Laura Reathaford
USA Guide 2024
Band 5 : Labor & Employment
Band 5
About
Provided by Laura Reathaford
Practice Areas
Appellate Practice
Employment & Labor
Counseling & Policy Development
Employment Litigation
Class, Collective & PAGA Representative Actions
Career
Laura Reathaford is widely respected by her peers in the legal field and has a reputation marked by her successes in "bet-the-company" cases, litigating hundreds of wage and hour and PAGA actions. Clients continually call on Laura and refer her to their colleagues because she takes the road less traveled to California litigation. According to her clients, they "return to her for legal counsel and refer her to other companies because of her staunch advocacy for employers and her no-nonsense approach to handling employment issues." She works tirelessly to effect change in the courtroom concerning matters that have far-reaching implications for California employers, including appearing as amicus curiae counsel in many cutting-edge wage and hour and PAGA cases.
Laura Reathaford is an accomplished employment litigator who has led Lathrop GPM's California-based labor and employment group from its Los Angeles office since 2019. She was appointed Partner in Charge of the L.A. office in January 2023.
Laura assists corporate clients with the defense of wage and hour class and collective actions with a particular emphasis on class actions and representative actions under California's Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). She represents clients in the banking, grocery, fashion, retail, manufacturing, healthcare and telecommunications industries. Laura also defends employers against claims of unpaid wages including overtime, split-shift premiums, reporting time pay, vacation and sick pay, premium pay for missed meal and rest breaks, unreimbursed business expenses, failure to provide accurate itemized wage statements, failure to provide suitable seating, pay equity and discrimination.
When employers face "bet-the-company" class and representative actions involving thousands of employees and tens of millions of dollars, they turn to Laura whose impressive record litigating hundreds of wage and hour and PAGA actions—along with her practical, strategic approach—has earned the respect of opposing counsel, courts and clients around the country. She understands her clients' needs and knows they often want a pragmatic solution to a matter. Laura often helps clients through successful settlements – the kind that rarely draws headlines and keeps clients coming back to her for legal counsel.
A recognized thought leader, Laura is regularly called upon as an authority for the media on stories related to PAGA cases or issues involving PAGA claims. She is a prolific author on employment and labor industry matters and her articles are frequently published in leading legal publications and websites, including the Los Angeles Daily Journal and Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).
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