Kevin D. Reese

Kevin D. Reese is a principal in the San Francisco, California, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He has a broad range of employment law experience where his day to day practice involves defending employers in wage and hour class action cases, and single plaintiff cases involving a variety of employment issues such as discrimination, harassment, reasonable accommodation, trade secrets, unfair competition, employee raiding, and WARN.

As an experienced litigator, Kevin has handled hundreds of matters in state and federal courts, arbitration, and before administrative agencies. He also has significant experience investigating allegations of workplace misconduct on behalf of employers. Kevin has represented employers in a wide variety of industries including transportation, health care, technology, retail, manufacturing, education, construction, hospitality, professional services, entertainment, agricultural and utilities. He regularly speaks on a broad range of employment issues. 

Additionally, Kevin regularly partners with in-house legal attorneys, management, and human resource personnel, providing day-to-day advice and counsel on all aspects of California employment law. He works with his clients to provide solutions that best fit the practical needs of operating their businesses while being cognizant of the ever-increasing legal challenges to those operations.

During law school, Kevin was awarded Best Oralist during Intercollegiate Moot Court Competition where his team placed fourth nationally. Following law school, he served a two year clerkship as a staff attorney with the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Kevin has also served as an adjunct professor at University of California Hastings College of Law, and has taught at University of California, Berkeley School of Law.

Representative Experience

• Lead defense counsel for restaurant for wage and hour violations
• Lead defense counsel for staffing company in wage and hour class action case involving off-the-clock work claims
• Lead counsel for national museum involving class claims for unpaid wages, meal and rest breaks
• Lead defense counsel for tire manufacturer in wage and hour class action involving overtime and payment of wages due at termination
• Lead defense counsel for national healthcare transportation company in wage and hour class action litigation involving ADA preemption, federal enclave doctrine, overtime, sleep time, and meal and rest break claims
• Lead defense counsel for transportation companies in wage and hour class audits and actions involving split shift premium, meal and rest break claims, off-the-clock claims, ​expense reimbursement claims, failure to pay wages at termination, and misclassification actions post-Dynamex
• Represented transportation company at multiple administrative hearings on wage and hour claims
• Defense counsel for misclassification audit for national technology client
• Lead Defense counsel for major airline in single plaintiff discrimination case
• Lead Defense counsel for national catering company in single plaintiff wrongful termination case
• Lead Defense counsel for national broadcasting company for reduction in force
• Lead Defense counsel in 16 plaintiff racial discrimination action against manufacturing company
• Represented national retailer in dozens of single and multiple plaintiff claims involving wrongful termination, disability discrimination and sexual harassment
• Represented national bank in case alleging wrongful termination in violation of public policy

Published Works

• "Retail Worker Bill Of Rights — A Tale of Two Cities," Retail Operations Insights (July 26, 2017) [Author]
• "Fair Workweek Law Will Soon Take Effect in Emeryville, Calif.," SHRM Online (June 1, 2017) [Author]

Speeches

• “Class and Collective Action: How to Win or Lose in 90 days,” National Bar Association, Commercial Law Section (New Orleans, LA, February 2020) (presenter)
• "Workplace Harassment," Alameda County Board of Supervisors (Oakland, CA, November 2019) (presenter)
• “Investigating High Profile Workplace Harassment” (July 2019) (presenter)
• “Lost in the Weeds: The Latest on Marijuana in the Workplace” (May 2019) (presenter)
• “Managing Marijuana in the Workplace” (March 2019) (presenter)
• "Choose Your Own Adventure - Accommodating Disability in California," California Employment Law Seminar (Napa, CA, March 2017) (presenter)