Mara is a partner in the Labor & Employment Group. Mara’s practice focuses on counseling and litigating wage and hour matters. She has extensive experience representing employers both in state and federal court, and has handled numerous putative and/or certified class actions alleging overtime, minimum wage, meal and rest period, waiting time penalty and wage statement claims.
Experience
Representative matters
Representative matters
Defeated class certification in lawsuit challenging the propriety of an alternative workweek schedule, alleging that employees were not properly paid for on-call time and claiming that the regular rate of pay was not properly calculated when overtime was paid.
Wage and Hour Litigation. Defeated class certification in lawsuit challenging the propriety of an alternative workweek schedule, alleging that employees were not properly paid for on-call time and claiming that the regular rate of pay was not properly calculated when overtime was paid.
Meal and Rest Period Class Actions. Defeated class certification in a case alleging failure to provide meal periods, challenging the propriety of meal period waivers and alleging that meal period premiums were not paid at the regular rate of compensation.
Defeated class certification in lawsuit challenging the propriety of an alternative workweek schedule, alleging that employees were not properly paid for on-call time and claiming that the regular rate of pay was not properly calculated when overtime was paid.
Wage and Hour Litigation. Defeated class certification in lawsuit challenging the propriety of an alternative workweek schedule, alleging that employees were not properly paid for on-call time and claiming that the regular rate of pay was not properly calculated when overtime was paid.
Meal and Rest Period Class Actions. Defeated class certification in a case alleging failure to provide meal periods, challenging the propriety of meal period waivers and alleging that meal period premiums were not paid at the regular rate of compensation.
Wage Statement Claims. Successfully defended numerous class actions advancing wage statement claims, including allegations that wage statements did not contain the proper name or address of the legal entity that was the employer and claims that the wage statements did not contain the proper rates of pay.
Independent Contractor Status. Successfully defended multiple class and collective action lawsuits alleging that individuals were misclassified as independent contractors under both California and federal law.
Misclassification Cases and Classification Audits. Handles classification audits to assist clients in determining whether certain positions should be classified as exempt or non-exempt under California law. Also, successfully defended clients in representative and individual misclassification litigation.
Federal Court Private Attorney General Act (“PAGA”) Representative Actions. Obtained the first published decision by the Ninth Circuit upholding the dismissal of a PAGA claim on the ground that the PAGA letter failed to assert the fact and theories underlying the claim.
State Court PAGA Representative Actions. Obtained the first published decision by the California Court of Appeals ruling that a PAGA letter must assert the facts and theories underlying the claim in order to be valid. Obtained dismissal of the majority of the claims brought on the grounds that the PAGA letter was not sufficient.
Transportation Industry. Defending and advising clients in the transportation industry on issues of preemption under the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 2004 and the commerce clause, the federal and California motor carrier exemptions and issues regarding Labor Code Section 226.2.
Claims for Time Worked Outside of California. Obtained summary judgment on behalf of an employer on the grounds that the commerce clause of the United States Constitution precludes employees from seeking recovery under California law for time worked outside of California.
Non-Traditional Relationships. Successfully defended a business in a case alleging that students at a school were actually employees and were, therefore, covered by California’s wage and hour laws. Obtained summary judgment on behalf of the business on the grounds that there was no employment relationship between the business and the students.
Arbitration. Prevailed on numerous motions to compel arbitration in both state and federal court, often obtaining orders compelling class action matters to arbitration on an individual basis.
Recognitions
- Recognized as Leaders of Influence: Labor & Employment Attorneys by the Los Angeles Business Journal in 2024
- Named by the Daily Journal as one of California’s Top Labor & Employment Lawyers for 2024-2025
- Recognized as Top 100 Lawyer by LA Business Journal in 2023
Credentials
Education
Education
- University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law, 2009, J.D., Submission Editor for the Entertainment Law Review
- University of California, Santa Cruz, 2006, B.A., Politics and Psychology
Professional admissions & qualifications
Professional admissions & qualifications
- California
Court admissions
Court admissions
- U.S. Court of Appeals - Ninth Circuit
- U.S. District Court - Central District of California
- U.S. District Court - Northern District of California
- U.S. District Court - Eastern District of California
- U.S. District Court - Southern District of California
- U.S. Court of Appeals - Seventh Circuit
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