Emilio G. Gonzalez

Emilio Gonzalez focuses his practice on employment litigation and protecting his clients' trade secrets. He has defended employers against claims of wage and hour violations, wrongful discharge, harassment, retaliation, and discrimination. He also has prosecuted and defended trade secrets and unfair competition actions dealing with data breaches, employee raiding, and misappropriation of business records, and has obtained temporary restraining orders (TRO) and injunctions against the use by competitors of customer lists and other trade secrets. He has won jury verdicts in state and federal courts, and has represented employers before the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). 

Emilio also advises clients on hiring, managing, and separating employees; on compliance with wage and hour laws, the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), Title VII, the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), and other state and federal employment laws; and on other ways to avoid litigation or resolve disputes pre-litigation through early mediation or other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods.  

Emilio's clients include technology and software companies, film and media companies, hospitals, banks and investment firms, manufacturing companies, telecommunication companies, and restaurants.

Practice Highlights

• Trial counsel in numerous single-plaintiff lawsuits alleging employment discrimination, harassment, civil rights violations, retaliation, and failure to accommodate
• Lead trial counsel (both plaintiff and defense) in cases alleging theft of trade secrets, employee raiding, and unfair competition
• Arbitration counsel before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)
• Counsel to employers and executives in negotiating employment-related agreements