Rhonda L. Nelson is a Firm Shareholder and Severson & Werson’s Employment Practice Group Chairperson, as well as Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer. Navigating and complying with the technical and complicated employment laws in California is downright challenging. Rhonda helps employers find cost-effective solutions to day-to-day employment problems to reduce the risk of litigation.
Sometimes, however, litigation is unavoidable. In those circumstances, Rhonda is an aggressive litigator who will help clients make an early assessment of the risks and exposure in the case to find the best possible resolution ranging from early settlement to, if necessary, trial.
Rhonda specializes in employment litigation, advice and counseling, and representing employers in a wide variety of issues arising within the employer/employee relationship. Rhonda counsels employers on internal harassment and discrimination investigations and presents on-site seminars for clients on sexual harassment, disability accommodation, medical leaves, wage and hour compliance, and related issues. Rhonda also has experience litigating employment claims (including class actions).
Rhonda is very active in a number of professional associations. She is currently a member of the American Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section, and the Business Law Section. She is also a member of the Bar Association of San Francisco and a former member of the Judicial Evaluation Committee. She has been a panelist at a number of seminars and programs organized by such associations as the Continuing Education of the Bar, Association of Defense Counsel of Northern California and Nevada, Minority Corporate Counsel Association and the American Bar Association. Rhonda is also on the board of the Northern California Employment Law Roundtable and was a recent speaker for the Alameda County Bar Association (ACBA) MCLE program: “Litigating Race Discrimination”.
Rhonda is actively involved in the community and has served on a variety of non-profit boards, including, Equal Rights Advocates, Julia Morgan School for Girls, San Francisco Girls Chorus and East Bay Rowing Club.
Rhonda has been voted Super Lawyer 2009-2022 in the area of Employment & Labor; Rated AV Preeminent 1997 – 2022 and selected for an edition of Martindale-Hubbell® Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers,™ 2013-2022.
Areas of Practice
Education
- UCLA Law School, J.D.
- University of Southern California, Master of Public Administration, Emphasis Judicial Administration
- University of California Los Angeles, B.A. Sociology
Admissions
- California
Publications
- In Order to Comply With State And Federal Law, An Employer Must Give A Job Applicant Two Separate Disclosures of Its Intent to Obtain A Credit Report
- Officers And Managers May Be Personally Liable for Minimum Wage Violations
- Not Everyone Is An Independent Contractor – How to Know the Difference
- Under California Law, Employers Must Pay Wages For Even Small Amounts Of “Off The Clock” Work
- Computing Overtime Pay When The Employee Is Also Paid Flat Sum Bonus
- Silence Can Be Deadly: Lower Pay For Women Cannot Be Justified By Their Earning Less From Prior Employers
- Nelson, R.L., (August 9, 2016). Silence Can Be Deadly: Review Your Arbitration Clause To Assure It Doesn’t Let The Arbitrator Decide If Classwide Arbitration Is Allowed Alert
- Nelson, R. L. (August 24, 2015). “Amendments to California’s Paid Sick Leave Alert”
- Nelson, R. L. (June 10, 2015). “Employment Law Deadlines, Labor & Employment Law Compliance E-Alert
- Nelson, R. L. (November 2013). “Recent Development in California Labor & Employment Law”. A Labor and Employment E-Alert
- Nelson, R. L. (April 12, 2012). “The Long Awaited Brinker Decision is Here!” Employment E-Alert
- Nelson, R. L. (July 5, 2011). “California’s Overtime Laws Apply to Non-Residents Who Work in California”. Employment Alert
- Nelson, R. L. (February 25, 2010). “Facebook in the Hiring Process: Risks and Rewards of Checking Social Networking Sites”. Labor and Employment News Brief
- Nelson, R. L. (January 5, 2010). “Avoiding Employment Tax Penalties, IRS Guidance on Proper Tax Treatment of Settlement Payments”.
- Nelson, R. L. (April 29, 2008). “Are You Up-To-Date For 2008?” Labor and Employment News Brief
- Nelson, R. L. (April 23, 2007). “The Kenneth Cole Decision: A Seismic Shift in California’s Wage and Hour Law, Labor and Employment News Brief
- Nelson, R. L. (January 12, 2007). Beware San Francisco’s New Paid Sick Leave Law! Labor and Employment News Brief
Consumer Finance Posts
News
- Severson Attorneys Participate in “Women in Consumer Finance” Event
- Stay At Home Order Lifted — Who Comes Back to Work?
- Navigating How to Reopen Now
- Lawfully Managing Screening Your Employees for COVID-19
- Severson & Werson is a Proud Sponsor of the CCFL’s Spring Conference in Chicago, IL
- Rhonda L. Nelson to speak at Women in Consumer Finance Conference
- Rhonda L. Nelson to speak at the Women, Diversity & Change Summit
- Rhonda L. Nelson and Jeane Struck Selected for Inclusion in the 2011-2013 Editions of the Martindale-Hubbell ® Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers