Jonathan helps employers. He knows that managing employees isn’t the principal business of most companies, and he strives to allow his clients to spend less time dealing with employment law matters so that they can spend more time meeting their business objectives.
Jonathan’s experience is broad based, and focused on the full range of HR issues all employers face: resolving problems, like lawsuits and other employment claims; hiring and separating employees, including creating the contracts and agreements that accompany such events; and creating safe workplace environments that comply with all federal and state laws and regulations.
He also regularly counsels HR managers and company executives on issues related to hiring employees and properly retaining independent contractors; dismissals, such as terminations, mass layoffs, and plant closings; and their responses to a broad range of day-to-day employment matters including employee discipline, harassment, and discrimination complaints, and most significantly legal compliance with the many federal, state, and local laws and regulations that affect the employment relationship.
Finally, Jonathan has extensive experience drafting employment agreements, complex compensation plans, severance agreements, employee handbooks, and other employment policies.
Jonathan regularly litigates employment disputes – over wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage and hour, trade secret, unfair competition, and breach of contract matters – in both California and Federal courts. In addition, he represents clients before state and federal agencies, including:
Duke University, J.D., 2001
University of California, Berkley, B.A., Chinese History, German Language, 1997
July 21, 2023 | Publications
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a final rule amending its occu...
March 9, 2023 | Publications
By some estimates, California’s economy is now the fourth largest in the world, having recently ov...
November 6, 2021 | Publications
UPDATE 11/6/21: The latest development on AB 51 involves the US Chamber of Commerce, which has reque...
August 9, 2021 | Publications
At a glance: California Supreme Court rules that meal and rest period premiums must be based on R...
December 29, 2020 | Publications
On Friday, December 18, 2020, AlvaradoSmith employment lawyer Jonathan M. Werner presented Alvarad...
November 30, 2020 | Coronavirus Response Team
On Tuesday, November 24, 2020, AlvaradoSmith employment lawyer Jonathan M. Werner presented “C...
October 16, 2020 | Publications
What California Employers Need to Know: Significant amendments to the California Family Rights Act (...
March 23, 2020 | Coronavirus Response Team
On Friday, March 20, 2020, Jonathan Werner and Theodore E. Bacon presented “Coronavirus and Ca...