Michael W. Nelson

Michael Nelson represents and advises employers in a broad range of employment matters, including class actions, wage and hour claims, alternative dispute resolution, whistleblower retaliation, wrongful termination, and harassment and discrimination. Michael has successfully defended employers in trial, arbitration, and administrative actions, and he has extensive experience defending employers in statewide wage and hour class actions and representative actions brought under the California Labor Code and Private Attorneys General Act. Michael represents employers of all sizes ranging from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies, and spanning many industries including transportation, technology, retail, health care, construction, and staffing agencies. In his practice, Michael has negotiated and settled lawsuits ranging from single plaintiff litigation to class actions involving over 16,000 putative class members.

Michael also provides advice and counseling to employers on a wide variety of topics, including personnel management, independent contractors, overtime exemptions, meal and rest period issues, overtime calculations, expense reimbursement, and wage and hour policies and procedures.

Prior to joining Littler, Michael worked for a firm in the East Bay area focusing on civil litigation and public entity representation. During law school, he clerked at the Yolo County District Attorney’s office and the Alameda County Superior Court. He also served on the Trial Practice Honors Board and was a senior articles editor on the UC Davis Law Review.