides general counsel, labor and litigation advice and assistance to a variety of educational institutions in all aspects of education law, employment law and labor relations. 

Every LCW attorney is well versed in this broad and complex practice area and provides daily advice and counsel to public agencies, educational institutions and private companies throughout California.

 

 

The Firm's Investigations Practice Group specializes in investigating allegations of discrimination, harassment, and other misconduct, including police officer misconduct.

Members of Liebert Cassidy Whitmore have successfully negotiated thousands of labor agreements for cities, counties, special districts, the courts, and school and college districts. The negotiations have covered all classes of employees, including a variety of white and blue collar, professional, supervisory and management, and public safety employee bargaining units.

 

 

Our Firm specializes in representing employers in the defense of legal actions and have the solid reputation of a results-oriented, successful litigation firm. Our attorneys are experts in all phases of litigation in both Federal and State courts: pleading, discovery, motion practice - including summary judgments and summary adjudications, alternative dispute resolution, settlement and trial.  While we take an aggressive stance in litigation, our priority always remains the same - achieving the best results for our client in the most efficient and cost-effective manner possible.

Liebert Cassidy Whitmore has had the privilege of representing public safety agencies for 30 years, proudly earning the trust and respect of several generations of police chiefs, sheriffs, and fire chiefs. LCW appreciates the emergency nature of employment issues in the public safety context. Our attorneys are always available to provide prompt and expert consultation on issues from administrative leave to interrogations to discipline.

The firm provides advice and counsel to public agencies regarding the laws and regulations of public employee retirement plans, including PERS, the County  Employees Retirement Act of 1937,  STRS,  and local agency retirement laws, as well as on , CalPERS medical and retiree health insurance issues.  The firm  offers clients Retirement Liability Audits which include, among other things, review of pay schedules and special compensation to ensure conformance with  retirement statutes and regulations, review of retirees working after retirement, analysis of membership liability for contractors and employees not currently enrolled in  the employer's retirement system, and a review of elected official benefits.  Given the recent CalPERS regulations and new reporting requirements for PERS agencies with the conversion to MyCalPERS in September, 2011, a review of existing practices is recommended for all public agencies.

Our role as a leading public sector wage and hour firm began immediately following the March 1985 decision of the United States Supreme Court decision in Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority.  Our firm promptly conducted workshops across the state on behalf of the California League of Cities to advise public agencies on how to comply with the FLSA.  Since that time our firm has been active in legislative efforts to mitigate the harsh impact of the FLSA on public agencies.  We answer specific wage and hour/FLSA questions from our clients almost daily and provide invaluable resources including our reference publication The Fair Labor Standards Act: A Public Sector Compliance Guide (we author two Guides: a specific version for California and a national version which is published by the National Public Employer Labor Relations Association), our training programs that provide their managers and supervisors with an understanding of the FLSA, and our FLSA audits that identify compliance issues and recommend practical solutions.