Maria Z. Stearns

Maria Stearns represents local and national employers doing business in California. They seek her counsel on employment litigation and transactional matters, with particular expertise in the healthcare, restaurant, manufacturing and apparel industries. Maria’s creative strategies in efficiently and effectively resolving matters have been recognized by the Daily Journal in its inclusion of Maria in the prestigious list of California’s ‘Top Women Lawyers’ and ‘Top Employment Lawyers.’

Litigation 

• Wage and Hour Class Actions/PAGA: A significant part of Maria’s litigation practice is defense of wage and hour class actions and Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) representative claims. Among the claims Maria has defended are: allegations of meal/rest period violations, employee misclassification (exempt/non-exempt), improper bonus/commission plans, unpaid business expenses, uniform claims, reporting time pay, and timecard rounding.
• Employment Litigation: In addition to her class action/PAGA work, Maria has successfully represented employers in discrimination, retaliation, sexual harassment, disability and wrongful termination cases in state and federal court, and in administrative charges filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (and other state fair employment administrative agencies), the U.S. Department of Labor and the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. Maria’s work also includes defense of unfair labor practice charges before the National Labor Relations Board and union arbitration proceedings.

General Employment Counsel

Maria also provides preventative counseling and guidance to businesses regarding all aspects of the employer-employee relationship. This includes:

• Assisting employers in conducting wage and hour self-audits and in responding to government audits;
• 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;
• Providing on-site sexual harassment training pursuant to A.B. 1825; and
• Serving as a day-to-day resource regarding employment questions.

Maria was a full-scholarship varsity tennis player at the University of Kansas where she was named an NCAA Woman of the Year. Maria is fluent in Spanish and studied abroad in Guadalajara, Mexico.