Overview

Robert Sarkisian advises employers on cutting‑edge labor and employment issues, including the fast‑emerging challenges posed by artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace. He helps companies navigate new regulations around automated decision‑making and workplace technology, while also defending them in high‑stakes employment litigation. Robert represents clients in discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, and accommodation matters, and maintains a robust class action defense practice focused on wage‑and‑hour class and representative claims. Across industries, he positions employers to stay ahead of legal change and operate confidently in the future of work.

Robert is also highly experienced in resolving employment disputes through various methods of alternate dispute resolution and is skilled at positioning cases effectively to ensure clients enter mediation from a position of strength to secure favorable resolutions.

During law school, Robert was a judicial extern for the United States Eastern District Court of California, Bankruptcy Court.

Education

University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, J.D., 2019, with Distinction; Primary Comment Editor, University of Pacific Law Review, Vol. 50; Dean’s List; Traynor Honor Society

University of California, Davis, B.S., Managerial Economics, 2016

Admissions

California

United States District Courts for the Northern, Central and Eastern Districts of California

Languages

  • Armenian
  • Russian

Experience

Labor & Employment Litigation

  • Successfully opposed a Motion for Summary Judgment in California superior court on behalf of a landlord in an access discrimination case where the Plaintiff sought over $1 million in damages.
  • Achieved victory for a California restaurant by obtaining a demurrer sustained without leave to amend, dismissing a plaintiff’s entire complaint consisting of gender discrimination and sexual harassment claims.
  • Obtained summary judgment in a case alleging disability discrimination and Labor Code violations.
  • Second chaired a 4-day employment law arbitration and successfully defended against claims of breach of contract brought by former executive.
  • Negotiated numerous nuisance-value settlements in the pre-litigation stage, saving employers significant time and litigation costs.
  • Regularly prepares and argues dispositive and procedural motions, manages written discovery end‑to‑end, takes and defends depositions, and assists with strategic case positioning, including removal to federal court and petitions to compel arbitration in complex employment disputes.

Labor & Employment Class Action Defense

  • Defends employers in wage and hour class actions and PAGA actions involving off‑the‑clock work, meal and rest periods, waiting‑time penalties, pay‑stub claims, and classification issues.
  • Defended a camper company in a wage-and-hour class action.
  • Crafted a compelling opposition to a motion for class certification that postured the case for a favorable settlement.

Labor & Employment Advice and Counsel

  • Counsels businesses on compliance with applicable and ever-changing labor and employment laws.
  • Advises employers on decisions relating to employment law, including hiring, termination, and the interactive process.

Insights

Insights & Presentations

  • “2026 California Employment Law Update: What’s New, What’s Next, What Employers Can’t Forget,” Stoel Rives LLP webinar, January 14, 2026
  • “California Employment Law Update – Changes and Implications for Employers in 2025,” Stoel Rives LLP webinar, January 23, 2025
  • “California Employment Law—Changes and Implications for Employers in 2024,” Stoel Rives LLP webinar, January 25, 2024
  • “Major Court Decisions and Legal Updates,” SHRM/Stoel Rives 22nd Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, March 2024
  • “California Supreme Court Sweeps PAGA Manageability Under the Rug in Estrada v. Royalty Carpet Mills,” Stoel Rives World of Employment blog, January 23, 2024
  • “Driving the Narrative: California Supreme Court’s Adolph v. Uber Technologies Decision Shifts Gears, Challenging U.S. Supreme Court’s Viking River Cruises v. Moriana Holding,” Stoel Rives World of Employment blog, July 18, 2023
  • “Mum’s No Longer the Word: Maneuvering Pay Disclosure Across the Country” (co-author), Artisan Spirit Magazine, Spring 2023
  • “California Employment Law—Changes and Implications in 2023,” Stoel Rives LLP webinar, January 18, 2023
  • “AB 2188 Leaves California Employers’ Policies on Marijuana Use up in Smoke,” Stoel Rives World of Employment blog, October 2, 2022
  • “California Supreme Court Extends Employees’ Rights to Waiting-Time Penalties and Other Damages,” Stoel Rives World of Employment blog, May 24, 2022
  • “California Court of Appeal Removes Another Arrow from The Quiver of Employers,” Stoel Rives World of Employment blog, April 11, 2022
  • “Employment Law Update for California Employers,” Stoel Rives LLP webinar, March 31, 2022
  • “California Provides Employees with Another Bucket of COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Leave,” Stoel Rives World of Employment blog, February 22, 2022
  • “California Supreme Court Provides Clarity on Which Standard to Use for Retaliation Cases,” Stoel Rives World of Employment blog, February 2, 2022

Recognition

  • Listed in Sactown Magazine’s Top Lawyers, 2024
  • Listed in Sacramento Magazine’s Top Lawyers, 2023

Affiliations

Civic

  • Welcome Home Housing, Board of Directors
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