Cindi L.Ritchey

Of Counsel

San Diego + 1.858.314.1200

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Cindi Ritchey has more than 15 years of experience representing clients in employment litigation. She primarily focuses on complex wage and hour class actions and representative actions under state and federal laws, including actions under the California Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). She also has extensive experience defending employers in single and multiplaintiff employment lawsuits, including lawsuits involving Title VII, ADA, FMLA, and California antidiscrimination law, unfair competition claims, wrongful termination, and employment-related tort and contract claims, as well as administrative agency actions. Cindi offers clients in-depth experience advising employers on issues such as compliance with state and federal wage and hour laws, antidiscrimination laws, leave laws, noncompete agreements, and wage and hour matters and also has experience conducting training for employers on preventing sexual harassment in the workplace.

Cindi has been named 10 times as a Southern California "Rising Star" in the area of employment law, an honor reserved for the top 2.5 percent of up-and-coming lawyers under age 40 in Southern California.

Prior to law school, Cindi worked as a paralegal specialist in the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, where she participated in investigations of potentially anticompetitive mergers in the area of telecommunications and assisted in investigations of telecommunications industry compliance with the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

Experience

  • Riverside portfolio company acquires Green GuardJones Day represented The Riverside Company in connection with the acquisition by portfolio company EverSmith Brands of Green Guard Services (Green Guard), a provider of commercial kitchen exhaust cleaning (KEC) and related ancillary services and products, which are essential for fire prevention and mitigation.
  • Venezuelan cousins fleeing political persecution win withholding of removalOn March 17, Jones Day obtained withholding of removal for pro bono clients S and O, twenty-year-old cousins who had been persecuted by the Maduro regime in Venezuela.
  • McDonald's victorious at trial against state-wide California class action wage and hour PAGA claimsJones Day prevailed in gutting the remaining part of a state-wide class and representative action under the California Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act filed against McDonald’s Corporation.
  • National bank victorious as California Court of Appeal reverses trial court and upholds arbitration agreement in employment disputeJones Day successfully obtained enforcement of an arbitration agreement against a former executive vice president of a national bank, following appeal of a trial court order denying a motion to compel arbitration on the grounds the arbitration agreement was unconscionable.
  • Verizon obtains California Court of Appeal affirmation of trial court decision denying class certification in AirTouch Cellular store manager misclassification caseOn July 28, 2017, the California Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's ruling denying class certification in a store manager misclassification case filed against Jones Day client AirTouch Cellular dba Verizon Wireless, Inc.
  • California Pizza Kitchen motion to strike Private Attorney General Act claims on manageability and judicial estoppel grounds affirmed on appealOn February 9, 2015, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge granted Jones Day client California Pizza Kitchen, Inc.'s ("CPK") motion to strike plaintiffs' representative Private Attorney General Act ("PAGA") claims.
  • McDonald’s defeats attempt to expand class actionOn February 15, 2017, Jones Day and client McDonald’s Corporation successfully blocked plaintiffs’ attempt to certify three new theories of liability in a statewide wage and hour class action.
  • McDonald’s defeats class certification and PAGA claims in statewide California class action wage and hour caseIn a series of wins, Jones Day client McDonald’s Corporation defeated class action and PAGA claims brought against the company in a California-wide wage and hour lawsuit.
  • Major international bank defeats claims by former Executive Vice President in Title VII/FEHA age and national origin discrimination caseOn September 7, 2016, Jones Day prevailed on behalf of an international bank in a case alleging age and national origin discrimination by a former Executive Vice President of a California subsidiary bank.
  • Verizon Wireless defeats class certification in Store Managers misclassification class actionsOn April 14, 2015, Judge Johnson, of the California Superior Court for the County of Los Angeles, agreed with Jones Day client AirTouch Cellular dba Verizon Wireless ("AirTouch") that class certification is inappropriate in two wage and hour misclassification class actions.
  • R. J. Reynolds wins full defense verdict after trial of race discrimination and wrongful termination claimsJones Day represented R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company ("Reynolds") in connection with a lawsuit filed by a former employee asserting causes of action for race discrimination and wrongful termination in violation of public policy.
  • Los Angeles MTA defeats wage and hour class action lawsuitJones Day successfully defended the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority in a hybrid class and collective action wage and hour lawsuit filed by Nathan Flowers, a former bus driver, alleging failure to comply with state and federal wage and hour laws.
  • California Pizza Kitchen's defeat of class certification upheld by court of appeals in putative wage and hour class action alleging violations in CaliforniaOn December 30, 2013, the Second Court of Appeals upheld the order denying class certification for Jones Day client California Pizza Kitchen in four putative wage and hour class actions in which Plaintiffs allege multiple violations of the California Labor Code.
  • G6 Hospitality earns dismissal in class action suitJones Day represented G6 Hospitality LLC in a class action lawsuit alleging wage-hour violations relating to missed meal and rest periods, unpaid overtime, inaccurate wage statements, late payment of final wages, and failure to reimburse business expenses violations under the California Labor Code.
  • AirTouch Cellular decision affirmed by California Court of AppealsJones Day represented AirTouch Cellular, doing business as Verizon Wireless, in a wage and hour class action in which the plaintiff alleges that the company did not provide required meal and rest breaks for its California retail store employees, did not reimburse its California employees for all business-related mileage expenses, and did not reimburse its California employees for expenses associated with the business use of their concession phones.
  • National retail store prevails in one of the country's largest wage and hour actions when federal court denies class certification involving more than 2,750 assistant managersIn one of the largest wage-hour class action victories in the country, Jones Day represented a national retail store in a putative statewide class action in California involving more than 2,750 assistant managers.
  • Verizon Wireless obtains summary judgment in California wage and hour class actionJones Day represented AirTouch Cellular d/b/a Verizon Wireless in a putative class action alleging that it violates California's labor laws by taking chargebacks from the commissions paid to its retail sales employees.
  • Verizon Wireless defeats class certification in California wage and hour caseJones Day represented AirTouch Cellular d/b/a Verizon Wireless in a putative class action alleging that it violates California's split-shift and reporting time pay laws by paying its retail employees only for actual time spent at mandatory meetings.
  • AstraZeneca defeats pharmaceutical representative misclassification claims and class certification in Pennsylvania, New York, and CaliforniaJones Day obtained summary judgment and defeated class certification on behalf of AstraZeneca in a trio of pharmaceutical industry class actions in which plaintiffs contended that the company misclassified pharmaceutical sales representatives as exempt from state-law overtime requirements and sought to represent employees statewide.
  • Federated defends employee arbitration programFederated Department Stores, Inc. retained Jones Day to enforce its nationwide voluntary employment arbitration program, including its class action waiver, in the face of multiple putative class actions involving wage-hour claims.

    • The following represents experience prior to joining Jones Day.

    Tomlinson v. IndyMac Bank (C.D. Cal. 2005). Hybrid wage and hour class action alleging an FLSA collective action and a Rule 23 class action. Case was settled on terms favorable to IndyMac.

    Barnett, et al. v. Washington Mutual Bank (N.D. Cal.). Several wage and hour class actions raising claims under the FLSA and California law, all of which were settled on terms favorable to Washington Mutual Bank.

    ARCS v. GMAC Commercial Mortgage (L.A. County Superior Court). Represented GMAC Commercial Mortgage and others in dispute about hiring away employees of a competitor and alleged misappropriation of trade secrets. Case was settled on terms favorable to GMAC Commercial Mortgage.

    Hartt v. Sony Electronics, Inc. (C.D. Cal.). Obtained judgment on the pleadings in case of first impression involving the scope of California Labor Code § 96(k). Trial court decision was affirmed by 9th Circuit.

    View All

    June 2024 Commentary

    California Enacts First Significant Reforms to PAGA in More Than a Decade

    December 2023 White Paper

    A Review of 2023 Labor & Employment Legislation in California

    January 2023 White Paper

    A Review of 2022 Labor & Employment Legislation in California

    June 2022 Commentary

    Supreme Court Upholds Representative Action Waivers In Employee Arbitration Agreements

    May 2022 Alert

    California Supreme Court Authorizes Additional Remedies for Meal Break Violations: Waiting Time and Wage Statement Penalties Now on the Menu

    December 2021 White Paper

    A Review of 2021 Labor & Employment Legislation in California

    July 2021 Alert

    California Supreme Court Concludes "Regular Rate of Pay" Applies When Calculating Meal and Rest Period Penalties

    January 2021 White Paper

    A Review of 2020 Labor & Employment Legislation In California

    JANUARY 2021

    California Supreme Court Rules Dynamex Is Retroactive

    January 2020 White Paper

    A Detailed Review of 2019 Labor & Employment Legislation in California
    View All

    Additional Publications

    • September 2006
      What You Don't Say Can Hurt You - Federal Court Holds Hospital Liable for Failure to Disclose Physician's Drug Addiction to Subsequent Employer, ASHHRA/IRI Consultants to Management, Inc. Semi-Annual Labor Activity in Healthcare Report

    Additional Speaking Engagements

    • January 19, 2017
      Labor & Employment Update 2017: A Look Ahead for California Employers
    • September 28, 2015
      The Latest Claims Arising From Miscalculation of Regular Rate of Pay and Overtime, and California's New Paid Sick Leave Law, American Conference Institute 25th National Forum on Wage & Hour Claims and Class Actions
    • June 26, 2009
      FLSA Collective Actions vs. Rule 23 Class Actions, Bridgeport CLE Wage and Hour Litigation Program

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