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Andrea Ortega

Andrea Ortega

Associate
About

Andrea R. Ortega is an experienced litigator who has defended clients across various industries, including retail, hospitality, technology, and the gig economy, in a broad range of labor and employment matters before federal and state courts, arbitrators, and administrative agencies.  Her practice focuses on wage-and-hour class, collective, and representative actions, but she also has significant experience defending employers in single-plaintiff litigation alleging harassment, discrimination, and retaliation claims.  

Andrea also devotes much of her practice to counseling management on strategies, methods, and policies designed to maintain compliance with federal, state, and local laws and minimize risk and exposure to potential litigation.  Andrea works diligently to keep her clients abreast of new developments in the law and regularly provides advice to her clients on areas such as employee classification issues, independent contractors, arbitration agreements, managing employee leaves and accommodations, and background checks, including Fair Credit Reporting Act and "ban the box" compliance.

Areas of FocusEmployment
Bar admissionsCaliforniaTexas
CourtsUnited States District Court for the Central District of CaliforniaUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of CaliforniaUnited States District Court for the Northern District of California

EXPERIENCE

Notable representations:

  • Defended global technology company in a wage-and-hour class and representative action regarding failure to provide meal periods, rest breaks and business expense reimbursements to remote workers
  • Defended national fashion retailer in multiple wage-and-hour class and representative actions involving claims alleging off-the-clock work and time spent participating in bag checks while exiting the store
  • Secured full defense verdict for national tax preparation company in single-plaintiff arbitration matter alleging retaliation, discrimination, breach of contract, and defamation claims 
  • Drafted data privacy and employee monitoring guidance for global financial institution
  • Counseled various employers, including airlines, universities, and fashion retailers, concerning criminal background check practices and ban-the-box compliance 
  • Drafted playbooks, background check disclosure/authorization forms, and adverse action notices for various consumer reporting agencies and clients for compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act and state/local equivalents
  • Counseled various clients, including national hotel chains, regarding AB-5 and independent contractor classification
Education
  • J.D., University of California at Berkeley
  • B.A., Politics and Health: Science, Society, Policy, Brandeis University

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