Our Team

Attorneys

Laura Izon Powell is a shareholder and the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice Group Manager. She represents public and private sector clients, providing advice and counsel on a wide range of employment and labor law issues. Ms. Izon Powell focuses on preventative counseling in order to save her clients from expending valuable time and resources on litigation. In addition, Ms. Izon Powell is an experienced and skilled investigator and trainer.

Practice Areas

Ms. Izon Powell serves a broad constituency of public sector clients, including the State of California, cities and special districts, as well as numerous private industry clients, including Maloof Sports & Entertainment, owners of the Sacramento Kings and ARCO Arena, with both their labor and employment needs. Her practice is comprised of four (4) primary specialties: labor contract negotiation and administration, employment law advice and counsel, workplace investigations and training.

Labor: Ms. Izon Powell serves as labor counsel for the State of California, the Department of Personnel Administration, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, cities, special districts and Maloof Sports & Entertainment. She has experience negotiating complex contracts where labor relations are fractured, as well as working collaboratively with unions to arrive at mutually acceptable terms, conditions and/or settlements.

Employment: Her legal experience in personnel and employment issues is diverse and far-reaching and includes representation and counsel on matters such as:

• Personnel policy and procedure
• Employee handbooks
• Wage and hour issues
• Leaves of absence
• Employee complaints and grievances
• Employee discipline & terminations
• Discrimination claims, including age, gender and disability claims
• Harassment claims, including sexual harassment, hostile work environment and retaliation claims
• Responses to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) complaints
• Workforce layoffs
• Workers’ Compensation
• Unemployment insurance issues

Ms. Izon Powell has extensive experience with the following state and federal laws pertaining to employment issues:

• Fair Labor and Standards Act (FLSA)
• Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
• California Family Rights Act (CFRA)
• Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL)
• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA)

Workplace Investigations: For both public and private sector clients, Ms. Izon Powell serves as an independent fact-finder and investigator of claims involving alleged harassment, discrimination, threats of violence, violations of company rules or regulations, and other misconduct or inappropriate behavior.

Training: Ms. Izon Powell regularly trains on a variety of topics including, but not limited to, sexual harassment and discrimination prevention, hiring, employee evaluation and discipline, the interactive process, and how to conduct internal investigations.

Professional Activities, Affiliations & Awards

• 2010 Northern California Super Lawyer
• 2009 Northern California Rising Star
• Member, California Public Employers Labor Relations Association (CALPELRA)
• Member, California Association of Workplace Investigators, Inc. (CAOWI)
• Past Chairperson, Labor and Employment Law Section of the Sacramento County Bar Association (2008)
• Member, California State Bar Association

In addition, Ms. Izon Powell was named in 2007 as one of the 100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the U.S. by the Filipina Women’s Network (FWN). The FWN is the non-profit association for women of Philippine ancestry in the U.S. Ms. Izon Powell was nominated in the “Builders & Emerging Leaders” category, recognizing Filipina women who are making their mark in a workplace environment, and displaying high energy and skill in a leadership role.

Academic Background

B.S. Mount Holyoke College, 1993

J.D. University of California, Berkeley, 1996