Overview
Jonas Trevethan is an Employment Associate in Rutan & Tucker’s Irvine office. Jonas’s practice includes representing and defending management in arbitration and civil actions involving a broad range of employment disputes, including wage and hour class actions and Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) representative claims, discrimination and harassment claims, and wrongful termination and retaliation claims.
Outside of the litigation context, Jonas also assists employers in drafting employee handbooks and arbitration agreements, handling workplace discrimination and harassment investigations, and conducting payroll and onboarding audits to evaluate compliance with California’ complex wage and hour laws.
As a law student at the University of California, Irvine School of Law, Jonas competed in moot court and was an associate editor of the UC Irvine Law Review. During that time, Jonas also participated in the school’s Appellate Litigation Clinic, where he represented an indigent client on complex immigration issues before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Experience
Areas of Focus
- Defense of California Wage & Hour Class Actions and PAGA Claims
- Defense of Harassment and Discrimination Claims
- Defense of Wrongful Termination and Retaliation Claims
- Workplace Investigations
- Onboarding and Payroll Audits
- EEOC and DFEH/CRD Investigations, Position Statements, and Administrative Hearings
- Mediations before State and Federal Administrative Agencies (EEOC, DFEH/CRD, DIR, DOL)
Representative Matters
- Defended hospital client against former employee in wage claim asserting claims of unpaid wages and waiting time penalties before the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) and obtained decision in favor of hospital client, awarding the plaintiff $0.
- Handled various workplace harassment and discrimination investigations, including conducting witness interviews, memorandum setting forth conclusions, and guiding client through next steps.
- Conducted detailed payroll audits to evaluate clients’ compliance with California’s complex wage and hour laws.
- Represented client against former employee in race discrimination matter filed before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, resulting in dismissal of the charge.
- Drafted multi-state employee handbook for use by national retailer with over 20,000 employees.