Biography

Leonora “Lenny” Schloss is the Employment & Labor group lead partner in Sedgwick's Los Angeles office. Ms. Schloss specializes in wage/hour and leaves of absence issues, drafts policies, advises employers, conducts wage/hour classification audits and defends wage/hour and leaves of absence litigation. She advocates a proactive approach, so in addition to counseling employers, she trains them on day-to-day employment problems involving wage/hour issues, leave rights, discrimination and harassment, and discipline and dismissal.

Ms. Schloss has substantial experience litigating discrimination and harassment matters in state and federal courts. She also represents employers in litigation stemming from employee non-competition agreements and trade secret misappropriation matters. In addition to her trial experience, Ms. Schloss also has successfully handled several arbitration hearings.

Presentations

Ms. Schloss is a frequent speaker at human resources organizations, as well as on various employment related topics.

• "Wage/Hour: Ten Things You Absolutely Must Know," Professionals in Human Resources Association (PIHRA) Annual Conference & Exhibition, Long Beach, CA (October 7, 2008).
• "Calculating Family Leave Absences," Professionals in Human Resources Association (PIHRA) Annual Conference & Exhibition, Long Beach, CA (October 7, 2008).
• "Wellness Programs – Employee Reward or Liability?" Professionals In Human Resources Association (PIHRA) Mid Year Legal Seminar, Long Beach, CA (June 3, 2008)."An Ounce of Prevention: Avoiding Wage and Hour Class Actions," Class Action Task Force CLE Seminar, Chicago, IL (May 22, 2008).
• "When California and Federal Leave Laws Collide," HR Star Conference, Los Angeles, CA (March, 26, 2008).
• "Essential Employment Law Issues for California Business Practitioners," CEB program, Los Angeles, CA  (November 2, 2007).
• "Telecommuting in A 24/7 Wired World," Annual Professionals in Human Resources Association (PIHRA) Conference, CA (October 18, 2007).
• “Preventing Sexual Harrassment,” The Professionals Networking Group, Santa Monica, CA (August 8, 2007).
• "Watching Workers: Technology v. Privacy Rights", Professionals in Human Resources Association (PIHRA) Mid-Year Legal Update, Garden Grove, CA (June 6, 2007), Van Nuys, CA (June 7, 2007).
• "Parental Rights in the California Workplace: Family-Friendly Personnel Policies and Your Legal Obligations", Employer Resource Institute, Los Angeles, CA (October 10, 2006).
• "Managing the Overlapping Web of Medical Leaves", Annual Professionals in Human Resources Association (PIHRA) Conference, Long Beach, CA (September 21, 2006).
• "Mission Possible: Protecting Your Trade Secrets", Technology Executives Networking Group (TENG), Los Angeles, CA, Orange County, CA (July 11-12, 2006).
• "FMLA Update 2006", Council on Education in Management, Pasadena, CA (January 19-20, 2006).
• "Who Is Exempt And Who Is Not?", PIHRA District 19 Meeting, Lancaster, CA (February 14, 2006).
• "The Year in Review and Trends for 2006", Sedgwick Employment Law Seminar, Los Angeles, CA (November 16, 2005).
• "Updating Handbooks: Staying Abreast of the Law", 48th Annual Professionals in Human Resources Association (PIHRA) Conference and Exhibition, Long Beach, CA (October 5-7, 2005).
• "Wage & Hour Revisited: The FLSA Amendments in Review", 48th Annual Professionals in Human Resources Association (PIHRA) Conference and Exhibition, Long Beach, CA (October 5-7, 2005).
• “Employee Handbooks–Planting the Seeds for a Structured Workforce”, Los Angeles, CA (February 16, 2005).
• “The Latest on California Leaves of Absence”, 18th Annual PIHRA Legal Update, Universal City, CA, Garden Grove, CA, Ontario, CA (January 18, 19, 20, 2005).
• “California’s Bounty Hunter Amendments – Can You Still Get Sued If Your Workplace Posters Are Too Small?”, Los Angeles (December 9, 2004).
• “Legal Update”, Southern California Employer’s Roundtable, Los Angeles (November 9, 2004).
• “Who Is Exempt And Who Is Not?”, 47th Annual PIHRA 2004 Conference, Long Beach (September 2, 2004).

Publications

• "Legal Expert Discusses Thorny Wage and Hour Disputes," (Lenny was interviewed and discussed the state of wage and hour law in California), California Executive, October 30, 2007.
• Co-author, "Don’t Trash That Paper," (Regarding employers’ obligations to maintain documents), The Recorder, August 29, 2007 .
• Co-author, "Assessing the Amended Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act", Los Angeles Lawyer, February 2006.
• "The Federal Enclave Doctrine", Briefing Papers , July 2000.

Published Opinions

• Armenta et al v. Osmose, Inc., 135 Cal. App. 4th 314; 37 Cal. Rptr 3d 460 (2006);
• Walter H. Taylor v. Lockheed Martin Corporation, 113 Cal. App. 4th 380; 6 Cal. Rptr. 3d 358 (2003);
• Walter H. Taylor v. Lockheed Martin Corp., et al., 78 Cal. App. 4th 472, 92 Cal. Rptr. 2d 873 (2000).
• Kalivas v. Barry Control Systems, 49 Cal. App. 4th 1152; 57 Cal. Rptr. 2d 200 (1996);
• Local 21, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, AFL-CIO v. Thornton C. Bunch, Jr., Waldemar Rojas, 40 Cal. App. 4th 670, 46 Cal. Rptr. 2d 813 (1995).

Memberships & Honors

She is a member of the State Bar of California, the Los Angeles County Bar Association (Labor & Employment Section), and the Texas Bar Association.  Ms. Schloss is also recognized in Who’s Who of American Women .

While attending law school, she was a finalist in the Harlan Fiske Stone Moot Court Competition.