Mr. Ryan is engaged in the practice of labor and employment law and has a special expertise in defending employment-related class action lawsuits, including unfair business practices claims involving wage and hour issues and employment discrimination. He also has a wide range of experience in advising employers and litigating matters regarding employment discrimination, sexual harassment, trade secrets and employee raiding, reductions-in-force, wrongful termination, employee privacy rights, and other employment law matters. He regularly tries cases, jury and non-jury, in both the state and federal courts.

In addition, Mr. Ryan has extensive experience in the representation of employers in matters involving union organizing, collective bargaining, labor arbitration, and labor relations. He has guided employers through difficult employment situations involving strikes, boycotts, negative corporate campaigns, and concession bargaining.

Mr. Ryan is a fellow in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and has lectured on various labor law subjects to human resource professionals and attorneys. He is a contributing author of the book The Developing Labor Law, published by the American Bar Association. Mr. Ryan is a member of the Litigation Section and the Employment and Labor Law Section of the American Bar Association and its Subcommittee on the Development of Law under the NLRA, as well as the Labor Section of the California Bar Association. He has been selected as a Southern California Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers Magazine in every year of its publication. Recently, Mr. Ryan has qualified for the AV (highest) Peer Review Rating form LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell.

Mr. Ryan is involved in many civic organizations and is on the Board of Advisors of the Good Shepherd Shelter, a shelter for abused women and children.

He received his B.A. degree in 1968 from the University of California at Santa Barbara, a Certificate of Study from The Hague Academy of International Law in 1970, and a J.D. degree in 1971 from Loyola School of Law.

Representative Matters

• Burton v. Ralph’s Food 4 Less
  Defended grocery store in an action involving a FEHA disability discrimination claim. Non-suit granted after plaintiff’s opening statement.
• Butler v. Southwest Airlines Co.
  Represent Southwest in a statewide class action on behalf of current and former employees for overtime pay, meal and rest period penalties, and related claims for violations of California Labor Code. Class has not yet been certified.
• CVS Pharmacy
  Managed an election campaign in which the United Food and Commercial Workers Union attempted to gain representation rights in one of its stores. The company won the election by a substantial majority.
• Edlin v. Fuddruckers, Inc.
  Represent the restaurant in a class action on behalf of 4,000 current and former employees for overtime pay, meal period penalties, and related claims for violations of California Labor Code. Class has not yet been certified.
• Gonzalez v. Food 4 Less Holdings
  Represented grocery store in class action involving exempt status of grocery managers under California wage and hour law. Case settled.
• Government Contractor
  Represented government contractor in sexual harassment/discrimination lawsuit involving conduct occurring on U.S. Air Force base. The jury in the case refused to award any damages to the plaintiff.
• Hines v. Food 4 Less Holdings
  Represented grocery store in class action involving exempt status of meat department managers under California wage and hour law. Case settled.
• Kroger
  Recently advised Kroger regarding its negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement with United Food and Commercial Workers Union for 350 retail stores in Southern California.
• Also represented the company in the 141-day strike in the Southern California grocery industry. The strike was the largest and the longest labor dispute in the United States in the last 10 years. The representation included litigation in the United States District Court, the California Superior Court, before the National Labor Relations Board, and before an impartial arbitrator. The representation also included providing extensive advice.
• Kung v. Food 4 Less Holdings
  Represented grocery store in class action involving exempt status of produce managers under California wage and hour law. Case settled.
• Norman v. Siemens Maintenance Services
  Represented Siemens in class action brought by technicians maintaining security and detection equipment at airports, alleging that they are required to complete daily paperwork on their own time after completing shifts. Class has not been certified.
• Metzler v. Food 4 Less Holdings
  Represented grocery store in class action involving exempt status of assistant grocery managers under California wage and hour law. Case settled.
• Oracle Corporation
  Represented Oracle in a lengthy case involving allegations of race and national origin discrimination, wrongful discharge, and defamation brought by a former executive. After a 10-day arbitration involving more than 20 witnesses, all of plaintiff’s claims were dismissed.
• Private Sector Employer
  Represented employer in jury trial involving claim that company had discriminated against and defamed employee suffering from AIDS. The jury ruled in favor of the employer on all claims.
• Private Sector Employer
  Represented employer in class action involving alleged misclassification of underwriters and failure to pay overtime compensation under California wage and hour law, as well as a claim for unfair competition under California Business & Profession Code Section 17200. Class size approximately 50. Case settled.