Sacramento employment lawyer Arkady Itkin represents both employees and employers in workplace disputes, litigation, and administrative proceedings throughout Sacramento and Northern California.
Unlike firms that exclusively represent one side, our office represents both workers and businesses. This provides valuable perspective into how employment disputes are evaluated from both sides—including how employees experience workplace problems and how employers, human resources professionals, managers, and their attorneys investigate complaints, make employment decisions, assess potential liability, and respond to threatened or pending litigation.
Whether we represent an employee or an employer, our objective is the same: to provide a candid assessment of the legal and practical issues, identify the strengths and weaknesses of the matter, and pursue an effective strategy based on the particular circumstances.
Sacramento Employment Lawyer For Employees
California employees have extensive workplace protections, but an unfair employment decision is not necessarily an unlawful one. An important part of our work is determining whether the facts support a viable legal claim and, if they do, identifying the most effective way to pursue it.
We represent employees in the following areas:
Wrongful Termination
California generally follows the rule of at-will employment, but an employer may not terminate an employee for an unlawful reason. A termination may be legally actionable when it is motivated by discrimination, retaliation, whistleblowing, protected medical leave, disability accommodation requests, complaints about unlawful conduct, or another reason prohibited by California or federal law.
Wrongful termination cases often turn on circumstantial evidence rather than an employer openly admitting an unlawful motive. Timing, inconsistent explanations, deviations from established procedures, sudden performance criticisms, comparative treatment, and the history leading up to termination may all become important evidence.
Learn more about California wrongful termination →
Workplace Retaliation and Whistleblower Claims
Retaliation claims can arise when an employer takes adverse action against an employee because the employee engaged in legally protected activity.
Protected activity may include complaining about discrimination or harassment, requesting a disability accommodation, taking protected medical leave, reporting wage violations, raising workplace safety concerns, refusing to participate in potentially unlawful conduct, or reporting reasonably suspected violations of law.
A retaliation case often requires careful examination of the chronology of events and the employer’s stated reasons for its decisions. We evaluate not only what happened after the protected activity, but also how the employer treated the employee beforehand and whether the explanation offered for the adverse action is supported by the evidence.
Learn more about workplace retaliation →
Disability Discrimination and Reasonable Accommodation
California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act provides significant protections to qualified employees with physical and mental disabilities.
Depending on the circumstances, an employer may be required to provide reasonable accommodation and participate in a timely, good-faith interactive process to determine whether an effective accommodation is available. Potential accommodations can include modified duties, schedule changes, medical leave, remote work in appropriate circumstances, or other measures that enable an employee to perform the essential functions of the position.
We represent employees in disputes involving disability discrimination, failure to accommodate, failure to engage in the interactive process, medical restrictions, return-to-work issues, and termination following disability-related absences or accommodation requests.
Learn more about disability discrimination and reasonable accommodation →
Medical Leave Rights — CFRA, FMLA and FEHA
California employees may have overlapping rights under the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), and other laws.
The expiration of CFRA or FMLA leave does not necessarily mean that an employee has exhausted all available protections. In appropriate circumstances, additional medical leave may constitute a reasonable accommodation under FEHA.
We advise and represent employees regarding protected medical leave, extensions of leave, return-to-work disputes, retaliation for taking leave, and termination during or following a medical absence.
Learn more about medical leave and employment rights →
Workplace Discrimination
California law prohibits employment discrimination based on protected characteristics including race, national origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, disability, medical condition, age, sexual orientation, gender identity and other protected categories.
Discrimination can affect hiring, compensation, promotion, discipline, assignments, termination, and other terms and conditions of employment.
Because direct evidence of discriminatory intent is relatively uncommon, these cases frequently depend on circumstantial evidence, including suspicious timing, inconsistent explanations for demotions or firing, discriminatory remarks, deviations from policy, and the employer’s treatment of similarly situated employees.
Learn more about California workplace discrimination →
Sexual Harassment and Hostile Work Environment
Not every unpleasant, rude, or hostile workplace constitutes an unlawful hostile work environment. Generally, there must be evidence connecting the harassment to a legally protected characteristic, and the conduct must satisfy applicable legal standards regarding severity or pervasiveness of the harassment in question.
We represent employees in matters involving sexual harassment, discriminatory harassment, hostile work environment claims, retaliation following harassment complaints, and an employer’s failure to take appropriate corrective action after receiving notice of workplace misconduct.
Learn more about workplace harassment →
Executive and Professional Employment Disputes
Employment disputes involving executives, managers, physicians, engineers, sales professionals and other highly compensated employees often involve considerations beyond a conventional wrongful termination claim.
Compensation arrangements, bonuses and commissions, equity, professional reputation, restrictive agreements, internal investigations, performance improvement plans, severance terms, and future employment prospects can significantly affect how the matter should be handled.
We advise executives and professionals regarding workplace disputes, anticipated terminations, severance agreements, internal complaints and investigations, compensation issues, and potential employment claims. Early advice can be particularly valuable when the employment relationship is deteriorating but termination has not yet occurred.
Severance Agreement Review and Negotiation
Employees are often presented with severance agreements containing broad releases of claims, confidentiality provisions, non-disparagement clauses, cooperation requirements, and other obligations.
The amount initially offered by an employer is not necessarily the only consideration. Before signing, an employee should understand both the rights being released and whether the circumstances surrounding the separation provide meaningful leverage for negotiating improved terms.
We review and advise employees regarding severance agreements and, where appropriate, negotiate with employers regarding severance compensation and other terms of separation.
Learn more about severance agreements →
Unpaid Wages, Overtime and Employee Misclassification
California wage-and-hour law provides employees with protections concerning minimum wages, overtime compensation, meal and rest periods, expense reimbursement, and payment of earned compensation.
A job title or salary alone does not determine whether an employee is exempt from overtime. The actual duties performed and the applicable exemption requirements are often critical.
We evaluate claims involving unpaid overtime, employee misclassification, unpaid commissions and bonuses, meal and rest period issues, unreimbursed business expenses, and other wage disputes.
Learn more about California wage-and-hour law →
Workplace Defamation
Workplace disputes sometimes involve false statements that damage an employee’s professional reputation or interfere with future employment opportunities.
At the same time, California law provides important privileges and defenses for certain workplace communications. A viable employment-related defamation claim therefore requires careful analysis of what was said, who received the statement, the context in which it was made, whether it was factual or opinion, and whether a legal privilege applies.
We evaluate and litigate defamation claims arising from employment relationships, including statements associated with workplace investigations, discipline, termination, and professional reputation.
Public Employees — Skelly, SPB and Administrative Proceedings
Public employment presents issues that often do not arise in private-sector cases. State, county, municipal, and other government employees may have constitutional due process rights, civil service protections, collective bargaining rights, and administrative remedies in addition to protections provided by California employment statutes.
We represent public employees in disciplinary and employment-related matters, including Skelly proceedings, State Personnel Board (SPB) appeals, and other administrative proceedings where appropriate.
Because administrative deadlines can be substantially shorter than ordinary civil statutes of limitation, public employees facing discipline, rejection during probation, or termination should promptly determine which procedures and deadlines apply.
Sacramento Employment Lawyer For Businesses And Employers
Our office also advises and represents California businesses in employment matters and workplace disputes.
Representing employees gives us an important perspective when advising employers. We understand how employees and plaintiffs’ attorneys evaluate potential claims, which facts are likely to become important if litigation develops, and how decisions that may appear routine at the time can later be characterized in a demand letter, administrative complaint, deposition, or lawsuit.
Our employer-side work includes:
Employment Litigation Defense
We defend businesses in claims involving wrongful termination, discrimination, retaliation, harassment, disability accommodation, medical leave, wage-and-hour disputes, and other employment-related claims.
Effective defense requires more than responding to the allegations in a complaint. It requires early identification of the strongest and weakest facts, preservation of important evidence, realistic assessment of potential exposure, and development of a strategy that accounts for both litigation risk and business considerations.
Termination, Discipline and Workplace Decisions
Many employment lawsuits can be avoided—or placed in a significantly better defensive position—through careful decision-making before a termination or other significant employment action occurs.
We advise employers regarding employee discipline, performance problems, termination decisions, accommodation issues, medical leave, internal complaints, and other workplace matters that may create litigation risk.
Discrimination, Retaliation and Harassment Claims
We advise and defend employers facing allegations of workplace discrimination, retaliation, harassment, and hostile work environment.
These matters frequently require careful analysis of the underlying complaint, the employer’s response, documentation, witness testimony, comparative evidence, and the legitimacy and consistency of the employer’s stated reasons for its decisions.
Disability Accommodation and Medical Leave Compliance and Obligations
Disability and leave issues can be particularly challenging because several California and federal laws may apply simultaneously.
We advise employers regarding reasonable accommodation, the interactive process, medical restrictions, leaves of absence, return-to-work issues, and employment decisions involving employees who have requested or taken medical leave.
Wage-and-Hour Disputes Defense
We represent employers in disputes concerning overtime, employee classification, meal and rest periods, compensation, commissions, and other wage-related issues.
We also advise businesses regarding potential wage-and-hour exposure before litigation occurs.
Employment Agreements, Policies and Workplace Advice
Clear employment policies and agreements can reduce uncertainty and prevent disputes. We advise businesses regarding employment agreements, workplace policies, confidentiality obligations, compensation arrangements, and other employment-related issues, with an emphasis on practical solutions appropriate to the employer’s particular circumstances. Our counsel is not based on just theory but on primarily focusing on helping business avoid the most common and most expensive mistakes that we regularly see.
Pre-Litigation Claims and Settlement Negotiations
Not every employment dispute needs to become a lawsuit. In most cases, it is worth to at least to resolve the dispute early and before both sides invested substantial amount of time, money and energy in the case.
We represent businesses responding to employee demands and threatened claims and advise employers regarding the relative advantages of early resolution and litigation. When settlement makes business and legal sense, addressing a dispute before substantial litigation expenses are incurred can benefit everyone involved.
The Advantage of Experience Representing Both Employees and Employers
Employment disputes look different depending on which side of the table you are sitting on. Our experience representing both employees and businesses gives us a broader perspective when evaluating and handling workplace matters.
When representing an employee, our employer-side experience helps us anticipate how management, human resources personnel, insurance representatives, and defense counsel are likely to evaluate the allegations. We understand the defenses employers commonly raise, the evidence they are likely to consider important, and the practical considerations that can affect decisions regarding settlement and litigation.
When representing an employer, our employee-side experience allows us to evaluate the matter through the eyes of the employee and potential plaintiffs’ counsel. This can help identify vulnerabilities early, anticipate how particular facts may be presented in litigation, and determine which issues require the greatest attention.
Most importantly, representing both sides encourages a practical and balanced assessment of employment disputes. Not every unfair termination is legally wrongful. Not every workplace complaint creates liability. Likewise, not every employer explanation survives careful examination of the evidence.
Regardless of which side we represent, our role is to evaluate the facts candidly, apply the law carefully, understand the likely strategy of the opposing side, and pursue the most effective legal and practical solution available.
Sacramento Employment Law Consultations
If you are an employee facing a significant workplace problem or a business dealing with an employment dispute, an initial consultation can help identify the applicable law, potential claims or defenses, practical options, and appropriate next steps.
Our office handles employment matters in Sacramento and throughout Northern California. Consultations can be conducted remotely by Zoom, allowing us to review relevant documents and discuss the matter efficiently regardless of the client’s location.
Contact us by email at arkady@arkadylaw.com to discuss how we can help you resolve your legal issue or dispute or even better – help you avoid one.