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Alexander M. Chemers

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Employment Law, Litigation, Disability Access, Class Action, Wage and Hour, Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution
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Alexander “Zander” Chemers is a shareholder in the Los Angeles office of Ogletree Deakins.

Zander helps businesses navigate California’s challenging legal requirements. He regularly advises clients on best practices to comply with state and federal law, and frequently delivers speeches and webinars. Zander has testified before Congress on issues surrounding independent contractors, an area in which he regularly litigates. Zander (together with his wife) has been featured on the cover of The American Lawyer magazine.

Zander represents clients in many industries, including transportation and logistics, manufacturing, retail, food services, construction, technology, and defense contractors. Through his counseling, he advises clients on compensation plans, meal period and rest break compliance, regular rate calculations, and other strategies to minimize litigation risk.

Zander is also an experienced class action litigator; as discussed in the Experience section, his clients have repeatedly defeated certification in state and federal courts.  His litigation practice focuses on wage-and-hour claims, ranging from class actions involving thousands of putative class members, to representative actions under the Private Attorneys General Act, to single plaintiff arbitrations. These cases involve a broad spectrum of wage-and-hour claims, including alleged violations of minimum wage, overtime, prevailing wage, regular rate, meal period and rest break, business expenses, and wage statement statutes.

Zander has also successfully defended companies against alleged violations of federal statutes, including wage claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act, disability access claims under Title III, and pre-employment disclosures under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Zander has also assisted clients who are facing claims for discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, and failure to accommodate.

Zander received his J.D. from the UCLA School of Law in 2008. Following law school, Zander spent a year clerking for the Honorable Ancer L. Haggerty, Chief Judge for the District of Oregon.

Employment Law, Litigation, Disability Access, Class Action, Wage and Hour, Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution
Trucking and Logistics
Learn more about Alexander M. Chemers

Zander is an experienced class action litigator.  He has either led or played a significant role in defeating motions for class certification on many occasions.  These cases include:

Other Representative Matters:

Education

Admittance to Practice

Professional Activities

  • State Bar of California (Labor and Employment Law Section)

Speeches

Insights by Alexander M. Chemers

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Supreme Court Seeks Solicitor General Input on Preemption Challenge to California’s AB 5

On November 15, 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an order concerning the California Trucking Association’s (CTA) challenge to California’s independent contractor law, Assembly Bill (AB) 5. The Supreme Court‘s order invited the United States Solicitor General (SG) to file a submission describing the federal government’s position with respect to this case and the question CTA posed to the Court that the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (FAAAA) preempts AB 5.

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California Court of Appeal Confirms Trial Courts’ Inherent Power to Strike or Limit Unmanageable PAGA Lawsuits

On September 9, 2021, a California Court of Appeal issued its ruling in Wesson v. Staples the Office Superstore, LLC, delivering a welcome victory to employers battling representative actions under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). Under the 2004 law, an “aggrieved employee” is empowered to commence a PAGA representative action on behalf of all other “aggrieved employees” to seek civil penalties for alleged violations of the California Labor Code.

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California Supreme Court Issues Significant Meal Period Decision

Taking a meal break in California is no simple affair.  Culminating seven years of litigation involving one California employer, on February 25, 2021, the Supreme Court of California issued its unanimous opinion in Donohue v. AMN Services, LLC, resolving two questions regarding California meal periods. The court’s opinion also raised, but did not resolve, questions regarding meal period compliance that will likely challenge employers and litigants for years.

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Ninth Circuit Gives California Employers a Break in Defending Rest Period Claims

In Davidson v. O’Reilly Auto Enterprises, LLC, No. 18-56188 (August 3, 2020), the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals addressed whether a district court abused its discretion in denying class certification for an employee’s claim for improper rest breaks under California law where the employer allegedly had a facially defective written rest break policy.

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How California’s Expansion of Paid Sick Leave Impacts Food Sector Employers

On April 16, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Executive Order (EO) N-51-20, which imposes new obligations on employers to provide up to 80 hours of supplemental paid sick leave to certain food sector workers. The following overview provides answers to common questions, including: (1) which food service workers are covered by EO N-51-20; (2) what an employer’s obligations are to those covered workers; and (3) how EO N-51-20 interacts with other laws.

California’s AB 5 Enjoined as to Motor Carriers; Federal Court Enters Preliminary Injunction on FAAAA Preemption Claim

On January 16, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California entered an order granting a preliminary injunction requested by the California Trucking Association (CTA), which was represented by Ogletree Deakins shareholders Robert R. Roginson, Alexander M. Chemers, and Spencer C. Skeen, in a matter challenging Assembly Bill (AB) 5 as to motor carriers operating in California.

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