AB 1522: California Paid Sick Leave Law

Experience

Kristine Kwong is a partner in the firm’s Los Angeles office. Her practice focuses on all aspects of labor and employment counseling, litigation, transactions, executive compensation and executive mobility matters. 

In particular, Ms. Kwong advises and counsels clients on a wide range of business and employment issues, including wage and hour matters, non-compete and restrictive covenant agreements, executive compensation packages, the full range of disciplinary matters, discrimination, harassment and leaves of absences, including the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL), the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). She has defended class action lawsuits in wage and hour matters, discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims.

Ms. Kwong also represents clients in hearings before arbitrators and other state administrative agencies, including the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Office of Administrative Hearings, and the National Labor Relations Board. In addition, Ms. Kwong is highly experienced in labor negotiations with employee associations, including SEIU, Teamsters, CTA, CSEA and SBPEA.

Ms. Kwong’s practice also includes the drafting and updating of handbooks, policy manuals, codes of conduct, restrictive covenants, trade secret agreements and severance packages. She is also a contributing author to the CEB publication, Drafting Employment Documents for California Employers.

Upon graduation from law school, Ms. Kwong clerked for the Honorable Morio L. Fukuto, of the California Court of Appeal, Second District.

In 2005, 2006 and again in 2007, Ms. Kwong was named a Southern California Super Lawyer “Rising Star” by both Los Angeles Magazine and Law & Politics Magazine, a designation reserved for only 2.5 percent of all attorneys in Southern California. Ms. Kwong has also been a recognized authority on employment law and is frequently quoted newspaper journals and public media, including CBS2 News, Dayton News, the San Fernando Valley Business Journal, Technet, TMZ and Chinese Daily News.

Ms. Kwong is admitted to practice before all California courts, as well as the United States District Courts for the Central and Eastern Districts of California, and the United States Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit. 

Ms. Kwong is a prolific and sought-after trainer. She regularly produces and presents training programs for employers throughout the state of California on current issues of employment law, particularly in the area of government-mandated programs such as the FMLA, FEHA, CFRA, PDL and ADA. Her training programs also include business issues such as wage and hour compliance, and trade secret and non-compete agreements. Ms. Kwong is frequently requested as a speaker throughout the state and regularly presents to various associations. 

Ms. Kwong also writes in her areas of emphasis. Her publications include: 

• "Disability Discrimination Under The California Fair Employment and Housing Act," February 2015.
• “Chipping Away at Restrictive Covenants,” California Minority Counsel Program, July 2010.
• “The California Family Rights Act,” BNA white paper, November 2009.
• “Employee Transfer of Confidential Documents to Home Computer Not a Violation of CFAA,” HR spotlight.com, October 2009.
• “Termination of Employee with Syncope Did Not Violate the Americans with Disabilities Act,” Council on Education in Management’s newsletter, HR Watch, April 2007.
• “Employee’s Complaints About his Medical Condition are Sufficient Notice to Trigger FMLA Leave Entitlement,” Employment Law Update, Council on Education in Management’s newsletter, HR Watch, March 2007.
• “When Residents Misbehave: Employer Liability for Third Party Harassment,” Assisted Living Management Report, March 2007.
• “Navigating the Disability Maze,” Alliance of Schools for Cooperative Insurance Programs’ newsletter, ASCIP Views, December 2006.
• "The First Amendment is Alive and Well in the Public Sector," Public Sector Employment Law Update, August 2006.
• “Sexual Harassment Among Friends? The Latest Developments in Sexual Harassment,” Council on Education Management, July 2006.
• “California Mandates Sexual Harassment Training,” Cooperative Organization for the Development of Employee Selection Procedures, July 2005.

Ms. Kwong also served as an Adjunct Professor at Cal State Northridge and Fremont College, teaching employment law, and previously served on the Transportation Commission for the City of South Pasadena. She currently serves on the Legal Reform Committee at the California Chamber of Commerce and on the Advisory Committee for Fremont College. A former professional musician, Ms. Kwong currently plays for the Los Angeles Doctor’s Symphony Orchestra and accompanies various choral groups.

Education

University of California, Riverside, B.A., 1989

McGeorge School of Law (University of the Pacific), J.D., 1992

Bar Admissions

State Bar of California