Mr. Larsen joined Rutan & Tucker in 1973 and has been a partner since 1979. He is a member of the firm’s Government & Regulatory Law Section and specializes in the representation of public agencies, with particular emphasis on labor and employment matters, and serves as general or special counsel for a number of school and community college districts, municipalities and special districts. Dave has extensive experience in all aspects of labor and employment law in the public sector, including counseling and litigation with respect to discrimination, wage and hour disputes, the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act, the Educational Employment Relations Act, discipline of municipal police, fire and general employees and certificated and classified school district employees, contract negotiations and disputes, rights to privacy, First Amendment issues and due process of law in the employment context.
Mr. Larsen’s clients include numerous public agencies, acting on behalf of management as well as providing independent neutral advice with respect to conduct of hearings. Dave has extensive experience with labor negotiations and arbitrations, hearings before administrative bodies, the Public Employment Relations Board, and Department of Fair Employment and Housing/EEOC, as well as all state and federal courts, including numerous cases dealing with constitutional first amendment issues.
Mr. Larsen is a member of the Employment and Labor Panel of the American Arbitration Association and also serves as an expert witness. Dave regularly gives workshop presentations to school superintendents and other school personnel.
Areas of Expertise
- School Law
- Labor and Employment
- Employment Discrimination
- Administrative Adjudication
- Construction
- Civil Rights Appellate Practice
Representative Cases or Matters
- Peloza v. Capistrano Unified SD, (9th Cir. 1994) 37 F.3d 517, cert. den. (1995) 515 U.S. 1173 [115S.Ct. 2640, 132 L.Ed.2d 878].) Annotation, Constitutionality of Teaching or Suppressing Teaching of Biblical Creationism or Darwinian Evolution Theory in Public Schools (1999) 102 A.L.R. Fed. 537 (1999 supp.) section 10, 14.
- Perumal v. Saddleback Valley USD, 198 Cal.App.3d 64, 243 Cal.Rptr.545 (1988)
- Patterson v. Saddleback Valley USD, USDC Case No. 84-4451
- United States v. City of Fullerton, USDC Case No. 97-4931 (patterns and practice)
- Roddey-Meyers v. Capistrano Unified School District, OCSC Case No. 745548 (race)
- Taylor v. City of Irvine, OCSC Case No. 705834 (sexual harassment and gender)
- Anderson v. Coast Community College District, OCSC No. 745632 (disability)
- Cutler v. Coast Community College District, OCSC Case No. 784037 (age discrimination)
Publications/Seminars
- Presentations to wide variety of professional organizations