Employment
Joel M. Grossman, Esq. has been exclusively devoted to mediation and arbitration since 2004, following his 25-year legal career as a litigator, labor negotiator, and in-house counsel overseeing complex entertainment disputes.
Mr. Grossman has presided over hundreds of mediations and arbitrations and developed a stellar reputation for fairness. Sought after by both plaintiffs’ and defense counsel, he has resolved extremely complex disputes with a combination of excellent problem-solving skills and a wonderful sense of humor.
Mr. Grossman has been a full-time neutral since January 2004 and has mediated or arbitrated over 500 cases. Drawing on his nearly thirty years of practice in the employment area, he has mediated all manner of employment cases including claims of discrimination based on race, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, and medical condition; claims of sexual harassment; wage-and-hour claims, both individual and class actions; trade secret claims arising out of an employee leaving a company and allegedly appropriating trade secrets; and claims arising under collective bargaining agreements.
After serving as head of the Litigation Department of a major motion picture studio, Mr. Grossman has used his broad experience in entertainment-related claims (including copyright infringement, trademark infringement, idea submission, and profit participation claims), to build a strong mediation practice in this area. Additionally, he has mediated and arbitrated a wide variety of general business disputes, such as commercial landlord-tenant matters, business valuations, and breach of contract.
He has been named to the Daily Journal’s list of the top neutrals in California for three consecutive years.
Representative Employment Matters
- Wage-and-Hour Class Action Mediations: Successfully mediated over 500 wage-and-hour class actions, with class sizes ranging from 100 or less to 22,000 class members. Issues resolved include:
- Meal breaks, including claims related to “on-duty” meals
- Rest breaks
- Overtime, including but not limited to “off-the-clock work”
- Minimum wage violations
- Claims for reimbursement of mileage, tools, uniforms, and other expenses
- Claims that class members were misclassified as exempt
- Claims that class members were misclassified as independent contractors
- Claims for pay stub violations
- Claims under out-of-state check provisions of Labor Code
- Claims brought under Private Attorney General Act of 2004 (PAGA)
- Wage-and-Hour Arbitrations
- Arbitrated claim by several employees that they were improperly classified as independent contractors when they were employees
- Arbitrated claim that restaurant manager had been misclassified as exempt when most of her time was spent performing rank-and-file duties
- Arbitrated wage-and-hour class action concerning on-duty meal periods
- Arbitrated claim by truck driver that he was misclassified as an independent contractor
- Discrimination claims based on race, age, gender, disability, medical condition, religion, sexual origin, etc.: Successfully mediated many cases raising one or more discrimination claims including:
- Claim by female worker that she was not permitted to perform a traditional "man's job”
- Claim by African-American worker that he was harassed by co-workers who left crude drawing of lynching on his desk
- Claim by worker with cancer that he was terminated to avoid necessary leaves of absence
- Claim by disabled worker who was denied a leave of absence allegedly because her position was crucial, and leave would cause undue hardship
- Claim by disabled worker that the company failed to engage in interactive process and search for jobs which she could do with her medical restrictions
- Claim by Orthodox Jewish worker that he was terminated because he wore a yarmulke during work hours
- Claim by older worker who claimed he was selected for layoff due to his age
- Sex Harassment Claims: Successfully mediated many claims alleging sexual harassment, including claims for hostile work environment, claims of quid pro quo harassment, and claims of unwelcome touching including the following:
- Claim by three employees that manager continually ogled them and made suggestive comments
- Claim by worker that manager, during out-of-town business trip, came to her hotel room and insisted on a sexual liaison
- Claim that manager, after consensual relationship was over, continually called employee demanding that they renew relationship
- Claim that manager texted a photo of his private parts to employee during work hours
- Claim that female writer was told she could return for another season only if she consented to producer's demand for sex
