I started practicing law in 2000 and then in 2002 2003 is when I really
became interested in wage and hour work you know because we were representing this hotel employee and I remember
sitting down and just reading the entire labor code and it was things that we hadn’t even really considered when you know when a client came in was asking
them questions about wage and hour issues and it completely transformed um the way that I was approaching uh
litigation was to look at, you know, not just what the employee was coming in and complaining to you about, but digging deeper and really seeing what was going
on in the workplace. And often you would see um wage theft going on as well.
Employers are always trying to look for ways to save money. their labor budget is the largest part of most businesses
budgets. And so, you know, I started out when I was practicing in this area. Most of the cases that I were handling were
people who were classified as exempt from overtime payment. You know, one of the first cases I handled was for
somebody working at a five-star hotel um that was moving cars and he was wearing out his shoes once a month, but still he
was classified as exempt from overtime payment. you know, that’s sort of where I started and it’s it sort of shifted as
as employers figure out new ways um in order to to try and save money, you know, and sort of the next wave that we
saw was everybody’s an independent contractor, right? Um and so that’s sort of as you know, my practice has evolved as as employers um tactics have changed.