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Overview
Joanna Blake has over 20 years of experience representing local and national employers doing business in California. Joanna’s 10-plus years serving as a legal and human resources executive with multi-state restaurant employers provides her with the unique skills of a trusted advisor who can provide clients with practical and pragmatic advice on challenging human resources and employee relations issues. Before going in-house, Joanna represented employers in discrimination, retaliation, sexual harassment, wage and hour, disability, and wrongful termination cases in state and federal court. Joanna has valuable insights into key strategies for avoiding and mitigating the employment law risks of operating a business in California and other states.
Experience
General Employment Counsel
Joanna provides preventative counseling and guidance to businesses regarding all aspects of the employer-employee relationship. This includes:
- Serving as a day-to-day resource regarding employment questions;
- Advising employers about wage and hour risks such as meal/rest period regulations, employee misclassification (exempt/non-exempt), improper bonus/commission plans, unpaid business expenses, uniform claims, reporting time pay, and timecard rounding;
- Guiding employers through reduction-in-force programs, including compliance with state and federal laws such as the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (“WARN”);
- Drafting employee handbooks, workplace policies, employment agreements, commission plans, separation agreements, and employee counseling documents;
- Advising on leave of absence and disability accommodation issues; and
- Providing on-site sexual harassment training pursuant to A.B. 1825.
Presentations
- Employment Law Update, Association of Corporate Counsel, Los Angeles and Orange County Chapters, 2011, 2013, and 2019
- Employment Law Update, Association of Corporate Counsel Annual Meeting, Austin, TX, 2018
News & Insights
Awards & Affiliations
Memberships & Associations
- Labor and Employment Law Section, California Lawyers Association
- Labor and Employment Law Section, State Bar of Texas
- Member, Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
- Member, LPGA Amateur Golf Association
