Mike litigates employment disputes before state and federal courts and counsels clients on various employment issues. He takes pride in distilling complex legal problems into practical, business-focused solutions for employers and management. Mike defends clients in disputes involving wrongful termination, misclassification, discrimination, harassment, breach of contract, fraud, wage and hour, Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), and other employment-related claims. His practice also encompasses advising corporate clients on employment-related compliance issues, drafting executive compensation and options contracts, and assisting with arbitration and mediation proceedings.
Before joining Mintz, Mike was a litigation associate in the employment group of a national law firm, where he focused on single-plaintiff and class action representative employment litigation and was awarded intra-firm accolades, which included top orator and top attorney in consecutive years. Earlier, he was a litigation associate at an Encinitas, California-based law firm specializing in commercial real estate and business law. He also previously worked as a staff attorney and law clerk at a national securities litigation firm based in San Diego.
During law school, Mike interned with New Media Rights, a nonprofit organization that advises creators, entrepreneurs, and internet users on intellectual property, privacy, and media law issues. He also served as an associate editor of the California Western Law Review and the California Western International Law Journal, and a research assistant to a professor.
viewpoints
A New Dawn (Maybe) for California Employers: State and Business Groups Strike Deal on PAGA Reform
June 20, 2024 | Blog | By Jennifer Rubin, Paul Huston, Mike Flesuras
On June 18, 2024, Governor Newsom, in collaboration with legislative leaders, unveiled a landmark agreement to reform the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA).
California Voters Will Decide PAGA’s Fate at the Ballot Box in 2024
August 10, 2022 | Blog | By Jennifer Rubin, Mike Flesuras
Earlier this year we wrote on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana that struck a major blow to California’s Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”). Now on the heels of the Viking River decision, California officials have announced that a proposed law to overhaul PAGA, called the California Fair Pay and Employer Accountability Act (“Act”), will be put on a referendum to the voters in November 2024. The Act proposes in large part to repeal PAGA, including PAGA’s mechanism that allows an employee to sue in civil court on the state’s behalf to enforce the California Labor Code and seek penalties for doing so. Mintz attorneys Jennifer Rubin and Mike Flesuras highlight why PAGA is under fire, what the Act would change, and some key takeaways for employers to combat PAGA lawsuits leading up to the 2024 ballot.
The Supreme Court Strikes a Blow to PAGA: What California Employers Need to Know
June 16, 2022 | Blog | By Mike Flesuras, Jennifer Rubin
The U.S. Supreme Court has given businesses with California employees the option (at least for now) to avoid employee-initiated court proceedings under California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). The California-based members of Mintz’s Employment, Labor & Benefits team share what California employers need to know.
The Shrinking Scope of Confidentiality: California Extends Confidentiality Ban to All FEHA Protected Classes
December 15, 2021 | Blog | By Nicole Rivers, Jennifer Rubin, Mike Flesuras
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