Michele Haydel Gehrke

Practice Areas

Michele's works on labor and employment matters on behalf of management. Her areas of focus include claims alleging wage-and-hour, FLSA, FMLA, Fair Credit Reporting Act and California Labor Code violations.

She has successfully defended employers in single-plaintiff and class-action cases involving allegations of harassment, retaliation and discrimination in both state and federal courts, as well as administrative agencies. She also defends clients in situations involving whistleblowers, trade secrets, and breach of contract claims.

Michele advises on mandatory arbitration agreements, terminations and employment documents such as employment agreements, employee handbooks, and separation agreements and releases.

Michele has experience before administrative agencies such as the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement and the federal EEOC and OSHA.

Michele’s counseling and compliance experience extends to advising clients on COVID-19 employment and safety issues, and the myriad of state and local laws dealing with paid sick leave and other protected time off.

Michele has significant traditional labor experience involving the Railway Labor Act (RLA). She has successfully defended airline employers in major disputes under the RLA in federal court. Michele also has experience negotiating collective bargaining agreements on behalf of carriers and in handling representation disputes before the National Mediation Board.