Photo of Cepideh Roufougar

Cepideh Roufougar is a Principal in the San Francisco, California, office of Jackson Lewis P.C.

Ms. Roufougar is Co-Leader of the California Advice and Counsel Resource Group. She advises and counsels management in all areas of labor and employment law, with a focus on identifying practical solutions to help ensure compliance with state and federal law. Ms. Roufougar positions herself as a strategic partner when providing advice and counsel about litigation avoidance, employee management issues, implementing disciplinary actions, and collective bargaining issues. Her ability to see the big picture clearly and understand her client’s businesses in emotionally charged and highly complex disputes has helped her clients financially and prevented litigation. Her clients rely on her to guide them through both short-term and long-term planning to achieve their unique goals and strategies.

Ms. Roufougar is an experienced trainer and presents seminars on a wide range of subjects, including: leave management and reasonable accommodations; preventing discrimination, harassment and retaliation; implementing and sustaining disciplinary actions; conducting defensible workplace investigations; first-line supervisor trainings; performance management/evaluations; and wage and hour issues.

Ms. Roufougar has been successful in helping her clients prevail in numerous arbitrations and administrative appeals. She has extensive experience representing employers in labor and employment disputes. She has defended employers in employment litigation matters, including claims alleging violations of the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act, FLSA collective actions, and claims of harassment and discrimination. Ms. Roufougar also conducts complex workplace investigations.

Before joining Jackson Lewis, Ms. Roufougar practiced at a well-regarded local labor and employment firm and served as in-house counsel for a local public agency.

California wrapped up its 2020 Legislative Session with the Governor passing several bills that bring dramatic changes to employee leave requirements.

One of the first bills signed was Assembly Bill 1867, the statewide COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave.  AB 1867 fills in some of the exceptions contained in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act

Confirmed Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases have risen swiftly in California and in response, administrative agencies have released guidance to employers regarding wage and hour issues and paid sick leave.

Late last, week, the Labor Commissioner’s office provided input on administering paid sick leave in light of coronavirus. The Labor Commissioner indicated that preventative care under paid

As Bay Area employers are well aware, San Francisco has several local employment-related ordinances that provide additional benefits to individuals performing work within the geographical boundaries of the City. One such benefit is paid parental leave. Please find the rest of this article on our California Workplace Law Blog here.

It’s a new year, and California SDI benefits will be increasing. The SDI withholding rate continues to be 1.0% of wages. But, the taxable wage limit will increase from $114,967 to $118,371.

For new SDI claims (whether for short-term disability benefits or paid family leave benefits) the maximum weekly benefit will increase from $1,216 to

Under the Family Medical Leave Act, eligible employees are entitled to take time off for due to a “qualifying exigency” arising from the deployment of the employee’s spouse, parent, or child for active military duty to a foreign country. Examples of “qualifying exigencies” include attendance at military events, making childcare arrangements arising from a military

March Madness begins in just a few days.  It’s that glorious time of year when college basketball teams from around the country (and their fans) are filled with hope and excitement.  Who will make it to the final four?  Who will win the championship game?  Brackets are being completed and upsets are being selected.

Experts

California“What did I do wrong” and “Am I doing this correctly?” are frequent questions from clients regarding FMLA administration.  Employers with operations in California need to worry about both the FMLA and the California Family Rights Act (CFRA).  This is the next in our monthly series highlighting some of the more common mistakes employers can

2016 has come to an end and it’s been busy year for disability leave management issues. The year has seen a variety of new developments, including issuance of additional guidance from administrative agencies, new leave and benefit related laws, and a slew of court opinions.  Here is a summary of some of the highlights from

CaliforniaOn October 7, 2016, Dependable Highway Express filed a petition asking the California Supreme Court to review a decision to allow a non-disabled employee to pursue his claim of association based disability discrimination.  The employee alleged that he was terminated from employment after he made complaints about changes to his work schedule which impacted his