Sahar Shiralian is an associate in the employment and labor group. Sahar represents clients in disputes related to race, age, or sexual orientation discrimination, disability discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful termination in violation of public policy, whistleblower retaliation, and violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and California wage and hour regulations. Sahar has defended and worked with a variety of clients, including Fortune 500 and small businesses, private and public companies, entertainment and corporate clients, hospitality clients, and high-net-worth individuals. Her employment litigation experience includes both single-plaintiff and class action claims, including PAGA lawsuits.
- “The Employment Law Odyssey of AI,” Los Angeles Lawyer February 2024. https://lalawyer.mydigitalpublication.com/los-angeles-lawyer-february-2024/page-26
- “As the Heat Index Rises, Standards for Keeping Employees Cool May Change,” Daily Journal September 2023. https://www.dailyjournal.com/articles/374787-as-the-heat-index-rises-standards-for-keeping-employees-cool-may-also-change
- Los Angeles Lawyer, “How Fares Hospitality in COVID-19?” (2020)
- USC Entertainment Law Spotlight, “Not Just Your Muse: Unmasking Sexual Capitalism in Hollywood” (2018)
- UC Berkeley Comparative Literature Journal, “Arthur Symons and Decadent Lyric” (Fall 2014)
Client Alerts
California Weighs Making Fast Food Franchisors Liable for Employment Law Violations Affecting Employees of Franchises
If signed into law, Assembly Bill 1228 (the “Fast Food Franchisor Responsibility Act”) would add to the Labor Code Section 2810.9, making covered fast food franchisors jointly responsible (with the franchisee) for the franchisee’s violations of specified laws, rules, and regulations. For example, the franchisor would share liability for violations of the state’s Fair Employment and Housing
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Client Alerts
California Compliant: Countdown to California Minimum Wage Increases
On January 1, 2023, California’s statewide minimum wage increased to $15.50/hour for all employers. But starting July 1, 2023, employers in every city and municipality listed below will be required to pay more than the state’s required minimum ($15.50/hour) due to local laws requiring higher hourly rates. Employees in the city of West Hollywood, for example, must be
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Client Alerts
California Compliant: Are California’s Wage Orders About to Be Re-Written?
Many of the specific wage and hour requirements that California employers must follow are set forth in industry-specific “Wage Orders.” The current Wage Orders, which are available at https://www.dir.ca.gov/iwc/wageorderindustries.htm, were drafted more than 20 years ago by the IWC. The IWC, which was created by the Legislature as part of the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR),
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Client Alerts
CALFORNIA COMPLIANT: Top Ten New Year’s Resolutions for California Employers in 2023
California employers may be challenged to fulfill their New Year’s resolutions in 2023, which has brought significant changes in various California labor and employment laws. Some of the most widely applicable new laws that will impact the workplace in 2023 include: Given that California law provides that overtime-exempt employees must receive a salary of at
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In the News
As the Heat Index Rises, Standards for Keeping Employees Cool May Also Change
Written as a column for Daily Journal by MWM’s Kate LaQuay and Sahar Shiralian The dog days of summer are almost over, which is cause for celebration for many Californians. Recent historic heat wave were likely the sizzling inspiration for a new proposed regulation establishing a heat illness standard for indoor work areas. On Aug.
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Client Alerts
California Compliant: Don’t Forget the Freelancers: Los Angeles’ Expanded Protections for Freelance Workers
Who is Covered? Hiring Entities and Freelance Workers The Ordinance applies to “hiring entities,” which are entities regularly engaged in business or commercial activity. Specifically, a hiring entity “owns or operates any trade or business, including a not for profit business, or represents itself as engaging in any trade, or business.” The Ordinance carves out
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In the News
MWM Helps Families Celebrate New Beginnings on National Adoption Day
Munck Wilson Mandala’s Los Angeles-based attorneys Kate LaQuay, Jane Davidson, and Sahar Shiralian partnered with the Alliance for Children’s Rights to launch a pro bono program aimed at facilitating foster care adoption. The team successfully represented three families in finalizing their adoptions on National Adoption Day, which was celebrated on November 18, 2023. The in-person
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Client Alerts
California Compliant: California Trailblazes with Two New Employment Laws Protecting Employees’ Off-Work Use of Cannabis
Assembly Bill 2188 / Prohibition of Employment Discrimination Based on Off-Work Use Until now, California employers have been permitted to reject applicants, or discipline employees, based on their use of marijuana – even if that occurred during non-work hours and away from the workplace. The state Supreme Court confirmed in 2008 that voters’ efforts to
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Client Alerts
California Compliant: The Year in Review – Changes to California’s Employment Laws
1. Expansion of the Entitlement to Paid Sick Leave. Beginning in 2024, California workers will be entitled to take more days of paid sick leave each year. Senate Bill 616 amended Labor Code Sections 245.5 and 246 to increase employees’ minimum rate of accrual of paid sick time to 40 hours, or five days, each
| 5 minute read
University of Southern California Gould School of Law, JD, 2018
American Jurisprudence Awards for Criminal Law and Legal Research and Writing
USC Entertainment Law Spotlight, editor-in-chief
Art Law Society and Entertainment Law Society, founder
University of California Los Angeles, BA, 2013
English and Comparative Language
summa cum laude
Phi Beta Kappa honor society
Humanities Research Journal, editor-in-chief
Undergraduate Law Journal, editor-in-chief
- Southern California Rising Stars, Thompson Reuters 2024
California, 2019