Alexander M. Chemers

Zander is an experienced class action litigator.  He has either led or played a significant role in defeating motions for class certification on many occasions.  These cases include:

• Managers claimed they were misclassified as exempt employees – class certification denied.
• Food distributors claimed that they were misclassified as independent contractors – class certification denied in 2016 and in 2017 (two separate cases).
• Customer claimed that a retailer’s point-of-sale devices were not accessible to customers with disabilities – class certification denied.
• Delivery drivers alleged they were not paid overtime or provided meal periods and rest breaks – class certification denied.
• Database administrators claimed they were improperly classified as exempt – class certification denied.
• Installation technicians alleged they were not paid overtime or provided meal periods and rest breaks – class certification denied.
• Security professionals alleged they were improperly classified as exempt – class certification denied.

Other Representative Matters:

• Preparing motions to compel individual arbitration, which have resulted in individual arbitrations and the dismissal of the plaintiffs’ proposed class claims.
• Successful motion for summary adjudication finding that reimbursement claim was preempted by the Truth-In-Leasing regulations.
• Dismissal with prejudice of prevailing wage claims via a state court demurrer.
• Early dismissal of putative class action on grounds that named plaintiff’s claims were barred by a previous release.
• Successful motion to transfer that resulted in the case being transferred to a more favorable venue where it was resolved for nuisance value.
• Preparing successful motion to narrow scope of arbitration.

Education

• J.D., University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, 2008
• B.A., Columbia University, 2003

Admission to Practice

• California

• State Bar of California (Labor and Employment Law Section)

• Ogletree Deakins Webinar – “PAGA Reform, Part II: Addressing PAGA Through Training, Audits, and Cures” – August 7, 2024
• Ogletree Deakins Webinar – “Keeping Current in California With Leslie and Charles” – June 26, 2024
• Ogletree Deakins Webinar – “Keeping Current in California With Leslie and Charles” – April 24, 2024
• Navigating California Employment Law – “Remote Work Wars: Incentivizing Employees to Return and Navigating Compliance Issues for Those Who Don’t” – Napa – March 1, 2024
• Navigating California Employment Law – “Managing Reductions in Force in California” – Napa – March 2, 2023
• Ogletree Deakins Webinar – “The Supreme Court’s Viking River Ruling and What It Means for Arbitration Agreements in California” – June 21, 2022
• Strafford Webinar – “Employment Challenges in Transportation and Logistics: Arbitration Programs, Independent Contractors, and Federal and State Regulations in 2022” – April 20, 2022
• Navigating California Employment Law – “The Devil Is in the Details: Little Is Regular About the “Regular Rate”” – Napa – March 3, 2022
• Ogletree Deakins Webinar – “The Nuclear Option: Arbitration Agreements for California Employers” – January 26, 2022
• Corporate Labor and Employment Counsel Exclusive – “Pandemic Recovery: Round 2—Wage and Hour and Payroll Tax Issues in a Remote World (U.S. Version)” – Amelia Island – November 11-12, 2021
• Ogletree Deakins Webinar – “How to Properly Calculate Overtime Pay: What Every In-House Counsel, HR, and Payroll Professional Should Know” – September 22, 2021
• California Lawyers Association – “The Current State of AB5, Prop. 22 and Independent Contractor Litigation” – September 10, 2021
• Ogletree Deakins Webinar – “The Remote Work Series: Remote Work in the United States” – April 20, 2021
• Ogletree Deakins Webinar – “California Meal Break Period DOs and DON’Ts Following the Supreme Court’s Decision” – March 25, 2021
• Navigating California Employment Law – “Avoiding Remote Work Land Mines for California Employers” – March 5, 2021
• Ogletree Deakins Webinar – “The End of Independent Contractors? What California Employers Need to Know About AB 5” – September 24, 2019
• Ogletree Deakins Webinar – “Dynamex One Year Later: What You Need to Know Now About California’s ABC Test for Independent Contractors” – May 22, 2019
• Ogletree Deakins Webinar – “It’s About Time: What You Need to Know About Electronic Timekeeping” – March 6, 2019

• May 31, 2022 – SHRM Online – “California Bill Addressing Heat Illness Prevention Moves Forward”
• November 22, 2021 – SHRM Online – “U.S. Supreme Court Seeks Input on Motor Carrier Challenge to California’s AB 5”

• April 7, 2022 – SHRM Online – “Employers Await Significant High Court Ruling in California PAGA Case”
• February 7, 2020 – SHRM Online – “10 California Wage and Hour Myths Debunked”
• September 26, 2019 – Law360 – “Worker Classification Bill Means Lawsuit ‘Flood,’ Reps. Told”
• June 24, 2019 – The American Lawyer – “Lost and Found: The Long Road Back for Lawyers Waylaid by the Recession”