Michele Gehrke

I specialize in labor and employment matters on behalf of management. I have decades of experience successfully defending employers against allegations of harassment, retaliation, and discrimination based on age, sex, race, sexual orientation, national origin, and disability. I also defend single plaintiff and class action/representative claims for California Labor Code/PAGA violations, FMLA/CFRA and WARN Act violations, and whistleblower and breach of contract claims. I also has extensive experience before administrative agencies such as the California DLSE and OSHA. In my practice, I frequently advise clients regarding terminations and mitigating risk, perform wage and hour audits, assist companies with implementing proactive compliance strategies, provide employee trainings, and draft employment documents such as employment agreements, handbooks, and separation agreements and releases. I also have significant traditional labor and litigation experience involving the Railway Labor Act and National Labor Relations Act. I have has successfully represented employers in union organizing drives, unfair labor practice charges, and litigation involving the National Mediation Board and National Labor Relations Board. I have experience negotiating collective bargaining agreements and defending breach of contract and employee termination claims at arbitration, and have expertise in labor relations in the bankruptcy context. I have been recognized by Chambers Partners with a Band 4 ranking for California Labor and Employment law since 2020 and selected through peer review for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© for Employment Law - Management from 2022-2025, and for Litigation - Labor and Employment in 2025. I have also been selected to Benchmark Litigation's Under 40 Hot List, Top Litigator List, and as Top Labor and Employment Litigator and Star. I have also been chosen by the Daily Journal as a Top Woman Lawyer in California and as one of the Leading Labor and Employment Lawyers in California since 2018. In 2019, the National Law Journal selected me as one of the inaugural Employment Law Trailblazers. The American Registry also recognized me as a Top Attorney in Northern California in 2024.