Matthew E. Farmer represents companies in various employment matters, at both the advice and litigation stages. Because he believes that excellent litigation defense starts with litigation avoidance, Matthew works closely with his clients to avoid litigation or resolve issues before litigation commences.
When litigation does arise, Matthew has successfully defended lawsuits brought against his clients in both state and federal courts and in contractual arbitration. Appearing before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, and the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, he handles claims involving:
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
- The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
- The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
- The Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA)
- The California Family Rights Act (CFRA)
- Wage and hour
- Trade secrets
Matthew also has extensive experience defending clients in complex wage and hour matters. His experience in this field has involved representation of both large and small clients.
Among his litigation successes, he secured a complete defense award for his client in a two-week arbitration to resolve a wrongful termination/discrimination case.
Matthew also offers litigation avoidance advice related to various personnel matters, including terminations, requests for leave and disability accommodations. His clients include:
- Insurance companies
- The parking industry
- The food industry
- Health and adult dependent care facilities
- Retail entities
- Manufacturing and distribution centers
- The transportation industry
A published writer on a wide variety of topics, Matthew wrote an article about the distinctions between insurance agents and brokers.
Matthew is an adjunct professor of law at San Joaquin College of Law where he teaches administrative law and other courses. He also has taught administrative law courses at other colleges and universities.
Prior to joining Littler Mendelson, Matthew was an associate at another law firm where he focused on complex business litigation and other practice areas. He also worked as an associate attorney at a small local firm where his primary practice involved representing a major insurance company in employment litigation and related issues. In law school, he was a staff member and then assistant legislation editor of the Pacific Law Journal.
