Stephen P. Sonnenberg, Esq. is a highly-regarded Neutral who possesses extensive experience in understanding and resolving complex labor and employment disputes. As a New York- and California-based ADR practitioner whose career path includes his past experience as a licensed psychotherapist, he is uniquely qualified to understand the concerns of both plaintiffs and defendants and to guide the parties toward a fair, efficient and just resolution of disputes. He has resolved numerous labor and employment matters on both the East Coast and in California, including a variety of matters within the media and entertainment industry, and is a member of the JAMS Title IX panel which aids in the resolution of sex-based allegations of discrimination and harassment in schools and other educational programs.

In addition to mediating a wide variety of discrimination, harassment and retaliation actions, Mr. Sonnenberg has mediated numerous Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and state law wage and hour collective and class actions. These have included state-specific, multi-state and nationwide claims involving employees and companies in the technology, media and entertainment, financial services, restaurant, retail, real estate, hospitality, health care and transportation industries, among others. When mediating a putative or certified collective or class action matter, Mr. Sonnenberg not only draws on his prior experience mediating complex class claims, but also his earlier practice litigating wage and hour matters in both California and New York.

Mr. Sonnenberg practiced labor and employment law at the highest levels for twenty-five years at Paul Hastings, a prominent AMLAW 100 firm and achieved a prestigious ranking from Chambers USA within the Labor & Employment band. His leadership roles at the firm included a term as Chair of the New York Employment Law Practice (2014-2017), Vice Chair of the Employment Law Department (International) (2003-2014) and Co-Chair of the Employment Law Department’s national wage and hour law practice (2005-2014). He was resident for an equal amount of time in Paul Hastings’ Los Angeles and New York offices, where he represented and advised clients in a wide range of employment disputes, including multi-state class and collective actions. 

Before practicing law, Mr. Sonnenberg devoted himself to a fifteen-year career as a licensed psychotherapist in California and Michigan. He worked in diverse psychiatric settings and community organizations, assisting individuals in a wide range of disputes with family members, employers and other third parties. The settings in which he worked included psychiatric hospitals, a community mental health center, and the private practice of psychotherapy working with individuals, couples, and families.

As a member of the New York, California and District of Columbia bars who has also resolved disputes nationwide, Mr. Sonnenberg has mediated numerous matters not only at JAMS, but as a member of the Mediation Panels of the United States District Courts for both the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. He has taught employment law to members of the federal judiciary at New York University through the Federal Judicial Center, has provided employment law training and advice in a variety of settings, and was an adjunct faculty member at Cardozo Law School.

Mr. Sonnenberg is known for his attention to detail, his thoughtful approach to emotionally-laden disputes, and a calm demeanor that is conducive to the settlement of the most contentious of disputes. As an experienced ADR professional and former psychotherapist, he combines a panoply of legal skills with a honed understanding of human psychology to help guide deeply entrenched parties to resolution.

ADR Experience and Qualifications

Mr. Sonnenberg possesses significant experience in a wide range of Labor & Employment law matters, including:

• Discrimination Claims – including age, Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), gender, pregnancy, caregiver status, race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, past criminal convictions, disability, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and hostile work environment claims
• Disciplinary Actions – including advice regarding disciplinary decisions affecting high-level executive personnel subject to internal audit committee investigations, regulatory enforcement, and white-collar criminal investigations
• Entertainment and Media Industry Related Claims – including claims ranging from disputes over executive employment contracts to allegations of sexual harassment
• Employment Agreements – including breach of contract, wrongful termination, and restrictive covenants
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) – claims involving the EEOC and/or state agencies such as the New York State Division of Human Rights
• Executive Compensation – including disputes relating to bonuses, commissions, stock grants, severance payments, and equity valuation
• Pay Equity Claims – including claims against television production companies, financial services companies, Silicon Valley tech companies, and academic institutions
• Psychiatric and Trauma-Based Claims – including claims grounded on psychiatric disabilities and on emotional trauma (e.g., posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)) arising from alleged workplace harassment and discrimination, as well as claims dependent on expert testimony by psychiatrists and other mental health professionals, and testimony by treating therapists
• Retaliation Claims – including claims under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Dodd-Frank Act and other federal and state laws such as Title VII, the New York State and New York City Human Rights Laws, the New York Labor Law, and California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act and Labor Code
• Sexual Abuse and Sexual Assault – including assault, battery, New York State Adult Survivor Act and New York State Child Victims Act claims
• Wage and Hour: Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) – collective actions including exemptions, unlawful deductions, and state wage and hour law disputes involving class actions and individual employees. Technical violations such as regular rate of pay calculations and pay frequency under the FLSA and various state wage and hour laws
• Wage and Hour: New York City Fair Workweek Law, New York Labor Law and FLSA: Putative class actions seeking to recover unpaid penalties and premium payments under the New York City Fair Workweek Law and liquidated damages under Section 191 of the New York Labor Law, as well as unpaid wages and penalties under other provisions of the FLSA and New York Labor Law 
• Wage and Hour: New York, California, and Multistate Claims – including litigation and counseling under New York laws and California laws (including California’s Private Attorney General Act (PAGA), California’s Labor Code, and California’s Unfair Competition Law), multistate wage and hour collective and class actions alleging misclassification of workers under “white-collar” exemptions, misclassification of categories of workers as independent contractors, failure to pay non-exempt workers for time worked before and after their shifts (“off-the-clock”), and frequency of pay claims

Representative Matters

• Employment Law
Discrimination
Race, Religion and National Origin Discrimination

• Mediated alleged race discrimination and harassment claims of former and current employees against west coast ride sharing company 
• Mediated dispute against major airline involving allegations that airline refused to accommodate claimant’s request for time off to observe Jewish holidays 
• Mediated alleged claims of race discrimination and harassment against Parisian house of haute couture 
• Mediated claims of employee allegedly subjected to racially offensive messages and pictures and who was allegedly terminated when he complained of the same 
• Mediated claims of restaurant employee who alleged, in part, that she was not scheduled to work certain shifts because of her race, color and gender 
• Mediated dispute between attorney and multinational financial services firm involving allegations that employee was underpaid, subjected to  hostile work environment, and terminated due to his race  
• Mediated dispute, after investigations conducted by the NYS Division of Human Rights and the EEOC, involving allegation of race discrimination and retaliation against global public relations firm 
• Mediated claims against high-profile fashion designer involving, among others, allegations of discriminatory treatment based on claimants’  religion and national origin, and intentional infliction of emotional distress
Disability and Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Discrimination

• Mediated lawsuit brought by EEOC against hospitality industry employer for failure to accommodate a customer service employee 
• Mediated disability discrimination and retaliation claims by claimant with visual and spinal disability against financial sciences hedge fund 
• Mediated allegations that bakery engaged in employment discrimination and retaliation based on claimant’s familial status and son’s disability
• Mediated disability and retaliation claims of dyslexic employee against major American film company 
• Mediated claims of hospital psychologist involving allegations of disability discrimination and failure to undertake reasonable accommodations
• Mediated mental-health-related disability discrimination and reasonable accommodation claims, among others, against bar association
• Mediated FMLA, harassment, and retaliation claims involving healthcare services firm and terminated employee who suffered from medical condition
• Mediated alleged discrimination and retaliation claims against Big Four accounting firm by senior manager diagnosed with sickle cell anemia
• Mediated disputes involving disability discrimination and retaliation allegations against New York City hospitals
• Mediated disability discrimination and harassment claims, including COVID-19-related claims, against luxury carpet company
• Mediated claims that business improvement district wrongfully terminated claimant out on short-term surgical leave while awaiting receipt of fitness-for-duty letter demanded by employer
Gender, Pregnancy Discrimination and Pay Equity

• Mediated claims against west coast cloud communications company by terminated salesperson allegedly assigned to poorly-performing territory on her return from a pregnancy-related leave
• Mediated alleged violations of the Equal Pay Act, the New York State Pay Equity Law, and state and city human rights laws, as well as retaliation claim, against securities firm by claimant who filed an EEOC charge 
• Mediated gender discrimination and retaliation claims alleged against architectural firm by fifteen-year employee
• Mediated gender and race discrimination, as well as harassment and hostile work environment claims, alleged against global financial services company by employee terminated after twenty-plus-year banking career
• Mediated claims of discriminatory conduct based on sex, pregnancy, perceived disability, and age against major banking firm
• Mediated pregnancy and ADA disability discrimination claims alleged against global personal care conglomerate
• Mediated disability and wrongful termination claims of pilot against private aviation company after pilot attempted to return to work following treatment for cancer
• Mediated dispute between in-house attorney and large non-profit health insurer involving allegations of unfair treatment and termination after attorney disclosed she was pregnant
• Mediated claims that advertising agency allegedly discriminated against employee based on her gender and caregiver status as a mother of a young child
• Mediated C-suite executive’s claims that large financial services firm allegedly discriminated and retaliated against him based on his gender and national origin
• Mediated dispute against interior design company involving allegations that employee was subjected to pregnancy discrimination and retaliation
• Mediated claims of gender discrimination, hostile work environment, sexual harassment, and retaliation alleged by former high-level legal and human relations employee against insurance company
• Mediated allegations that boarding school discriminated against claimants because of their marital status and their reporting of alleged public safety issues
• Mediated breach of contract and fiduciary duties, violations of confidentiality and disparagement clauses, and violations of the Equal Pay Act claims alleged by female C-suite executive against consulting firm
Age Discrimination

• Mediated dispute by high-level executive against west coast multinational entertainment and media company involving allegations of age discrimination
• Mediated age, religion, and national origin discrimination claims of employee of west coast multinational technology conglomerate allegedly subjected to hostility from supervisors and colleagues and exposure to a workplace culture that promoted youth and “wokeism”
• Mediated dispute, including potential class-based claim, involving age discrimination alleged against international auditing and financial services firm
• Mediated dispute involving allegations of age-based termination of financial analyst who claimed that his responsibilities were delegated to far younger and inexperienced employee
• Mediated EEOC ADEA claims against major transportation company involving allegations that it discriminated against job applicants in their early fifties or older
• Mediated dispute involving allegations of sixty-eight-year-old male that investment management firm terminated him due to his age and in retaliation for lodging discrimination complaints
• Mediated age, sexual discrimination, and retaliation claims of female who alleged her employer took away a significant portion of her responsibilities
• Mediated claims against cable service provider involving allegations of age discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in violation of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination
• Mediated dispute involving allegations of age and marital status discrimination against large collateral brokering-pawn business
Sexual Orientation and Expression 

• Mediated claims of race, sexual orientation and national origin discrimination, and sexual harassment and defamation against former major television personality
• Mediated claims of racial and sexual orientation discrimination and harassment against global asset management company
• Mediated claims of sexual orientation discrimination, harassment, hostile work environment, and retaliation against risk management/insurance brokerage firm
• Mediated claims of perceived sexual orientation, gender, and disability discrimination against discount variety store chain
• Mediated claims of gender identity and expression, sex discrimination, and constructive discharge involving allegations that tenured faculty member was allegedly banned from college activities after revealing that they were transgender 
Criminal Convictions

• Mediated dispute by putative class of individuals with histories of criminal convictions against online grocery company for alleged violations of New York Fair Chance Act, the NYS Human Rights Law and Article 23-A of the NYS Corrections Law; claimants further alleged that respondent’s actions had disparate impact on Black and Hispanic job applicants
• FLSA/PAGA/New York Labor Law and Other State Wage and Hour Claims
• Mediated dispute involving allegations of claimant and similarly situated individuals that link management platform violated provisions of the FLSA and California’s wage laws including California’s Unfair Competition Law and Private Attorney General Act (PAGA)
• Mediated frequency of pay claims under New York Labor Law Section 191 against a variety of employers
• Mediated claims under New York’s Fair Workweek Law brought against fast food employers
• Mediated class and/or collective wage and hour actions against numerous entities including those in the tourist, restaurant, financial services, property management, multifamily development, laboratory, information technology, home health, group homes for the developmentally disabled, customer contact outsourcing, transportation, and cleaning service industries involving alleged violations of the FLSA and/or New York Labor Law, California Labor Code, and other statutes relating to, among others, overtime wages, rate of pay notices, meal periods, off-the-clock work, service charges/administrative fees on private events, time shaving, tip misappropriation, nonproductive timekeeping codes and related payroll practices, and other allegedly unlawful actions 
• Mediated disputes against entities including those in the educational, municipal public works, construction, restaurant, food market, hotel, telemedicine, credit counseling, residential cooperative, and moving and storage sectors involving allegations relating to unlawful minimum wage, overtime, prevailing wages, supplemental benefits, wage notice, wage statement, time shaving, and other alleged practices in violation of the FLSA, the New York Labor Law, the New York Wage Theft Prevention Act and other statutes
• Mediated FLSA claims against consulting firm that allegedly misclassified certain staff members as independent contractors and failed to correctly compensate employees for overtime
• Sexual Assault, Sexual Harassment and Retaliation, and Title IX
• Mediated dispute involving allegations that music conservatory violated provisions of the New York Adult Survivor Act, Title IX and provisions of other human rights statutes  
• Mediated former employee’s claims of sexual harassment and civil claims of assault and battery against casino and coworker 
• Mediated claims of gender and disability discrimination, sexual harassment, quid pro quo sexual harassment, failure to provide reasonable accommodation, and hostile work environment and retaliation, among others, against blood donation company 
• Mediated dispute involving allegation that former supervisor of public housing agency forced claimant to engage in sexual acts 
• Mediated former camper’s claims of negligent supervision and sexual abuse by employee of prestigious private school  
• Mediated claims against major east coast medical center involving allegations of sexual harassment, gender discrimination, retaliation, and the infliction of emotion distress by medical center supervisor 
• Mediated allegations that residential treatment program employee sexually abused male resident (resulting in employee’s birth of a child), and caused emotional distress to the resident 
• Mediated dispute involving allegations of sexual harassment, assault, battery, and hostile work environment against employer who regularly made inappropriate sexual statements to and grabbed claimant’s private parts
• Mediated sexual harassment, constructive discharge, and retaliation claims against car dealership by employee who allegedly complained and suffered mental health difficulties as a result 
• Mediated claims of former massage therapist who alleged that spa failed to investigate her complaints or take appropriate action against customers who sexually harassed her 
• Mediated hostile work environment and retaliation claims alleged against investment management services firm relating to an overseas company outing 
• Mediated sexual harassment and retaliation claims alleged by claimant against media group 
• Mediated claims of sexual harassment, along with FLSA and New York Labor Law violations, alleged by male restaurant employee 
• Mediated dispute involving employee’s allegations that she received negative performance review and was terminated after she complained about being slapped on the buttocks by medical facility’s supervisor 
• Mediated sexual assault, harassment, hostile work environment and defamation allegations lodged against global investment banking firm 
• Mediated age and disability discrimination and retaliation lawsuit by member of faculty at private liberal arts college arising from denial of tenure and promotion 
• Whistleblower Claims and Wrongful Termination
• Mediated Sarbanes-Oxley Act, California Labor Code and California common law claims alleged against multinational financial services conglomerate
• Mediated whistleblowing claims, among others, of terminated C-suite executive of foreign shipping and exporting company whose actions were allegedly protected by anti-retaliation provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
• Mediated whistleblowing claims against sports group involving allegations of wrongful termination and intentional infliction of emotional distress
• Mediated discrimination, defamation, and whistleblowing claims against global information technology firm which allegedly involved, in part, the firm’s financial accounting practices
• Mediated claims of constructive discharge and retaliation by employees protesting allegedly unlawful privacy practices of major financial services firm
• Mediated Section 1981, NYC Human Rights Law and the NY Labor Law allegations by employee who alleged that multinational construction  company terminated her in retaliation for filing of an EEOC charge
• Executive Compensation and Breach of Employment Contract
• Mediated claims against west coast ridesharing company arising from alleged breach of driver license agreements
• Mediated claims of wrongfully withheld deferred compensation and wrongful termination against securities industry financial institutions
• Mediated dispute regarding alleged performance fees and vacation pay owed to employee of real estate agency
• Mediated claims against television station involving allegations that claimant was fraudulently induced into leaving former employment
• Mediated dispute between multinational information technology company and sales manager who alleged he was owed additional compensation
• Mediated dispute against broker clearing firm for allegedly cancelling equity awards provided to employee as a bonus
• Civil Rights
• Mediated disputes involving allegations that websites of certain entities, including multinational auction house, major financial services firm, museum, and online meat purveyor, violated rights of individuals protected by Title III of the ADA by failing to comply with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0), the NYS and NYC Human Rights Laws, and/or other statutes
• Mediated matter involving allegations that boarding school failed to accommodate student’s request to live on campus with service dog
• Mediated disability discrimination claims against major metropolitan hospital involving alleged violations of NYS Human Rights Law

Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities

Activities

• Fellow, College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, 2013 – present
• Licensed Clinical Social Worker (California; inactive status)
• Member, New York University Center for Labor and Employment Law Advisory Board, 2014 – present 
• The Best Lawyers in America, 2006 – 2024 
• Previously ranked in Chambers USA, New York, Labor & Employment
• Rated “AV Preeminent” by Martindale-Hubbell®
• Member, Mediation Panel, United States District Court, Eastern District of New York 

• JDSupra.com, The Surge in Workplace Disputes Under Disability Discrimination Laws: Good News or Bad News? (October 15, 2021)
• JAMS ADR Insights, Mediating Emotional Employment Law Disputes During COVID-19 (August 10, 2021)
• The American Lawyer, Psychological Issues in the Workplace (November 1, 2020)
• Survey of Selected Mental Distress Awards Within the Second Circuit, Practising Law Institute, Litigation and Administrative Practice Series, Number H-1093 (April 2018)
• The New York Law Journal, Mediating Highly Emotional Workplace Disputes (March 19, 2018)
• Cutting-Edge Employment Law Issues 2016: The California Difference, Practising Law Institute, What Makes Lawyers Tick?  Competence Issues for California Employment Lawyers
• The New York Law Journal, Mental Stability at Work: An Assessment (June 12, 2015)
• The New York Law Journal, Representative Evidence in Wage and Hour Class Litigation (October 24, 2014)
• The New York Law Journal, Workplace Violence; Employee Rights, Employer Recourse (October 21, 2013)
• Managing Wage & Hour Risks 2011, Practising Law Institute, Class Certification and Related Discovery and Investigations
• The New York Law Journal, Reasonable Accommodation, Undue Hardship: a Delicate Balance  (December 8, 2011)
• The New York Law Journal, Litigating Multi-District Employment Actions After ‘Dukes’ (November 14, 2011)
• The New York Law Journal, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (March 29, 2010)
• Los Angeles Daily Journal, Employee Genetic Information, Now Protected (November 2009)
• The New York Law Journal, Wage and Hour Actions Continue to Surge (February 17, 2009)
• The New York Law Journal, Settling High Stakes Wage, Hour Litigation Via CAFA (April 11, 2007)

Presentations

• Panelist: Practising Law Institute, Workplace Leave and Accommodation Fundamentals in 2024 (March 3, 2024, New York)
• Program Chair: Practising Law Institute, Psychological Issues in the Workplace 2023 (October 2023, New York)
• Program Chair: Practising Law Institute, Psychological Issues In The California Workplace 2023 (May 2023, San Francisco)
• Panelist: Center for Labor and Employment Law and the NYU School of Law, Effective Employment Law Arbitration & Mediation (March 2022, New York)
• Panelist: Practising Law Institute, Understanding Employment Law 2022 (March 2022, New York)
• Moderator: New York State Bar Association, 2022 Annual Meeting & Virtual Conference (January 2022, New York)
• Program Chair: Practising Law Institute, Psychological Issues In the Workplace 2021 (October 2021, New York)
• Panelist: Beverly Hills Bar Association and New York County Lawyers Association, Mediation Ethics and Practice: East vs West, New York and California (July 2021)
• Panelist: Practising Law Institute, Arbitration of Employment Discrimination Claims (June 2021, New York)
• Panelist: Practising Law Institute, Understanding Employment Law 2021 -- Workplace Leave and Accommodation Fundamentals (March 2021, New York)
• Program Chair: Practising Law Institute’s program, Psychological Issues In the Workplace 2020 (October 2020, New York)
• Panelist: Practising Law Institute, Understanding Employment Law 2020 -- Workplace Leave and Accommodation Fundamentals (March 2020, New York)
• Program Chair:  Practising Law Institute’s program, Psychological Issues In the Workplace 2019 (April 2019, New York)
• Faculty at the 22^nd Annual NYU Workshop on Employment Law for Federal Judges, Medical and Scientific Issues in the Workplace (March 2019)
• Panelist:  Mediation Impasse-Breaking Techniques, New York State Bar Association, Dispute Resolution Section Fall Meeting (October 2018, New York)
• Panelist:  Managing Risk and Creating Safe Workplaces, New York State Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section (October 2018, Montreal)
• Panelist:  National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA), NELA Nite: Mediation Alternatives in NYC (June 2018)
• Moderator:  NYU School of Law - Center for Labor and Employment Law program, 71st Annual Conference on Labor and Employment Law (June 2018)
• Program Chair:  Practising Law Institute’s program, Psychological Issues In the Workplace 2018 (April 2018, New York)
• Faculty at the 21st Annual NYU Workshop on Employment Law for Federal Judges, Medical Issues in the Workplace (March 2018)
• Practising Law Institute:  Panel member at Employment Law Institute 2017 – Workplace Violence (October 2017, New York)
• Program Chair:  Practising Law Institute’s program, Psychological Issues In the Workplace 2017 (May 2017, New York)
• New York State Bar Association, Alternative Dispute Resolution Section Committee; Emotions in Mediation (April 2017)
• Faculty at the 20th Annual NYU Workshop on Employment Law for Federal Judges, Implicit Bias (March 2017)
• Practising Law Institute:  Speaker on attorney competence issues at Cutting Edge Employment Law Issues – the California Difference (October 2016, San Francisco)
• U.S. District Court, Eastern District New York, Fair Labor Standards Act training for mediators (September 2016)
• Faculty at the 19th Annual NYU Workshop on Employment Law for Federal Judges, Evidence Issues / Use of Experts (March 2016)
• Program Chair:  Practising Law Institute’s programs, Psychological Issues In Employment Law 2016 (March 2016, New York), Psychological Issues In Employment Law 2015 (March 2015, New York), and Psychological Issues In Employment Law 2014 (March 2015, New York)
• National Employment Lawyers Association (New York), Psychological Issues In Employment Law (October 2015)
• Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Understanding Whistleblowers and Retaliation Claims (October 2015, New York)
• Faculty at the 18th Annual NYU Workshop on Employment Law for Federal Judges, Evidence Issues / Use of Experts (March 2015)
• New York University 67th Annual Conference on Labor:  Title VII of the Civil Rights Act After 50 Years; The Use of Psychological Experts (June 2014, New York)
• Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, Minnesota Bar Association:  Plenary session speaker, Recent Developments Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (April 2014, Minneapolis)
• Practising Law Institute:  Panel member at Employment Law Institute 2014, Employment Law Institute 2013 and Employment Law Institute 2012 (New York)
• American Conference Institute:  Speaker at National Forum on Wage & Hour Claims and Class Actions (May 2013, May 2012, May 2011, May 2010, and May 2009, New York)
• Practising Law Institute:  Speaker at Managing Wage  and Hour Risks 2012 (New York), Managing Wage and Hour Risks 2011 (New York), and Managing Wage and Hour Risks 2010 (New York)

Background and Education

• Paul Hastings, LLP, 1993 – 2017 
• Clinical Social Worker (psychotherapist), Ann Arbor, MI; Los Angeles, CA, 1977-1992
• Bar Admissions: New York, California, District of Columbia
• J.D., University of Southern California, Gould School of Law, 1992
• M.S.W., University of Michigan, 1977
• B.A., Binghamton University, 1974