Kelly L. Hensley

Kelly L. Hensley is a partner in the Labor and Employment Practice Group in the firm's Los Angeles office and is a co-chair of the Labor Practice Group.  Ms. Hensley specializes in labor and employment counseling and wage and hour matters.

Areas of Practice

Employment Counseling.  Ms. Hensley regularly counsels employers in all aspects of California and federal employment law, including employee hiring and discipline procedures, unfair competition matters, worker classification issues, leaves of absence, wage and hour law, and employee severance and termination strategies.  Ms. Hensley has substantial expertise drafting all types of employment agreements and policies, including employee handbooks, independent contractor agreements, confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements, sexual harassment policies, email and  internet usage policies, and employment-related forms.

Ms. Hensley advocates a proactive approach, counseling employers to evaluate their employment practices to minimize liability exposure. Her client-focused counsel is tailored to serve the long term goals of each client.

Training and Investigations.  Ms. Hensley frequently conducts training lectures and seminars on general human resources issues.  She also assists with sexual harassment and other employment related investigations, and implements effective employee discipline or exit strategies in response to those investigations. 

Employment Litigation.  In addition to her counseling practice, Ms. Hensley regularly represents clients in wage-hour class actions and matters before administrative agencies. 

She also heads up the Wage and Hour Class Action Team at Sheppard Mullin.

Education

• J.D., Loyola Law School, 1988
• B.A., University of California, Santa Barbara, 1985

Admissions

• California

Memberships

• Member, Labor Law Section, Los Angeles County Bar Association

Articles

• An Employer's To Do List: A guide to keeping up with California's workplace laws, June 1, 2004
• Labor Commission Rescinds Letter Addressing New Exemption Standards, July 10, 2001

Labor & Employment Law Blog Articles

• "California's Computer-Related Exemption Is Modified", November 9, 2007

Newsletters

• She is a co-author of the California Labor and Employment Alert Newsletter, which is published bi-monthly. 

Speeches

• Ms. Hensley has lectured throughout California on a variety of topics including wage and hour law, discrimination issues, wrongful termination and sexual harassment.

Events

• Critical Employment Law Issues to Consider In a Turbulent Economy, June 12, 2008, For HR Practitioners and General Counsel