Maria Z. Stearns  

Maria Z. Stearns handles employment litigation and transactional matters for local and national employers doing business in California. Many of her clients work in the restaurant, health care and retail industries. She spends about a third of her practice handling wage and hour class action and California Private Attorneys General Act cases, another third on individual discrimination and harassment-type cases, and the remaining third on advising, counsel work and training.

“California law is extremely complicated. It is really difficult to navigate all of the laws while also operating a business in an efficient manner,” Stearns said. “I like the challenge of helping employers figure out how they can set themselves up for success in terms of compliance while also being able to operate in a sound business manner.”

Employment issues such as wage and hour compliance can be particularly complex in the restaurant industry, Stearns said, due to complicating factors that simply don’t exist in a traditional office setting, such as inconsistent work hours from week to week, cash tips and unexpected overtime.

In a recent case, she represented a large California-based restaurant group in a PAGA case. A former employee of the company sought millions of dollars in civil penalties on behalf of approximately 8,000 employees for alleged employment law violations. The case settled on an individual basis for a nominal amount and without formal discovery.

Critical to obtaining this result was demonstrating to opposing counsel that her client has a track record of wage and hour compliance and effectively addressing any issues, Stearns said. During the course of a 20-year relationship with the client, she has helped the restaurant group navigate the complex and ever-changing landscape of California wage and hour law. The company was well positioned to handle the PAGA matter due to its history of robust policies, procedures, employee trainings and compliance monitoring, she said.

“[The client] had great policies, they had really good compliance rates, and when they made a mistake, they corrected it proactively. We were able to tell that story, and it was compelling when showing opposing counsel this isn’t going to be an easy fight,” she said. “Importantly, we were able to do all of that through the informal production of information. It wasn’t after years of litigation and hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees. It was quick, early, informal, efficient — that was also part of getting a great result for the client.”

In addition to her practice, Stearns is active in the legal community and currently serves as board president of Project Youth OC in Santa Ana. The organization is committed to keeping at-risk youth in school, healthy and drug-free.

— Jennifer Chung Klam