Cheryl D. Orr

A managing partner and chair of Drinker's national labor and employment practice, Orr has become a trusted advisor, negotiator and trainer to her clients, which include Best Buy Co. Inc, Dyson Inc. and U.S. Bancorp.

At any given time, Orr is working on at least 10 wage and hour class actions, she said, counseling companies on compliance and preventative measures while pushing for favorable results.

"I very much enjoy negotiating and think that's one of, if not my strongest skills," she said. "I drive very good results for our clients."

It's an area that remains hot for several reasons, Orr said, from the deep and extensive nature of the California Labor Code to the issues many companies face due to their size or unfamiliarity with the code.

"The areas which are normally litigated -- unpaid overtime or off-the-clock work or meal and rest breaks -- those continue to be issues for new employers who are new to California or those that are just very large," she said. "That can be hard to manage."

And there's always a new "theory du jour" that causes a ripple effect throughout the labor code, Orr said. One such case is last year's decision in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles, where the California Supreme Court adopted an employee-focused "ABC test" to determine if companies had misclassified their independent contractors.

The decision hit many "gig economy" companies in the Bay Area, the San Francisco-based Orr said, in particular companies that aren't as large as Uber Technologies Inc., and GrubHub Inc, who have fought misclassification class actions in recent years. It has forced Orr to adjust how she advises her clients.

"It's certainly affected how we counsel employers, both on setting up their business model in a way that's compliant at the outset and, if there are issues, how to address them," Orr said. "These cases, particularly at a class action stage, are rarely litigated all the way to trial. But they can impact strategy in terms of how they get resolved."

Orr also trains executives on the evolution of the law and public opinion, especially in the realm of sexual harassment. Holding fireside-type chats with senior leadership and human resources personnel, Orr provides best practices for organizations while covering potential gray areas.

Sometimes, the training has expanded to a full audit of a larger, nationwide company in need of an overhaul of policies and practices. And while she's seeing progress overall, Orr said there's more work to be done.

"Large national employers are very much taking it seriously," she said. "There's very much an increase in transparency. Boards are holding companies to a higher standard. But anecdotally, there are some sectors that are still problematic."

-- Glenn Jeffers