Experience
Mr. Shaw joined the firm in 2006 and represents public agencies and nonprofit organizations in a variety of labor and employment matters, with a particular emphasis on litigation and public safety (police and fire) cases. He handles all types of litigation in state and federal court, including discrimination, harassment, and retaliation lawsuits, whistleblower claims, alleged violations of federal due process (Section 1983), wage and hour disputes, and claims brought under the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act (POBR) and Firefighters Procedural Bill of Rights Act (FOBR). Mr. Shaw has particular experience representing law enforcement agencies and colleges and universities. He is knowledgeable in all aspects of litigation and possesses substantial trial experience.
Mr. Shaw also advises and represents public employers in arbitrations and administrative proceedings concerning employee discipline, labor relations and unfair practice charges, and collective bargaining issues.
In addition to labor and employment, Mr. Shaw has extensive public interest experience, having represented senior citizens in several lawsuits against major insurance companies and related entities for the inappropriate and/or predatory sale of deferred annuities, living trusts and reverse mortgages.
Related Experience
After graduating from law school in 2003, Mr. Shaw practiced civil litigation in a Washington, D.C. firm, where he represented injured plaintiffs in personal injury and product liability cases.
Mr. Shaw has also practiced in the Federal Government, serving as an attorney-advisor with the U.S. Small Business Administration. During law school, he was a legal intern with the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, and an intern for the Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets in the United States, where he investigated art, gold and securities looted during World War II and contributed to a report of findings and recommendations to the President.
Selected Speaking Engagements
- Discipline Under a Statewide or Contractual Peace Officer Bill of Rights and The Political Pressures Today on Bills of Rights, presented at Labor Relations Information System (Advanced Course on Police Discipline), Las Vegas, Nevada (November 2021)
- The Battle Over Qualified Immunity: How Will It Impact Policing and Employment in California, presented at California Public Employers Labor Relations Association Annual Conference, Monterey, California (November 2021)
- DOL’s New “Final Rule” And How It Will Change Overtime Requirements For Public Agencies Under The FLSA, presented at California Public Employers Labor Relations Association Annual Conference, Monterey, California (November 2020)
- Newest Developments In Workplace Drug And Alcohol Laws, presented at California Public Employers Labor Relations Association Annual Conference, Monterey, California (November 2020)
- Social Media Usage: How To Deal With Problematic Behavior Of Employees Online Without Violating Their Rights, presented at California Public Employers Labor Relations Association Annual Conference, Monterey, California (November 2020)
- Anatomy of a Wrongful Termination Claim, presented at Public Agency Risk Management Association Annual Conference, Monterey, California (February 2020)
- SB 1421: Everything You Need to Know About the New Police Records Disclosure Law, presented at California Public Employers Labor Relations Association Annual Conference, Monterey, California (November 2019
- Everything You Need to Know About SB 1421 and AB 748, presented at California League of Cities Annual Conference, Long Beach, California (October 2019)
- Legal Issues for Background Investigators, presented at California Association of Law Enforcement Background Investigators – Training Seminar 2019, South Lake Tahoe, California (October 2019)
- Workplace Drug and Alcohol Policies: Dealing with Prescription Medications and Marijuana Usage, presented at California Public Employers Labor Relations Association Annual Conference, Monterey, California (December 2018)
- Crisis Management for Officer-Involved Shootings: Taking Appropriate Action in the Wake of High-Profile Use of Force Incidents (Moderator), presented at California League of Cities Annual Conference, Long Beach, California (October 2016)
- Workplace Drug Policies: Dealing with Prescription Medications and Medical Marijuana, presented at County Personnel Administrators Association of California, Lodi, California (March 2016)
- What You Need to Know When You Don’t Have a HR Department, presented at California Special Districts Association Annual Conference, Palm Springs, California (October 2014)
Selected Publications
- DOL Issues New Guidance on Overtime Rules, Reducing, But Not Eliminating Exposure to Liability (co-author with Jeff Sloan), California Employment Law Letter, Vol. 30, No. 6 (January 27, 2020)
- Pocket Guide to Drug and Alcohol Policies in the Public Sector, California Public Employee Relations (CPER), University of California at Berkeley (co-author with Burke Dunphy), (1st ed., 2019)
- Squaring Up: Workplace Drug and Alcohol Policies with Prescription Medications and Marijuana Usage (co-author with Burke Dunphy), Bender’s Labor & Employment Bulletin, Vol. 19, No. 10 (October 2019)
- Everything You Need to Know About SB 1421 and AB 748 (co-author with Howard Jordan and Walter Tibbet), California League of Cities (October 2019)
- Workplace Drug and Alcohol Policies: Common Pitfalls for the Public Employer (co-author with Nikki Hall), Public Law Journal, Vol. 38, No. 4 (Fall 2015)
- Employee-Friendly Local Employment Laws in California (co-author with Jonathan Holtzman), California Employment Law Letter, Vol. 20, No. 10 (August 23, 2010)
Awards/Honors
Mr. Shaw was named to the “Rising Stars” list by Northern California Super Lawyers and San Francisco Magazine every year from 2011 through 2019.