Joe Sklar is an employment defense attorney at Grant Shenon Almaraz where he represents employers in workplace litigation matters, with a focus on complex wage-and-hour litigation, including wage and hour class, representative, and PAGA actions, His practice includes both courtroom advocacy and strategic counseling, helping organizations navigate complex compliance challenges before they escalate into costly legal battles. Joe takes a methodical, data-driven approach to risk mitigation, working with clients to establish policies, procedures, and practices to minimize litigation risk and exposure.
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Joe’s litigation experience spans state and federal courts, and administrative forums, including the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, Department of Labor, and the California Civil Rights Department. Outside of litigation, Joe conducts workplace investigations and comprehensive workplace audits, where he examines employee classification and pay structures, and human resources protocols to identify and correct potential areas of exposure before opposing counsel does. Joe’s dual emphasis on litigation defense and compliance allows him to serve as both advocate and strategic advisor.
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Before joining Grant Shenon Almaraz, he practiced at a firm devoted exclusively to employment defense, representing employers across California in complex class and representative wage-and-hour actions. Earlier in his career, Joe represented individuals and companies in state and federal tax controversy litigation, and assisted clients in a broad spectrum of transactional asset protection, trusts and estates, and elder law matters at a boutique law firm in Savannah, Georgia.
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After receiving his Bachelor’s degree from Cal State Long Beach, Joe worked as a legal assistant at a Los Angeles immigration law firm before moving across the country to pursue his Juris Doctor from the University of Georgia School of Law in Athens, Georgia.