Michael A. Wahlander

Michael Wahlander is a labor and employment lawyer representing clients of all sizes, from publicly traded retail organizations to local non-profits, in nearly every industry, including retail, construction, healthcare, education, technology and non-profit.

From high-stakes litigation and handling difficult personnel issues to developing complex compliance plans, Mike vigorously defends companies and delivers solutions aligned with their business goals.

Clients trust Mike with their most difficult labor and employment problems, including wage and hour disputes, discrimination, retaliation, harassment, wrongful termination, employment torts (including defamation), whistleblower cases, and background check cases under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. With a practice spanning all stages of litigation, from trial to appeal, Mike is recognized for being an entrepreneurial thinker and defending employers in class actions, collective actions, PAGA representative actions, and single-plaintiff cases.   

An accomplished litigator well-known in the courtroom, Mike recognizes that winning takes on a different meaning for each client and shapes his strategies accordingly. When litigation can be avoided, he leverages his extensive mediation experience to negotiate and steer clients toward an agreeable resolution. When not in court, Mike’s counseling practice harnesses his litigation experience to develop business-focused strategies for his clients. He provides workplace counseling ranging from wage and hour compliance and handbooks to navigating thorny personnel matters and internal investigations.  

Outside his active practice, Mike serves on the firm's Pro Bono Committee and as the pro bono office lead for the firm’s San Francisco Office. His pro bono work has included representing prisoners in civil rights cases and human trafficking matters, as well as advising non-profit organizations that support underserved communities.  

Experience

• Won a class-action settlement for a property inspection company in a wage and hour class action case with a mid-seven-figure liability exposure.
• Helped a national retail company obtain a favorable class action and PAGA settlement in a wage and hour class action with eight-figure liability exposure.
• Received a nominal representative action settlement on behalf of a tree-trimming company in a PAGA matter alleging wage and hour violations.
• Obtained a summary judgment in three related retaliation and defamation cases for a national health technology company, where two were appealed and the appellate court affirmed both in favor of the client.
• Obtained several individual settlements that resolved wage and hour class action/PAGA claims for numerous clients.
• Obtained numerous nuisance value settlements in single plaintiff matters, ranging from wage and hour cases to wrongful termination (discrimination, retaliation, and harassment).
• Obtained favorable trial outcomes in several wage and hour cases, including two trial wins and one walk-away settlement.