Richard J. Simmons

Richard J. Simmons is a partner in the Labor and Employment Practice Group in the firm’s Los Angeles office.

Areas of Practice

Mr. Simmons represents employers in various labor relations matters involving state and federal wage and hour laws, wrongful discharge, employment discrimination, employee discipline and termination, employee benefits, affirmative action, union representation proceedings, and contract arbitrations.

Education

• J.D., University of California, Berkeley, Editor-in-Chief of the Industrial Relations Law Journal (now the Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law)
• B.A., University of Massachusetts, summa cum laude

Honors

• International Who's Who of Management Labour & Employment Lawyers, 2012
• The Best Lawyers In America, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
• Recognized, Labor and Employment and Labor and Employment Litigation, Legal 500, 2011
• Rainmaking, Daily Journal, 2009
• Top Labor Attorney, Los Angeles Daily Journal, 2009, 2010, 2011
• Employment MVP, Law360, 2011
• Litigation Star, Benchmark Litigation, 2011, 2012
• Who's Who Legal: California, 2008, 2009
• Southern California Super Lawyer, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
• Best of the Bar, Labor and Employment, Los Angeles Business Journal, 2007
• One of the country's top leading labor and employment lawyers, Chambers & Partners', 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011
• Appointed by the California Industrial Welfare Commission as a member of three separate Minimum Wage Boards for the State of California

Memberships

• Member, California Society for Health Care Attorneys
• Member, American Society for Health Care Attorneys
• Member, Labor Law and Tax Sections, American and Los Angeles Bar Associations
• Member, National Advisory Board, Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law, published by Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California in Berkeley

Articles

• Employment MVP: Sheppard Mullin's Richard Simmons, Law360, December 7, 2011
• Logging a String of Big Wins in Labor & Employment, Daily Journal, February 9, 2011
• Employment Defense - Simmons, Daily Journal, July 14, 2010
• Court Decision on Meal Periods, Rest Periods and Off-The-Clock Work is Absolutely Attention-Getting, HR & Employment Bulletin, August 5, 2008
• Steeped in Employment Law, January 23, 2006
• WCAB Adopts Stunning Reversal of Position Regarding Health Insurance Obligations To Employees on Workers' Compensation Leave, March 8, 2002
• Interview with Richard J. Simmons, February 23, 2002
• IWC Seeks to Clarify Uncertainty Regarding Salary Basis Rules, November 10, 2001
• Labor Commission Issues New Exemption Standards, June 13, 2001

• "Application of WARN Rules to Hospitals," Healthcare Human Resources Management Association of California News (Fall 1989)
• "Labor and Employment in the Theatre Industry," ShoWest Intro by Boxoffice Magazine (1988)
• "Coping with COBRA--The New Federal Health Insurance Law, "Labor and Employment Law News of the State Bar of California (Fall 1986)
• "Employer Rights: An Endangered Species," The 28th Annual Personnel and Industrial Relations Association Conference (Winter 1985)
• "Wrongful Discharge," California Society for Health Care Attorneys Journal (1984)
• "Wage Setoffs: The Do's and Don'ts of Deductions," Los Angeles Lawyer (February 1983)
• "Sexual Harassment in the Work Place," Rural Telecommunications Journal (Winter 1982) 
• "Comparable Worth: An Emerging Doctrine," Rural Telecommunications Journal (Summer 1982)  
• "The New California Fair Employment and Housing Regulations: A Case of Administrative overreaching," Employee Relations Law Journal, Vol. 6, No. 2  
• "A Lawyer's Guide to U.S. Wage and Price Standards," Los Angeles Lawyer (April 1979)  
• "First Amendment Protection of Shopping Center Picketing," Industrial Relations Law Journal, Boalt Hall School of Law

Books

• Sexual Harassment Training Manual and Prevention Kit - 10th Edition
• Wage and Hour Manual For California Employers - 15th Edition
• Employee Handbook and Personnel Policies Manual - 12th Edition
• Leaves of Absence And Time Off From Work Manual - 10th Edition
• Family and Medical Leave Manual for California Employers - 11th Edition
• California's "Sue Your Boss" Law - 2nd Edition
• Employer's Guide to the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act - 9th Edition
• Employment Discrimination And EEO Practice Manual For California Employers - 9th Edition
• COBRA-Employer's Guide to the Federal Health Insurance Rules - 11th Edition
• California's Meal and Rest Period Rules: Proactive Strategies For Compliance - 2nd Edition
• Wrongful Discharge, Staff Reduction And Employment Practices Manual - 4th Edition
• Book of Human Resources Forms - 2nd Edition
• California Employer's Guide to the Federal Overtime Exemptions
• California's Anti-Business Employment Laws - 2nd Edition
• Employer's Guide to Mass Layoff and Plant Closing Notification Rules - 5th Edition
• California Employer's Guide To The Federal Overtime Exemptions
• California's "Sue Your Boss" Law - Compliance Audits Under the Private Attorneys General Act of 2004
• California's Anti-Business Employment Laws -- Monuments To Inefficiency
• Hospital Wage-Hour Manual
• Wage and Hour Manual For California Hotels, Motels, and Restaurants
• Guide to EEO Practices and Employment Discrimination Laws for Hotels, Motels, and Restaurants
• Management Guide to Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action
• Employer's Guide To Workplace Security And Violence Prevention - 4th Edition
• The Federal Polygraph Law
• California's Paid Family Leave Law: SB 1661 - 2nd Edition
• The Federal Immigration Law - 2nd Edition
• Employer's Guide to SB 198 Injury and Illness Prevention Programs and the California Corporate Criminal Liability Act - 3rd Edition
• Employer's Guide to the Americans With Disabilities Act
• AB 60-The Reform of California's Wage And Hour Laws - 4th Edition
• The Hospital Equal Employment Opportunity Manual
• Employer Obligations Under the Federal Plant Closing Law

Speeches

• Mr. Simmons has lectured nationally on wage and hour, employment discrimination, wrongful termination, and other labor relations matters.
• He has also been a lecturer at graduate labor law courses presented by the University of California at Los Angeles and the University of Southern California, and has appeared as an authority on labor law and employee benefit issues on the CBS Evening News and NBC Nightly News.

Events

• Meal Periods, Rest Periods and Labor Code Class Actions After Brinker, April 18, 2012
• 2012 Employee Handbook and Personnel Policies - San Francisco, Orange County, Pasadena and Los Angeles, Winter 2012, February 8, February 24, March 8 and March 14
• 2012 Employment Discrimination and Personnel Relations Laws - San Francisco, Orange County, Pasadena and Los Angeles, Winter 2012, February 7, February 16, February 23 and March 1
• 2012 Wage and Hour Laws - San Francisco, Orange County, Pasadena and Los Angeles, Winter 2012, February 6, February 15, February 22 and February 29
• The Aftermath of AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion, May 26, 2011, Labor & Employment Law Webinar
• 2011 Employee Handbook And Personnel Policies - San Francisco, Pasadena, Orange County and Los Angeles, Winter 2011, February 9, February 25, March 8 and March 10
• 2011 Employment Discrimination And Personnel Relations Laws - San Francisco, Orange County, Pasadena and Los Angeles, Winter 2011, February 8, February 16, February 24, and March 3
• 2011 Wage and Hour Laws - San Francisco, Orange County, Pasadena and Los Angeles, Winter 2011, February 7, February 15, February 23, and March 2
• 2010 Employee Handbook and Personnel Policies Series - Los Angeles, Orange County, San Francisco and Pasadena
• 2010 Employment Discrimination and Personnel Relations Laws Series - Los Angeles, Orange County, San Francisco and Pasadena
• 2010 Wage and Hour Laws Series - Los Angeles, Orange County, San Francisco and Pasadena
• 2009 Employee Handbook and Personnel Policies Series - Los Angeles, Orange County, San Francisco and Pasadena
• 2009 Employment Discrimination and Personnel Relations Laws Series - Los Angeles, Orange County, San Francisco and Pasadena
• 2009 Wage and Hour Laws Series - Los Angeles, Orange County, San Francisco and Pasadena
• 2008 Employee Handbook and Personnel Policies Series - Los Angeles, Orange County, San Francisco and Pasadena
• 2008 Employment Discrimination and Personnel Relations Laws Series - Los Angeles, Orange County, San Francisco and Pasadena
• 2008 Wage and Hour Laws Series - Los Angeles, Orange County, San Francisco and Pasadena
• California Hospital Association: Labor and Employment Law Seminar, December 2007