Pascal Benyamini

Employment Litigation

Pascal protects employers in state and federal courts from claims of wage and hour violations, wrongful termination, retaliation, discrimination, harassment and unlawful employment practices. While he seeks expeditious and cost-effective resolutions to disputes and lawsuits, Pascal is an experienced litigator, including jury and bench trials.

Employment Counseling

Pascal trains and counsels employers and management teams on best practices for avoiding litigation and workplace issues — his primary goal. Employers engage him to train on anti-sexual harassment under California’s AB 1825 and antibullying under the state’s AB 2053. He counsels on discipline, terminations, employee classification, compliance and employee handbooks.

Government Investigations

When government agencies investigate employers, Pascal helps businesses cooperate while seeking to clear them of charges. He has advised on investigations by the Department of Labor, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Department of Fair Employment & Housing (DFEH) and the California Labor Commissioner.

Representative Experience

• Lead attorney in several threatened wage and hour class actions resulting in plaintiffs’ attorneys withdrawing class action claims, and the cases resolving prior to litigation with favorable terms for clients.
• Lead attorney in wage and hour class actions and individual claims resulting in settlements with favorable terms for clients.
• Lead attorney in gender discrimination and wrongful termination claims resulting in case being settled for nominal amounts within days of trial.
• Lead attorney in race discrimination and wrongful termination claims. Moved case to early mediation, presenting convincing evidence that resulted in a settlement for a nominal amount.
• Lead attorney in age discrimination and wrongful termination claims. Following first round of discovery and depositions, resolved case with favorable terms for client.
• Lead attorney in sexual harassment claims, including same sex sexual harassment, against companies and their management. Resolved cases with favorable terms for client outside of mediation.
• Defended lawsuits by employees against their employers under Labor Code Section 132a and for Serious and Willful resulting in dismissal of the claims.
• Represented employers with Department of Labor investigations of wage and hour practices, resulting in nominal penalties.
• Represented employers with EEOC and DFEH investigations with no charges filed by either agency.
• Lead attorney in multiple wrongful termination claims based on pregnancy and other disabilities filed. All claims resolved for nuisance value.
• Advised clients with reductions in force, including relocation outside of California.
• Assisted manufacturing client through wage and hour investigation by Department of Labor investigation, including the “hot goods” provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
• Advised clients with conversion of independent contractors to employees.
• Advised clients during the diligence process of acquiring stock or assets of target company.
• Advised clients through various employee leaves of absences including, but not limited to, leave under
  • the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
  • the California Family Rights Act (CFRA)
  • the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
  • the California Fair Employment Housing Act (FEHA)
• Advised clients with employee abuse of clients’ paid sick leave policy and employees’ non-compliance with clients’ attendance policy.

Personal Interests

Born in Iran, Pascal immigrated to Montreal at a young age, where he learned to play hockey. Profiled in the 2010 Southern California Rising Stars article “Ice Man,” Pascal uses hockey pucks as paperweights and closely follows the Montreal Canadiens.