California Class Actions & Complex Litigation

Trusted Defense for Class Actions, PAGA Claims & Complex Employment Litigation in California

California has become ground zero for large-scale employment class actions and complex litigation. With frequent statutory changes, uniquely demanding compliance requirements, and a higher likelihood of cases proceeding to trial, California sets the pace for employment law trends across the country. Whether or not your company is headquartered in the Golden State, staying ahead of these developments is essential.

Constangy’s California Class Action & Complex Litigation team represents employers in high-stakes disputes throughout the state. We defend clients in wage and hour class actions, collective actions, PAGA actions, and other complex single- and multi-plaintiff cases—often in the most challenging venues. Backed by decades of experience and a collaborative, business-focused approach, we help employers protect their people, reputation, and bottom line.

What Sets Us Apart

We have developed a significant presence in California class action and complex litigation defense, particularly in state wage and hour law matters. Our attorneys have handled hundreds of mass action and multi-party lawsuits—providing efficient, creative, and trial-ready strategies tailored to California’s legal landscape.

• Deep California Knowledge – We are well-versed in the unique procedural and statutory requirements of California law, including evolving class certification standards, PAGA exposure, and arbitration considerations.
• Track Record of Results – We have successfully defended employers in class and collective actions, high-stakes single-plaintiff litigation, administrative complaints, and coordinated state and federal proceedings.
• Strategic Litigation Planning – We incorporate California-specific defense experts, prepare every case with appellate positioning in mind, and align strategies with your business goals and risk tolerance.
• Reputation Management – We’re experienced in handling litigation that carries reputational risk or high visibility, and we work closely with in-house teams to manage communications and outcomes.
• Forward-Looking Counsel – We help employers proactively monitor changes in the law and develop compliance strategies to minimize litigation risk before it starts.

What We Do

We provide comprehensive litigation defense, including:

• Class and collective actions involving wage and hour claims
• Representative actions under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA)
• Multi-plaintiff discrimination, harassment, and retaliation lawsuits
• High-stakes single-plaintiff matters with reputational or operational impact
• Trade secret, antitrust, and unfair competition litigation
• Coordinated state and federal litigation and multidistrict matters
• Complex discovery and e-discovery strategy and management
• Claims under California and federal statutes, including:
  • FEHA, FLSA, ADA, ADEA, CFRA, WARN, and Title VII
  • California Labor Code, Equal Pay Act, Fair Pay Act, and PDL

We also advise clients on proactive litigation avoidance and resolve disputes through early case assessments, mediation, and arbitration when appropriate.

Why Constangy

Constangy brings decades of experience representing employers in complex litigation and class actions. We align our legal strategy with your business objectives—helping you minimize disruption while mitigating long-term risk. With a statewide presence and scalable team structure, we respond quickly and efficiently, whether you're facing a single claim or coordinating multi-region defense. 

Representative Matters

In their roles at Constangy and while with previous firms, Constangy attorneys have handled hundreds of class and collective action matters in California, including:

• Constangy attorneys have represented several national hotel, retail, restaurant, and grocery chains in more than two dozen California-based collective actions regarding employee classifications, overtime, rest periods, and meal breaks.
• Represented multinational pharmaceutical and biologics company in class action alleging that pharmaceutical sales representatives were entitled to overtime pay.
• Represented warehousing company in class action alleging violations of the California Labor Code and the Federal Labor Standards Act including improper recordkeeping, inadequate payment for hours worked including overtime, and failure to provide meal and rest breaks.
• Represented a large state utility in class action alleging that engineers for utility company were entitled to overtime pay.
• Helped a large food services company reach a favorable settlement in a class action race discrimination claim for failure to hire, failure to promote, and failure to provide equal benefits and opportunities to African American employees and applicants. Settlement included monetary value and institution of programmatic measures to increase the number of African American employees.
• Represented a large supermarket chain in Cal-WARN class action on behalf of employees locked out during strike.
• Represented an international clothing retail company throughout litigation and negotiation agreements with U.S. Department of Labor (Rolene Otero) and State Labor Commissioner (Victoria Bradshaw) regarding labor law enforcement in garment industry.
• Represented a Fortune-500 insurance company regarding allegations of predatory pricing based on failure to pay overtime to improperly classified customer care representatives.
• Represented a large grocery store company in a Title VII pattern and practice case filed by the EEOC alleging racial discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.
• Represented one of the nation’s largest agricultural operations in a class investigation conducted by the Los Angeles District Office of the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission regarding allegations of systemic race and national origin discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.
• Represented advertising agencies in multi-defendant wage hour class action brought by Screen Actors Guild members.
• Representing healthcare company in representative action filed under California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) regarding allegations of missed meal and rest periods.
• Represented a national retailer in a nationwide putative class action alleging race, gender, and national origin discrimination at more than 800 retail stores.
• Defended an international financial institution in a case filed by African American and Latino financial advisors alleging nationwide race discrimination, including disparities in account distributions, management opportunities, partnership/retirement agreements, business support, and overall compensation disparities.
• Representing a multinational biotechnology company in a class action involving reimbursement for employee cell phone, internet, and home office expenses.
• Represented largely circulated metropolitan newspaper to confirm trial court's summary judgment ruling that an industry-wide commission sales plan is legal under California law.
• Represented and served as lead California counsel for a large banking institution in class action regarding MDL hybrid commission sales.

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