
Overview
Stephen Berry is a partner and Chair of the Orange County Employment Law Department. He concentrates his practice in the representation of public and private employers in all aspects of employment law and labor relations, including defense of wage and hour and Fair Credit Reporting Act class actions, as well as employee mobility/trade secret protection, discrimination, retaliation, harassment, wrongful discharge, whistleblower, and ADA Title III access lawsuits; union organizing and decertification campaigns, contract negotiations, strikes, and arbitrations; and administrative proceedings before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, California Fair Employment and Housing Commission, the National Labor Relations Board, and other federal and state agencies. Mr. Berry also provides preventative counseling and training in all of these areas.
Mr. Berry’s clients include major foreign and domestic-based international employers, including pharmaceutical, medical device, and other lifesciences biotechnology and technology firms, insurance companies, entertainment companies, container shipping lines and shipping terminal operators, transportation companies, and manufacturing firms.
Recognitions
- Continuously named in The Best Lawyers in America since 2004, and named "Management Employment Lawyer of the Year" for the Orange County, California area by that publication each year since 2011
- Named to "Top Labor and Employment Lawyers of 2012" by the Daily Journal
- Named The Best Lawyers in America every year since 2018 for work in Employment Law - Individual and Management, Labor Law - Management and Qui Tam Law
Education
- J. Reuben Clark School of Law at Brigham Young University, J.D. (Associate Editor of the Utah Bar Journal; Order of Barristers), 1981
- Brigham Young University, B.S. (cum laude), 1978
Representations
- Won over a dozen jury trials and arbitrations, including claims of disability discrimination by a former employee of a pharmaceutical company, sex discrimination by a former sales manager with a telecom company, wrongful termination by a former partner in a law firm and obtained a judgment against the former partner in an amount exceeding $100,000, and whistleblower retaliation at arbitration by the former head of sales for a medical device company
- Won complete summary judgment in two wage and hour class actions and 43 individual cases
- Defeated class certification in an exempt misclassification case, and in an independent contractor misclassification case
- Leads collective bargaining negotiations for the Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbor Employers Association (formed by 14 of the largest container shipping companies and terminal operators in the world) with ILWU Local 63, Office Clerical Unit
news
- Paul Hastings Advises Sino-Ocean Land on US$1.2 Billion Guaranteed Notes Offering - February 5th, 2015
- Paul Hastings Extensive Practice Strength Highlighted in The Legal 500 United States 2013 - June 5th, 2013
- Paul Hastings Soars in 2011 Edition of Legal 500 US - June 1st, 2011
- Best Lawyers Names 91 Lawyers to 2011 Edition of Rankings - August 16th, 2010
- Paul Hastings Excels in 2010 Edition of Legal 500 US - June 7th, 2010
- Paul Hastings Selected as The American Lawyers Labor & Employment Litigation Firm of the Year - January 6th, 2010
- Paul Hastings Attorneys Recognized as Super Lawyers and Rising Stars in Northern California, Southern California, Georgia, Illinois, New York and Washington, D.C. - June 17th, 2008
- Paul Hastings Attorneys Recognized as Super Lawyers in Southern California, Connecticut, Georgia, New York, San Diego and Washington, D.C. - May 20th, 2007
Recognitions
insights
- Get Ready California Employers! A Wave Of New Employment Laws Set To Kick In Next Year. - November 2nd, 2023
- California Supreme Court In Adolph v. Uber Has “Last Word” On PAGA Standing - July 18th, 2023
- NLRB Limits Non-Disparagement and Confidentiality Clauses in Severance / Settlement Agreements - February 28th, 2023
- California Expands Employee Protections: A Dozen New Employment Laws Impacting Employers - October 10th, 2022
- Looking Beyond 2020: Eighteen New Employment Laws Employers With Operations In California Need To Know For 2021 - October 12th, 2020
- AB 1867: California Enacts Supplemental COVID-19 Paid Sick Leave Law - September 14th, 2020
- California Legislature Gives Entertainment and Other Industries Some Relief from Restrictive “ABC” Independent Contractor Test - September 11th, 2020
- DOL Withdraws Prior Rule That Prevented Certain Employers from Relying on the Commissioned Sales Exemption from Overtime Requirements - May 21st, 2020
- San Francisco Enacts Public Health Emergency Leave Ordinance to Assist Employees Impacted by COVID-19 - April 20th, 2020
- New Judicial Guidance Addresses No-Accrual Vacation Policies Under California Law - April 6th, 2020
- Once Aggrieved, Always Aggrieved: The California Supreme Court Holds an Employee’s Settlement of Labor Code Claims Does Not Bar a PAGA Lawsuit - March 16th, 2020
- California Supreme Court Holds Employers Must Pay Non-Exempt Employees for On-Site Security Screenings - February 26th, 2020
- Department of Labor Issues Major Update to FLSA Regulations Governing the Regular Rate of Pay - December 20th, 2019
- Coming in 2020: Seven New Laws Ratcheting Up the Regulation of Employment in California - October 14th, 2019
- Department of Labor Issues Final Rule Increasing Salary Thresholds for Overtime Exemptions - September 27th, 2019
- Department of Labor Proposes Update to FLSA Regulations Governing the Regular Rate of Pay - April 2nd, 2019
- Department of Labor Proposes Increased Minimum Salary for Exempt Employees - March 12th, 2019
- California Takes the Lead on #MeToo Legislation - October 16th, 2018
- A Tale of Two Governments: Ten New Laws Impacting Employers with Operations in California - November 6th, 2017
- California Supreme Court Answers Unsettled Questions Regarding California’s “Day of Rest” Requirements - May 12th, 2017
Engagement & Publications
- Frequent lecturer on employment law topics, including wage and hour compliance, use of temporary workers and other independent contractors, prevention and investigation of harassment and other workplace issues, and privacy and drug testing issues
- Has authored articles on a variety of employment law topics, including "Workplace Drug Testing Programs" (Employment Law Handbook, Government Institute, Inc.) and "Wrongful Termination: Ten Keys to Avoiding a Day in Court" (International Legal Strategy)
Involvement
- Admitted to the State Bar of California
- Fellow in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers