Kevin Sullivan

Overview

Attorney Kevin Sullivan focuses his practice on employment law, primarily litigating all forms of employment law cases, with a concentration on wage and hour class, collective, and representative Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) actions, in addition to advising clients regarding compliance and strategic issues.

Gathering from his experience representing employers in seemingly every type of claim, Kevin counsels clients on putting best practices in place to ensure the best possible defenses in the event a dispute arises. To that end, he provides counseling on a broad range of employment issues, including complying with the California Labor Code and Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) wage and hour laws concerning exempt and independent contractor misclassification, overtime, and minimum wage issues; providing compliant meal and rest breaks; ensuring expense reimbursement for any necessary expenses; and providing 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.

Kevin represents employers before state and federal courts and in arbitration regarding all aspects of employment litigation, in addition to 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.

Primarily, Kevin defends 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.

Kevin was named to the Southern California Rising Stars list (2017 to 2020) in the area of Employment & Labor: Employer.

Before joining Epstein Becker Green, Kevin was an attorney at a national defense-side employment law firm, where he focused on wage and hour class action defense. Previously, he had been an attorney at a plaintiff-side wage and hour class action law firm.

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The Gig Economy and Contractor Classification

Experience

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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