Tanja L. Darrow

Darrow, an experienced trial and appellate attorney specializing in litigation, has successfully tried numerous cases on behalf of corporate clients. Darrow, who originally concentrated on aviation defense, said she made a conscious decision to move to employment law and has been working at Littler since 1994.

“Everybody is either an employer or employee. It seems to integrate into everything,” Darrow said.

Darrow has handled several cases for a national limousine company, all resulting in complete defense awards. In one case involving a long-term employee in a multi-party case that spanned several years, Darrow successfully obtained a full defense award on every count after a one-week arbitration.

In another case, a former chauffeur brought various wage claims, including failure to pay minimum wage, overtime, vacation, and a challenge to whether his tips should have been included in his regular rate of pay. He also included a Private Attorneys General Act claim. After a weeklong arbitration and thousands of pages of documentary evidence, the arbitrator ruled in favor of the employer on every cause of action.

In one of Darrow’s cases, the plaintiff, a long-term employee over the age of 60, claimed to have been laid off due to his age and for complaints he had made about company products.

“Although the facts were very difficult,” Darrow said “the court agreed that the employer maintained legitimate business reasons for its employment decisions” pertaining to the plaintiff. Darrow’s defense proffered extensive evidence, which could not be countered by the plaintiff, and the court ultimately granted the defendant’s motion for summary judgment on all counts.

Darrow regularly participates as a panelist in employment seminars and presents to local professional organizations and the California State Bar. She also serves on Littler’s Diversity Council and provides training on diversity and discrimination issues and frequently speaks on a variety of employment law topics such as sexual harassment, employment discrimination and wrongful termination.

— Skylar Dubelko