Richard J. Simmons

"I have always had three careers," said Simmons.

In addition to an active employment practice at Sheppard Mullin, Simmons is a public speaker, lecturer and an author.

He is considered a guru on California wage and hour law and has written several books, including "Wage And Hour Manual For California Employers," published last year and "Employer's Guide to COVID-19 and Emerging Workplace," published online in April.

Simmons decided to publish his first online-only book because of the timeliness of the topic and it allows him to keep adding chapters, which he will do through the end of the year.

The book, written with the help of fellow Sheppard Mullin partners Brian D. Murphy and Adam R. Rosenthal, developed from Simmons' memos answering employment questions related to the coronavirus and new state and federal laws.

"I didn't want to just get something out there, I wanted something great," he said.

In addition to writing his book and holding webinars based on it, Simmons has been advising and defending employment cases for clients in the health care and food and beverage industries.

He represents companies in federal and state wage and hour, employment discrimination, wrongful discharge, employee discipline and termination, employee benefits and affirmative action disputes, as well as union representation proceedings and contract arbitrations.

His notable cases include 10 years of continuous litigation related to Gerard v. Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center, S241655 (State Supreme Ct., filed Dec. 10, 2018). The California Supreme Court decided unanimously in favor of the medical center in 2018.

It was the only employment case that year in which the state high court ruled in favor of employers and businesses , according to Sheppard Mullin.

The Supreme Court affirmed the original decision of the trial court, which denied class certification for all claims and affirmed summary adjudication in favor of Simmons' client on claims under the Private Attorney General Act.

He also defended Chipotle Mexican Grill against claims of unfair business practice and wage and hour violations in Turley v. Chipotle Services, CGC15544936 (S.F. Super.Ct., filed March 25, 2015). The San Francisco Superior Court denied class certification on all claims except one relating to pay stubs.

Most recently, he represented Chipotle in the 2nd U.S. Circuit of Appeals in a case that involved more than 100 depositions and dealt with whether apprentices had been misclassified as exempt. Scott v. Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., 17-2208-cv, 18-359-cv (2nd Cir., Feb. 13, 2019). Simmons is no longer involved in the long-running litigation. The appellate court ruled partly in favor of Chipotle and remanded the collective action to the Southern District of New York, where it is ongoing.

At the time the case was argued, Simmons handled all wage and hour class actions on behalf of Chipotle nationally.

Other clients he has represented include Torrance Memorial Medical Center and Norms Restaurants.

Simmons is a member of the American Bar Association and Los Angeles County Bar Association, the California Society for Healthcare Attorneys and the National Advisory Board of the Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law.

-- Kamila Knaudt