Heather Sager
Partner
Perkins Coie LLP
Board Secretary
Heather Sager’s extensive knowledge of California’s complicated statutory and regulatory requirements for employers is well-regarded by technology, retail, and finance clients alike, from startups to Fortune 500 companies. She has wide-ranging experience litigating complex wage-and-hour claims, as well as conducting wage-and-hour audits for clients grappling with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the California Labor Code, and the California Equal Pay Act.
Heather’s practice was established at the forefront of the wage-and-hour class and collective actions that are now commonplace throughout the country. She emphasizes proactive risk management to avoid litigation and employs efficient and aggressive strategies to help her clients minimize exposure when faced with class, collective, representative, multi-plaintiff, or single-plaintiff lawsuits. As part of due diligence, Heather also provides risk assessments of wage-and-hour exposure, as well as policy and procedure audits both pre- and post-merger.
Heather is active in counseling and training employers on workplace harassment prevention and unconscious bias and regularly conducts workplace investigations into allegations of inappropriate conduct. She is adept at helping startup clients understand the importance of compliant policies and practices beginning at formation and frequently advises clients on leave issues, employee classification, and independent contractor status, as well as strategies for preventing and addressing misappropriation of trade secrets and unfair competition.
Heather’s experience also extends to the traditional labor realm, where she has helped clients prevail in elections, obtained injunctive relief to stop inappropriate union conduct, defeated organizing campaigns, and appeared before the National Labor Relations Board on countless issues.