Y. Douglas Yang

Y. Douglas Yang is an associate in the Labor and Employment Practice Group in the firm's Los Angeles office.

Areas of Practice

Doug represents employers in high-stakes single-plaintiff and class action controversies before federal and state courts. He has significant experience in litigating cases from the filing of the legal complaint to the rendering of a verdict.

Prior to joining Sheppard Mullin, Doug served as a law clerk to the Honorable Helen Gillmor of the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii. While in law school, Doug served as the Executive Editor of the Boston University Public Interest Law Journal.

Doug is a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Judicial Appointments Committee, Amicus Briefs Committee, and Access to Justice Committee. In addition, Doug serves on the board of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Wisconsin Alumni Association.

Experience

• First chaired wage and hour trial involving allegations of unpaid bonuses brought against restaurant group in Ventura County Superior Court, resulting in favorable defense verdict.
• Second chaired one-week ERISA bench trial, on behalf of security systems company,  involving legal issues of first impression in the Central District of California, resulting in favorable defense verdict.
• Second chaired arbitration involving allegations of race/national origin discrimination, retaliation and harassment, brought against hospital system, resulting in favorable defense award.
• Part of the trial team that litigated one-week arbitration hearing on behalf of medical technology company against former corporate executive who asserted claims of breach of contract, unpaid wages, and defamation, resulting in favorable defense award and further award of counterclaims against the executive.
• Obtained temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against C-suite executives in trade secrets lawsuit filed in the Central District of California, which resulted in the issuance of a Court-ordered permanent injunction against the executives.
• Obtained dismissal of DLSE claim concerning alleged unpaid commissions brought by outside sales commissioned salesperson.
• Successfully compelled individualized arbitration of putative class action plaintiff’s wage-and-hour claims.
• Achieved approximately 98 percent reduction in damages and penalties sought by commissioned salesperson.

Honors

Ones to Watch — Labor and Employment Law, Best Lawyers, 2021, 2022

Articles

Labor and Employment Law Blog

• "Share The Tip Jar: Department of Labor Finalizes Rule Opening Tip Pooling To Back-of-the-House Workers," December 23, 2020

• "With Immunity and Justice For All? Congress Weighs Unparalleled Tort Reform for Businesses in Light of COVID-19 Pandemic," August 10, 2020
• "The California Data Privacy Implications of Using Facial Recognition in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic," May 14, 2020
• "As America Prepares to Return to Work, EEOC Approves Testing Employees for COVID-19," April 24, 2020
• "Back to the Joint Employer: Having Changed the Classification Test for Independent Contractors, Will the California Legislature Target the Joint Employer Test Next?," December 16, 2019 

Speaking Engagements

• "Navigating the New Normal; What Employers Need to Know About COVID-19 in the Workplace," San Diego County Employer Advisory Council Webinar, April 2021
• "Wage and Hour and Leaves of Absence Issues in the Time of COVID-19," Alameda County Employer Advisory Council Webinar, February 2021