Hollis R. Peterson

Partner

Hollis Peterson represents employers, schools, and health care organizations in all aspects of labor and employment litigation, including the defense of employment wage and hour class actions, wrongful termination, harassment, discrimination, retaliation, failure to accommodate, hostile work environment, due process complaints, collective bargaining, fraud and wage suppression, and Labor Code violations.  She handles litigation and administrative hearings relating to Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, Older Workers Benefit Protection Act, California Family Rights Act, Fair Employment and Housing Act, and Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.

In addition to litigation, Hollis  represents companies in collective bargaining and union arbitrations involving all aspects of contract administration and enforcement, including both contract interpretation cases and discipline and discharge cases.  Hollis also represents management in connection with National Labor Relations Board unfair labor practice and grievance proceedings, union representation campaigns, union corporate campaigns, labor arbitrations, and labor-management relations.

She further provides a broad range of counseling services, including preparing employers for reductions in force, providing employee training, reviewing employee handbooks and employment-related policies, overseeing employee discipline, and conducting investigations.

Prior to attending law school, Hollis enjoyed careers as a teacher and school counselor in multiple districts across the country and for the Department of Defense.  With more than a decade of experience as an educator, Hollis is uniquely qualified to represent school clients in special education, test administration, and personnel matters.   She represents multiple schools across California in defense of due process complaints for failure to provide Free Appropriate Public Education.

Hollis was named a Rising Star in 2015 and 2016 by San Diego Super Lawyers® magazine, a Super Lawyer in 2019 and 2020, and has a Martindale-Hubble AV Preeminent Rating.  Hollis was named by Martindale-Hubbell as a Top Lawyer for 2017 in the Labor & Employment category as published in San Diego Magazine.  Hollis was named a Top Lawyer in  2018, 2019, and 2020 in the Healthcare category by San Diego Magazine.

Education

  • George Mason University School of Law, J.D., 2006
  • East Carolina University, M.S., 1998
  • Miami University, B.S., 1991

Professional Experience

  • Paul, Plevin, Sullivan & Connaughton LLP, Partner, 2016-Present
  • Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP, Senior Counsel, 2011-2016
  • Jones Day, Associate, 2006-2011

 

Admissions

  • All California state courts
  • State Bar of Montana
  • United States District Courts in California: Central, Southern
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth and Ninth Circuits
  • United States District Court: District of Montana

 

Professional Activities

  • Member, American Bar Association
  • Member, California State Bar, Labor and Employment Law Section
  • Member, San Diego County Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section
  • Board Member, Association of Business Trial Lawyers
  • Member, Lawyers Club
  • Supervising Attorney, George Mason University School of Law’s Clinic for Legal Assistance to Service members
  • Board Member, Voices for Children

Publications

  • Co-Author, DC Circ. Puts Union Blocking Charges On Chopping Block, Law360, 04/18/2018
  • NLRB Creates Rebuttal Presumption That Employee Use of Company Email for Union Communications is Permitted, December 26, 2014.

Speaking Engagements

  • I Am Who I Am: Promoting Inclusion of LGBTQ Individuals in the Workplace The California Public Employers Labor Relations Association, Monterey, California, December 2018

  • Getting Back to Business After Your Workplace Investigation Has Concluded The California Public Employers Labor Relations Associations, Montery, California, December 2018

  • Our Non-Binary World: Understanding the Gender Spectrum to Accommodate Transgender Employees The California Public Employers Labor Relations Association, Monterey, California, December 2018

  • Controlling Your Campus, Catfish in the Rye, Managing Student and Employee use of Social Media, I Am Who I Am, Promoting Inclusion of LGBTQ Individuals Within Our Schools,

    The 25th Annual California Charter School Conference, San Diego, California, March 2018

     

  • I Am Who I Am: Promoting Inclusion of LGBTQ Individuals in the Workplace 

    The California Public Employers Labor Relations Association, Monterey, California, December 2017

     

  • Catfish in the Rye, Managing Student and Employee Use of Social Media, The 24th Annual California Charter Schools Conference, Sacramento, California, March 2017 and California Council of School Attorneys, November 2017
  • Tackling Workplace Incivility, PPSC Annual Employment Law Seminar, October 2017
  • Not So Fast: When and How to Hold a Manifestation Determination, The 24th Annual California Charter Schools Conference, Sacramento, California, March 2017
  • I Am Who I Am: Promoting Inclusion of LGBTQ Individuals Within Our Schools, 24th Annual California Charter Schools Conference, March 2017
  • Getting Back To Work After Your Workplace Investigation, PPSC Annual Employment Update Seminar, October 2016
  • Unique Issues and Pitfalls for Independent Study Schools, The 23rd Annual California Charter Schools Conference, Long Beach, California, March 2016
  • Controlling Your Campus: Managing Access and Minimizing Disruptions, The 23rd Annual California Charter Schools Conference, Long Beach, California, March 2016
  • Best Employment Policies and Practices: The First Line of Defense, The 23rd Annual California Charter Schools Conference, Long Beach, California, March 2016
  • Is Big Brother Watching? Managing Social Media on Campus, The 23rd Annual California Charter Schools Conference, Long Beach, California, March 2016
  • Employees Gone Wild: Reasons You Need a Great Social Media Policy TODAY, Procopio Annual Labor & Employment Seminar, San Diego, California, November 2015
  • Best Employment Policies and Practices: The First Line of Defense, The 22nd Annual California Charter Schools Conference, Sacramento, California, March 2015
  • Controlling Your Campus: Managing Access and Minimizing Disruptions, The 22nd Annual California Charter Schools Conference, Sacramento, California, March 2015
  • Sex, Lies and Facebook: Employer Concerns With Social Media, The 22nd Annual California Charter Schools Conference, Sacramento, California, March 2015
  • Labor Law 2014: A Look Back at the NLRB’s Most Important Decisions, WS Radio, January 2015
  • Recent Developments in California Employment Law: What Employers Need to Know for 2014-2015, Procopio Annual Labor and Employment Seminar, La Jolla, California, November 2014
  • Catch the Wave on Compliance, San Diego SHRM, Del Mar, California May 2014
  • Best Employment Practices and Policies the First Line of Defense, 21st Annual Charter Schools Conference, San Jose, California March 2014
  • Best Employment Practices and Policies the First Line of Defense, 2oth Annual Charter Schools Conference, San Diego, California March 2013
  • Unions and Charter Schools: Navigating the Minefield, 20th Annual Chart Schools Conference, San Diego, California March 2013
  • Sex, Work and Facebook—Managing Employee Social Media Use, Procopio Labor and Employment Seminar, La Jolla, California, October 2012
  • Employment Policies: Your First Step to Protecting Your School, 19th Annual Charter Schools Conference, Sacramento, California, February 2012
  • Leaves and Accommodations for Employees with Illnesses and Disabilities, 19th Annual Charter Schools Conference, Sacramento, California, February 2012
  • Working with the Union?: Know Your Rights as an Employer, 19th Annual Charter Schools Conference, Sacramento, California February 2012
  • March 23, 2017: Catfish in the Rye: Managing Student and Employee Use of Social Media
  • March 22, 2017: I Am Who I Am: Promoting Inclusion of LGBTQ Individuals Within Our Schools
  • March 22, 2017: Not So Fast: When and How to Hold a Manifestation Determination

Representative Matters

  • Obtained a “no vote” on attempted union organization  by Teamsters Local 542 at Emerald Textiles.
  • Obtained  “no cause” determination from Montana Human Rights Bureau on failure to accommodate and disability discrimination claim for health care client.
  • Obtained favorable ruling from California Unemployment Appeals Board on behalf of private employer regarding challenge to determination that employee was disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits.
  • Obtained summary adjudication and denial of class certification for national restaurant in a putative wage and hour class action brought on behalf of hourly employees alleging they were entitled to payment of premiums for missed meal and rest periods.
  • Obtained defense verdict for national pet product retailer in two separate 2008 San Diego Superior Court trials brought by former employee alleging labor Code violations and retaliation.
  • Obtained favorable settlement for manufacturer in a single plaintiff sexual harassment and gender discrimination matter that also alleged Labor Code violations based on misclassification.
  • Retained by multiple charter schools to conduct independent investigations into allegations of testing improprieties
  • Represents charter schools in defense of due process complaints for failure to provide Free Appropriate Public Education.
  • Represented multiple charter schools, telecommunications corporations, commercial aerospace manufacturer and multiple health care organizations in collective bargaining and a variety of labor arbitrations with the CTA, SDEA, IBEW, CWA, IAMAW, Unite HERE, Teamsters and MNA involving all aspects of contract administration and enforcement, including both contract interpretation cases and discipline and discharge cases.
  • Represented aerospace and defense employer in a putative wage and hour class action filed on behalf of engineers claiming they were misclassified as exempt employees and therefore entitled to overtime and meal and rest period penalties.
  • Represented national restaurant chain in a wage and hour class action filed on behalf of restaurant managers asserting they were misclassified as exempt employees and entitled to overtime and meal and rest period penalties.
  • Represented national electronics retailer in a putative wage and hour class action filed on behalf of sales associates asserting meal and rest period violations, and defended companion single plaintiff disability discrimination suit.
  • Represented national fast food restaurant chain and individual supervisors in single plaintiff disability discrimination and wrongful termination suit.
  • Defended healthcare corporation against antitrust class action lawsuits filed in three cities alleging conspiracies with competing hospitals to suppress nurse compensation.