Michael Afar 

Michael Afar has extensive experience handling and managing complex class action matters under California law, including wage-and-hour class and representative action cases.

The Seyfarth Shaw LLP partner has obtained winning results due to a practical approach to finding solutions for his clients.

“It starts from immersing ourselves into our clients’ business and building up that relationship and getting an understanding of what’s going on from the ground up,” Afar said. “I think it’s very important that we tell our story of our clients in these types of cases and showcase that they’re doing everything they can to do right by their employees.”

He began work with the firm in 2009, where he began as a class action clerk. After graduating from Loyola Law School in 2014, he rose through the ranks over the years and became one of the firm’s key employment defense litigators.

“I was very fortunate to work with a lot of great class action and PAGA lawyers who mentored me and really got me passionate about doing defense side employment work,” Afar said.

Last year, Afar was able to obtain summary judgment for an employer against a certified class of over 15,000 employees, holding that: indefinite layoffs or furloughs did not constitute a “termination” for purposes of vacation wage payouts under Labor Code 227.3 and complimentary hotel rooms provided to employees were not “wages” within the meaning of the California Labor Code and therefore did not need to be included in calculating the regular rate or pay nor paid out upon separation of employment. Hartstein v. Hyatt Corp., 22-55276 (C.D. Cal., filed Mar. 16, 2022).

Because the matter related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Afar said it presented novel issues that made it unique and important for him to be a part of. “The pandemic, I think, changed a lot of things for a lot of employers. It certainly raised issues that we’re still seeing in other contexts for things like expense reimbursements, off-the-clock work, and a duty of care… It was a very interesting case and definitely one that I’m very proud of for my client.”

Afar was also recently able to obtain denial of class certification and summary judgment for an employer with claims of meal and rest period violations, unlawful “rounding” of time punches and failure to pay the “regular rate” when calculating overtime wages. Madeira v. Converse, Inc., 22-55161 (C.D. Cal., filed Feb. 10, 2022).

“I think it’s an important decision because it pushes back and dispels this notion that you have to immediately settle these types of claims or that you have to roll over as an employer,” Afar said. “It still shows that there are ways to prevail on these types of cases. We can fight and we can win.”

—Devon Belcher