Stradling

When employers face any of a litany of labor and employment-related issues, disputes, or litigation, they turn to John Wicker for advice and to defend and resolve them in and out of court. Working proactively, John advises on compliance issues and develops clear and effective policies, practices and employment agreements that help avoid future clashes. A tenacious and talented litigator, he has successfully represented clients in state and federal courts, administrative proceedings, mediations, and arbitration hearings.

Businesses ranging from startups to long-established companies depend on John for his astute counsel on the full spectrum of labor and employment-related complexities from hiring, termination, severance and leave of absence issues, to complaints and claims of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. Employers also rely on John's extensive experience in handling single-plaintiff, representative and class action litigations, including wage and hour class actions and Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims, as well as unfair competition, trade secret, worker classification and ADA-related matters. John is also well-versed in negotiating executive employment agreements on behalf of both businesses and senior executives and stays abreast of current market developments to ensure his clients receive accurate and up-to-date advice.

Innovative, hardworking, and practical, John makes himself available to his clients whenever they need him. Working closely with each client, John gains a clear understanding of their objectives and the challenges they face and then he efficiently devises strategies to mitigate risk and resolve issues, avoiding litigation where possible. If litigation becomes necessary, he develops and implements efficient and effective approaches to defend each case, positioning his clients to achieve the best possible outcomes.

Before joining Stradling, John worked at two employment defense firms and served as an Assistant Deputy to the Honorable Don Knabe of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

John's recent litigation victories include:

When offshore workers sued numerous companies with offshore oil operations, including Stradling’s client ExxonMobil, claiming they were protected by California wage and hour laws rather than federal labor law, John and his team helped build a coalition of companies to fight the battle. The case eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which found in favor of the coalition. In a decision with important precedential value, the Court held that under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, only federal labor law governed the overtime and minimum wage requirements for offshore workers.

As an example of John’s proactive approach to litigation, in an individual wage and hour state court matter John was able to determine that a disgruntled former employee distorted material facts related to his claims. In response, John confronted the employee’s counsel with such information early in the lawsuit and quickly obtained a walkaway settlement and full dismissal of claims.

John has successfully defended numerous discrimination, harassment, wage and hour, PAGA and class action matters for clients in the manufacturing, electric bike, restaurant/hospitality, cannabis, financial service, housing, energy, retail merchandising and other industries.

Awards:

John was named a "Southern California Rising Star" by Super Lawyers in 2018, and 2020 - 2023.

Innovative, hardworking, and practical, John makes himself available to his clients whenever they need him. Working closely with each client, John gains a clear understanding of their objectives and the challenges they face and then he efficiently devises strategies to mitigate risk and resolve issues, avoiding litigation where possible. If litigation becomes necessary, he develops and implements efficient and effective approaches to defend each case, positioning his clients to achieve the best possible outcomes.

Before joining Stradling, John worked at two employment defense firms and served as an Assistant Deputy to the Honorable Don Knabe of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

John's recent litigation victories include:

When offshore workers sued numerous companies with offshore oil operations, including Stradling’s client ExxonMobil, claiming they were protected by California wage and hour laws rather than federal labor law, John and his team helped build a coalition of companies to fight the battle. The case eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which found in favor of the coalition. In a decision with important precedential value, the Court held that under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, only federal labor law governed the overtime and minimum wage requirements for offshore workers.

As an example of John’s proactive approach to litigation, in an individual wage and hour state court matter John was able to determine that a disgruntled former employee distorted material facts related to his claims. In response, John confronted the employee’s counsel with such information early in the lawsuit and quickly obtained a walkaway settlement and full dismissal of claims.

John has successfully defended numerous discrimination, harassment, wage and hour, PAGA and class action matters for clients in the manufacturing, electric bike, restaurant/hospitality, cannabis, financial service, housing, energy, retail merchandising and other industries.

Awards:

John was named a "Southern California Rising Star" by Super Lawyers in 2018, and 2020 - 2023.

Credentials

New York University School of Law, J.D., 2013
University of Southern California, B.A., magna cum laude, 2010

Los Angeles County Bar Association
Professionals in Human Resources Association (PIHRA)

California

John Wicker

Areas of Focus

Experience

Credentials

Related Practices