Bryan L. Hawkins

Bryan Hawkins is a litigator practicing in the firm’s Labor and Employment group with extensive jury and bench-trial experience. He is managing partner for the firm’s three California offices. Bryan represents employers in employment-related litigation in court and before administrative agencies such as the Department of Fair Employment and Housing and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. His practice also involves counseling employers on employment-related issues, including handbooks and policies. Bryan also provides counseling on labor issues, such as advising employers on how to effectively respond to union organizing campaigns, negotiate collective bargaining agreements, and manage the employer/union relationship. In addition, Bryan’s practice includes litigating complex commercial disputes in areas such as antitrust, business torts, and real estate.

Prior to joining Stoel Rives, Bryan served as a Deputy District Attorney with the San Francisco County District Attorney’s Office.

Education

University of California, Davis School of Law, J.D., 2005; Articles Editor, UC Davis Law Review; Order of the Barristers

Santa Clara University, B.S., Political Science, 2002

Admissions

California

United States Court of Federal Claims

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

United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

• Represented regional and national employers in wage and hour class actions and representative actions brought under California’s Private Attorneys’ General Act (PAGA).
• Lead trial counsel for a retail clothing company in a two-week jury trial brought by a former employee alleging theft by her former manager, obtained complete defense verdict. Representation also included obtaining summary adjudication on the former employee’s claims of wrongful termination and retaliation.
• Trial counsel for two-week federal jury and bench trial alleging the breach of an LLC operating agreement.
• Advised employers on navigating California’s complex labor and employment laws, including compliance with Dynamex and Assembly Bill 5.
• Advised and represented international hospitality company in employment matters.
• Successfully defended employers against claims of harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful termination.
• Defense of financial services company against claims of race, gender, and age discrimination.
• Defense of consumer financial services companies in employment matters and against various other California tort and statutory claims.
• Represented local and regional governmental entities in adversarial bankruptcy matters.
• Obtained summary judgment for employer in putative class action alleging violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, California’s Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act, and California’s Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act.

Insights & Presentations

• Frequent contributor to Stoel Rives’ World of Employment blog
• “Got a Noncompete? Probably Not Anymore” (co-author), Artisan Spirit Magazine, Summer 2024 
• “Recent Developments Regarding the ADA, Title VII, and other Requirements for Reasonable Accommodation,” SHRM/Stoel Rives 21st Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, March 9, 2023
• “California Employment Law—Changes and Implications in 2023,” Stoel Rives LLP webinar, January 18, 2023
• “Employment Law Update for California Employers,” Stoel Rives LLP webinar, March 31, 2022
• “Mental Health in the 2021 Workplace,” Stoel Rives LLP webinar, September 30, 2021
• “The Delta Variant: What Do Employers Do Now?” Stoel Rives LLP webinar, August 26, 2021
• “Top 5 Pitfalls For Business Owners & How To Avoid Them,” Davis, CA, Chamber of Commerce Legal Session, April 14, 2021
• “Election Fallout: Navigating Personal Opinions in The Workplace,” SHRM/Stoel Rives 19th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, March 4, 2021
• “California Employment Law Update: Major Changes in 2021,” Stoel Rives LLP webinar, February 4, 2021
• “Handling Political Activity and Expression in the Workplace,” Stoel Rives LLP webinar, September 17, 2020
• COVID-19 Update for Employment Practitioners, Sacramento County Bar Association webinar, April 30, 2020
• “Taming the COVID-19 Chaos: What Employers Need to Know Part 4” Stoel Rives LLP webinar, March 27, 2020
• “Taming the COVID-19 Chaos: What Employers Need to Know Part 3,” Stoel Rives LLP webinar, March 23, 2020
• “Employment Law Update: Why I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love Assembly Bill 5,” Sacramento County Bar Association Retreat, January 11, 2019
• “Employment Law Update: Dealing with the Drama—How the New Independent Contractor Law Affects the Arts Community,” Webinar, December 3, 2019
• “Dynamex, Assembly Bill 5, and the Protect App-Based Drivers and Services Act,” Daily Journal, November 2019
• “Employment Law Update: From Hiring to Separation (If It Comes to That),” Webinar, October 17, 2019
• “Employer Perspective: Private Sector Best Practices,” 2019 Master Plan for Aging Forum, September 16, 2019
• “Breakout Session: Advanced ADA,” SHRM/Stoel Rives 17th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, February 27, 2019
• “Legal Update: What California Employers Need to Know for 2019,” Webinar, January 16, 2019
• “California AB 1825 Sexual Harassment Training,” In-house Presentation
• “California Employment Law Training,” Client Presentation
• “The Life of a DFEH Complaint,” Northern California Employment Round Table, November 7, 2018
• “California Employment Law, What’s New in 2017,” Client Presentation
• “Leave Jigsaw Puzzle,” Client Presentation
• “California’s Minimum Wage Increase—$15 an Hour and Beyond,” Daily Journal, April 28, 2017
• “California’s New Minimum Wage: What Employers Need To Know,” Law 360, April 6, 2016
• “Significant Wage and Hour Pitfalls,” SHRM/Stoel Rives 14th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, March 2016
• “Legal Updates,” SHRM/Stoel Rives 14th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, March 2016
• “The California Paid Sick Leave Law— Are You in Compliance?” ACC Sacramento Chapter Luncheon, February 2016
• Video Interview Discussing California’s Paid Sick Leave Law, LXBN TV, September 2014

• Selected by California Legal Awards as "Office Managing Partner of the Year", 2024
• Named by Best Lawyers^® as Labor Law—Management “Lawyer of the Year,” Sacramento, 2023 and 2025
• Included in The Best Lawyers in America^® (Labor Law—Management, Litigation—Labor and Employment), 2022–present
• Recipient of Sacramento Business Journal Champions for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion “Outstanding Individual” Award, 2023
• Named to Daily Journal’s “Top Labor & Employment Lawyers,” 2022–2023
• Listed among Rising Stars (Business Litigation), Northern California Super Lawyers^®, 2011–2019
• Davis, Calif., Chamber of Commerce Member of the Year Award, Recipient, 2021

Professional

• Stoel Rives’ Pro Bono Committee, Member

Civic

• Sacramento County Bar Association, Former President
• Sacramento Ballet, Former Board Advisory Committee Member
• Eastern District of California Judicial Advisory Committee, Former Member at Large
• Labor & Employment Section, Former Vice Chair