OUR APPROACH

Havey Law Offices assists employers in developing proactive strategies, robust policies, business-oriented solutions to cultivating workforces that are engaged, stable, and diverse. We share clients' goals of emphasizing inclusivity and respecting the contributions of every employee.

We collaborate with clients to reduce workplace disputes by informing employers about legal trends, judicial, and compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements.

We collaborate with employers to develop flexible fee arrangements that align with our clients' needs. We provide a comprehensive range of value-added programs and services, including local and international training and legal alerts on emerging developments.

We dedicate time at the outset of any matter to analyze the legal issues and our client's business objectives, subsequently developing a strategy that considers all relevant interests, goals, and risks.

CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA EMPLOYMENT LAW COMPLIANCE

California is one of the most challenging regulatory environments for employers in the country, due to the numerous laws governing employers. Havey Law Officeds focuses on providing employers with tailored California advice and strategies. We deliver both legal and practical guidance to assist California employers in navigating what are frequently multi-disciplinary issues with an eye toward minimizing the impact on the employee experience as much as possible. As part of our legal services, we assist employers with understanding California rules including those pertaining to overtime, wage and hour laws, sexual harassment, discrimination, or leaves of absence (to name a few).

In addition to advice and counsel to ensure compliance, among our most requested services are handbook revisions, NDA and restrictive covenant drafting, offer letters, severance agreements, arbitration agreements, and dispute resolution services, including litigation defense and administrative actions. Dr. Havey has sat on the EPLI panel of over 15 insurance companies covering employers in California.

Wage and Hour Advice

Our Wage and Hour practice is unsurpassed in California, with an in depth understanding of California’s nuanced wage and hour laws. Havey Law Offices works together with employers to help meet compliance objectives with the goal of avoiding future claims and improving the employee experience by taking smart risks and avoiding unnecessary risk. We partner with you as your trusted advisor in the following areas:

• California and state-specific annual minimum wage increases

• Rules regarding timing of employee pay, including final pay

• Timekeeping, overtime and meal and rest period compliance

• Compensation plan reviews

• Analysis of exemption classifications

• Independent contractor classification reviews

• Wage and hour policy-related reviews and training

• Policy Reviews and Other Employee-Related Documents

Due to California’s requirements, many multi-state employers have either standalone handbooks or detailed handbook supplements for their California employees. From individual policies to entire handbooks, we offer policy reviews and guidance for employers that can be customized to your business for California and/or Nevada. We also provide valuable insights in the review and preparation of any type of employment-related document or contract, including employee job descriptions, employment applications, meal period waivers, on duty meal period agreements, and arbitration agreements.

Dr. Havey has defended employers in California in over 300 class action and PAGA actions since 1998.

Disability, Leave and Health Management Advice

We provide advice regarding California specific leave and accommodation issues. With California’s unique body of leave laws employers grapple with a variety of leave and reasonable accommodation compliance issues. Our team is available to provide guidance and assistance with the following:

• California’s Paid Sick Leave Law, including how provisions of the law interact with the multiple local ordinances across the state

• Analysis and application of leave and reasonable accommodations, including how to navigate the interactive process

• California tailored leave of absence forms and notices

• Navigating the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) and Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL) law while maintaining compliance with the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

• Compliance with multiple variations of leave laws including: domestic violence, kin care and school attendance leaves

• Preparation of leave-related communications on behalf of Human Resources and Legal departments

• Leave and disability-related policies and training

Dr. Havey has also lectured for both attorneys and HR teams on DEI issues from the state and international perspective to bring employers together in a sense of unity. In 2022, he trained hundreds of Amazon employment lawyers on DEI issues in the international arena.

JAPAN INTERNATIONAL EMPLOYMENT LEGAL COMPLIANCE

Workplace issues increasingly cross international borders. The separation between domestic and international matters is largely artificial in a global market.

Cross-border labor and employment matters arise in many different business contexts and are often intertwined with issues of compliance, global mobility, data protection, immigration, compensation and benefits and corporate transactions.

We provide tailored assistance to global employers doing business in Japan, utilizing over 25 years of experience in Japan employment laws. Dr. Havey was the editor in chief of the leading treatise on Japan employment law since 2015 and taught international employment law as a law professor in Tokyo.

OUR SERVICES

U.S., California and Nevada Law

• Compliance with Federal, State and Local Employment Law

• Employment Litigation Defense, including EPLI and California/Nevada Conflict of Laws

• Wage and Hour Class Action and PAGA Defense

• Due Diligence on the Employment Implications of Mergers, Acquisitions, Closings and Other Business Transactions in the U.S.

• Compliant document drafting for employers, including arbitration agreements, offer letters, handbooks, severance agreements, NDAs, restrictive covenants and employee-related documentation.

Japan and International Employment Law

• Employing and Managing U.S. Citizens Abroad in Japan

• Due Diligence on the Employment Implications of Mergers, Acquisitions, Closings and Other Business Transactions in JAPAN

• Training on Japan Employment Laws and Techniques on Managing Japanese Employees

• Employment Law Compliance in Japan and Localization of Global Policies in Japan

• Affiliated with Japan Employment Solutions, K.K., a Japan corporation specializing in fractional in-house counsel for global employers with employees in Japan. www.japan-employment.com