With over 50 years of combined experience, you can be that the lawyers at Strauss Law Group know a thing or two about California law. Below are those areas of practice that we have come to know intimately, and to which we regularly devote our time and expertise. For more information about any of these practice areas, click on the heading. A separate page will have FAQs and an explanation of the most common types of cases we see. Enjoy!
Employment Litigation
Discrimination Lawsuits
Discrimination takes many forms: race, sex, gender, pregnancy, disability, language, religion, to name a few. California and federal laws protect employees from discrimination in the workplace. Strauss Law Group regularly represents clients — businesses and individuals alike — in discrimination lawsuits. The stakes can be high: employees who experience discrimination can sometimes win enormous awards in court. Follow this link to learn more about how California and federal laws protect employees from on-the-job discrimination.
Wrongful Termination Lawsuits
Like discrimination, allegations of wrongful or illegal terminations are far too common in the modern work environment. They can occur in many situations: a disgruntled employee claims his termination was for an improper motive, or when someone is fired in retaliation for speaking up about workplace discrimination, after an employee is injured on the job, or when an employee discloses that she is pregnant. The list is almost endless. Find out more about wrongful termination lawsuits and what employees and employers need to know.
Hostile Work Environment Lawsuits
The two types of hostile work environments claims that we see most are either sexual or racial in nature. Sexually hostile work environments generally involve repeated comments or touching of a sexual nature. Racially hostile work environments usually entail repeated, daily comments about an employee’s race or ethnicity. Either way, they are terrible for employers and the employees that have to suffer through them. Strauss Law Group has compiled frequently asked questions about hostile work environments, and we invite you to learn about them in more detail.
Government Contractor Lawsuits
Government Contractors face a multitude of employment law issues. Their liability can extend to acts committed against their employees by government employees. And the dual employment doctrine can ensure that the contractor can be liable for its employees that are completely embedded with the government. However, Strauss Law Group has experience defending government contractors by employing little-known defenses, including the Federal Enclave Doctrine and the Federal Officer Immunity Doctrine. Most lawyers that practice employment law may know nothing about these defenses, but you can learn more about them in our page dedicated to government contractor lawsuits.
Overtime Wage Claims/Lawsuits
By far the most common type of complaint we see is for unpaid overtime. Employers in California just seem to have the hardest time executing the state’s overtime rules correctly. The result is that their employees are often mis-classified as “exempt,” which means that they can go years without getting any overtime. Luckily for employees, California law can let you go back as many as four years to collect overtime wages owed. Strauss Law Group explains California and federal overtime laws and more in its overtime FAQ page.
Employment Law
Legal Advice
By far and away, or employment lawyers spend more time providing employment law advice to both employers and employees than any other employment related service. Many employers use Strauss Law Group as an “outside” HR resource and we consult regularly on issues involving hiring, firing, layoffs, leaves of absence, personnel policies, travel expenses and a myriad of other issues that arise in the work place. We also consult with employees who feel that they have not been treated correctly, believe that they were inappropriately terminated or want us to review a severance package presented by their employer.
Whether it is advising employers or employees, we strive to provide timely and effective advice concerning this ever changing and complicated area of law.
Employee Handbooks
Strauss Law Group has been preparing employee handbooks for its business clients for decades. We have found that employee handbooks go a long way toward protecting employers from liability from discrimination, wrongful termination, and overtime lawsuits. What is more, employee handbooks can serve as guides for employers on how they should treat their employees; hence, they help ensure that employers never cross the line and violate California or federal laws. Learn more about employee handbooks here.
Employment Law Workplace Audits
Some businesses try very hard to be in compliance with California’s strict workplace laws, but often the best way to ensure compliance is to have seasoned experts audit your policies. Strauss Law Group has been providing this service to its clients for a long time. Learn more about our employment law workplace audits.
Employment-Related Contracts
Employment contracts can be a necessity in this day and age. Strauss Law Group has decades of experience drafting employment contracts and other employment-related agreements, such as arbitration agreements, covenants not to compete, employee handbooks, and non-disclosure agreements. Learn about these employment-related contracts in our FAQ section.
Business Litigation
Business Ownership/Control/Dissolution Disputes
Business operations sometimes become divisive. Disagreements among partners or business owners typically result from one party’s failure to honor fiduciary duties or the failure to comply with contractual obligations of the partnership agreement, corporate formation agreement, or other contract relating to the business. Oftentimes these disagreements stem from secret business dealings which are at odds with the best interests of the company or its shareholders. Strauss Law Group has represented businesses, owners, shareholders and other parties in business ownership, control and dissolution disputes in both state and federal court. Strauss Law Group holds a successful track record representing both individuals and businesses in these matters.
Breach of Contract Lawsuits
The most common type of business lawsuit in today’s world is the straight-forward breach of contract. Strauss Law Group knows exactly how to win — and defeat — breach of contract claims. Read about breach of contract cases in our FAQ section.
Unfair Competition/Misleading Advertising Lawsuits
With quick and easy access to information at a push of a button, charges of unfair competition, which includes misleading advertising, are on the rise in California. Whether it is the use of confidential or proprietary information, someone who is undercutting his competitors by underpaying his employees or a business that publishes untrue statements about their products in public to get more customers, unfair competition is just that — unfair. Learn more about how California law regulates unfair competition in our FAQ section.
Americans with Disabilities Act Compliance Lawsuits
You have all heard the story by now. Someone goes from business to business inspecting their stairways, bathrooms, and other public areas, simply looking for violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. One small violation can lead to thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of dollars in fines and repairs. Strauss Law Group has been defending businesses thoughout California in these ADA compliance suits for years. See what we have compiled from our lengthy experience in our Americans with Disabilities Act FAQ page.
REAL ESTATE LITIGATION PRACTICE OVERVIEW
Failure to Disclose Defects at Sale Lawsuits
Real estate fraud is on the rise. Often, the most prevalent type is the failure by a seller to disclose known defects in the condition of real property prior to its sale. The effect can be a buyer who purchases a house with defects that may not be worth what she paid for it. Learn how you can protect yourself from being a victim or an unwitting perpetrator of a failure to disclose defects case at our FAQ page.
Fraudulent Concealment of Unpermitted Work Lawsuits
County permitting agencies are always in need of extra cash. So it is no surprise that they are ramping up efforts to catch homeowners who have done unpermitted work to their residence. While this can be a problem for many, a bigger problem is when a seller does not disclose that he did unpermitted work to his house. The buyer then finds out that not only does she have to rip out the unpermitted work, but she has to pay a fine to the permitting agency. Learn more about fraudulent concealment of unpermitted work lawsuits here.
Mediation/Arbitration
Mediation has become the principal way of resolving disputes. Tony Strauss saw this trend developing and trained to be a mediator in 2002 to better understand the process and thereby assist his clients engaged in litigation. Since then he has frequently been asked by colleagues to serve as a mediator of employment law disputes. He has also served as a court appointed mediator.
With over 38 years of experience handling employment cases on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants in the public and private sectors, there are few employment scenarios that he hasn’t seen. When serving as a mediator, he has been able to use that experience to settle complicated employment disputes. Tony is now focusing more attention on employment mediation and provides those professional services in his beautiful offices at reasonable rates.
Tony is also available to serve as an arbitrator in employment disputes. His experience includes multiple years as a court appointed arbitrator for the Ventura Superior Court.
For references from attorneys who have used Tony as a mediator, contact Tony directly at ars@strausslawgroup.com.
Other Practice Areas
Disability Retirements for Public Employees
Strauss Law Group devotes a substantial amount of its time handling disability retirement cases for public employees. These clients are usually employed by Ventura, Santa Barbara, or Los AngelesCounties, and they are no longer able to work. If their inability to work is a work-related injury (even possibly including stress), it may be possible for them to get a “service-connected” disability retirement. If the injury is non-work-related, but the individual is still unable to work as a result, they may be eligible for a “non-service-connected” disability retirement. The benefit of either of these two types of retirements is that the injured employee may be able to receive long-term benefits. Read more about what is possible to obtain for injured public employees in our page dedicated to disability retirements.
EDD (Unemployment) Hearings
California employees who lose their job may be eligible for unemployment benefits. However, many employers fight over whether the employee should receive unemployment. These fights occur at EDD (Unemployment) hearings. Strauss Law Group has been representing employers and employees at EDD hearings for years, and we have compiled our FAQs on EDD/unemployment hearings here.