Amanda Sommerfeld and Aaron Agenbroad recognized by Daily Journal among "Top Labor & Employment Lawyers"
Jones Day partners Amanda Sommerfeld and Aaron Agenbroad have been named to the Daily Journal's list of "Top Labor & Employment Lawyers," a list that recognizes California lawyers who have made significant contributions in labor and employment law.
Based in the Firm's Los Angeles Office, Ms. Sommerfeld has more than 25 years of experience successfully defending corporate clients in employment related matters, and she has repeatedly been recognized as a standout among her peers. She has a proven track record defending class, FLSA, and PAGA representative actions involving a panoply of alleged wage and hour violations for the transportation industry, including major class action representations on behalf of airlines, railroads, and trucking operations, as well as the ancillary businesses that service those industries. She has been at the forefront of successfully advancing nuanced defenses applicable to the transportation sector in the increasingly hostile climate in California. Recent client successes include: winning a number of critical battles in a trio of putative class actions against an airline for alleged wage and hour violations, missed meal and rest breaks, non-compliant wage statements, and "waiting time penalties" under the California Labor Code; and winning summary judgment in a representative "suitable seating" action under the California Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act ("PAGA"), in which the plaintiff had claimed that the nature of cashier work can reasonably be performed while sitting and that the retailer failed to provide suitable seats for its front end cashiers.
Named to the Daily Journal's list for the third consecutive year, Mr. Agenbroad focuses his practice on employment litigation and strategic labor advice. In addition to serving as Partner-in-Charge of Jones Day's San Francisco Office, he remains a go-to lead lawyer for clients, guiding them through their most significant challenges across both employment litigation and traditional labor matters. Recent client successes include: defending California hospitals against unfair labor practice charges challenging enforcement of the California state vaccine mandate for healthcare workers and its impacts on employees who refused to be vaccinated; negotiations with a hospital's nursing union in connection with the parties' 2022 collective bargaining agreement covering 5,000 nurses; serving as the principal outside counsel for a publishing company and almost a dozen of its subsidiary newspapers with their most important traditional labor issues, including serving as lead negotiator for collective bargaining; and advising a web and app-based company on legal challenges regarding independent contractor status and other related issues involving its business model. In addition to being named to the Daily Journal's Top Labor & Employment Lawyers list for three straight years, Mr. Agenbroad was elected a Fellow of The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers in November 2021.
