Susan F. Eandi

Eandi heads the firm's global employment practice for North America and co-chairs its California compensation and employment law practice group. In those roles, she has advised some of the most recognizable U.S. multinational companies on cross-border employment matters. She is client service director for her firm's global clients such as Nike Inc., Google Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co. in its former and current incarnations and what she can describe only as "a highly confidential electronics company."

She currently advises the newly formed Hewlett-Packard Enterprise on the international employment law aspects of the spinoff and merger of its information technology services business with Computer Sciences Corp.

Eandi is well positioned to spot trends affecting the corporate marketplace. "We're seeing a significant amount of merger and acquisition separations of iconic brands in the effort to unlock shareholder value," she said, noting the Hewlett-Packard maneuvering as a prime example. "And, conversely, we'll continue to see opportunistic acquisitions in the tech sphere."

In that regard, she's working for client Zendesk Inc., a cloud-based customer service software development company, in its acquisition of a France-based software analytics company in a transaction valued at $45 million. The strategic acquisition was accomplished under a quick timeline, furthering Zendesk's integration of data analytics capabilities, she said.

Eandi also sees continuous corporate expansions into new countries to take advantage of potential additional market share. "We have to try to be cognizant of local employment laws and compliance issues," she said. "We give clients their options: engage as direct employers, use the independent contractor model or work through third parties."

Another current tendency is for companies to lay off workers to focus on core business in markets with proven value, she said. Examples are the oil and gas industries, alongside tech companies. "Layoffs can be much more difficult overseas," Eandi said, because of the lack of at-will employment rules and the number of statutory entitlements including notice, severance and consultation rights. "The goal is always to keep those laid off from suing," she said.

A major recent trend is in the pay equity realm. "Companies want to be market leaders in this," she said. "It is very much driven by California law. It can be extremely complex for multinationals." The California Fair Pay Act, signed by Gov. Jerry Brown last October, has led to corporate "equal pay audits" that do not necessarily translate well overseas, Eandi said, summing up as "super challenging."

— John Roemer