Namal M. Tantula

Namal Tantula is special counsel in the Labor and Employment Practice Group in the firm's Los Angeles office.

Areas of Practice

Namal’s practice involves representing employers in all aspects of labor and employment counseling and litigation, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage and hour, wrongful termination, employment contracts, ADA cases, and contract disputes.

Experience

Representative Experience

• On behalf of a large West Coast limousine company, won a motion to compel arbitration and decertify a class, reducing client's potential damages significantly from approximately $5 million to $2,000, which resulted in the published opinion Iskanian v. CLS Transportation (2014) 59 Cal. 4th 348
• Successfully defeated certification of a class of 150,000 potential plaintiffs, saving the client over $600 million in damages
• Gained a significant victory by defeating class certification, and saving millions in damages, on behalf of a large beverage company
• Obtained summary judgment in favor of a national transportation company in an age discrimination suit which resulted in the published opinion Reeves v. MV Transportation, Inc. (2010) 186 Cal.App.4th 666
• Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a national telecommunications company sued by a former employee claiming race discrimination and wrongful termination
• Settled a case favorably on behalf of one of the nation’s largest pharmaceutical companies in a wage and hour and sexual orientation discrimination action
• Settled a case favorably on behalf of a national manufacturer in which a former employee claimed age discrimination and wrongful termination after a department layoff
• Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a national corporation accused of disability discrimination and harassment

Honors

Recipient of the Sri Lanka Foundation’s “Outstanding Performance by a Young Professional Award” (2014)

Articles

• “Wheelchair Access: Court Struggles With Prerequisite For Class Actions,” Daily Journal, March 22, 2011

Labor and Employment Law Blog Posts

• "Upcoming Deadline for California Employers to Report Employee Pay and Hours Worked Data to the DFEH," February 11, 2021
• "California Expands Family and Medical Leave Entitlements," September 23, 2020
• "California to Potentially Expand Family and Medical Leave Entitlements," September 2, 2020
• "Priority Hiring Required for Laid Off Workers of Covered Employers in Los Angeles," May 7, 2020
• "Congress Considers Limiting Pre-dispute Arbitration Agreements in the Employment Context," March 17, 2017

• "Ramirez v. Dependable Highway Express: The Reasonable Accommodation of an Employee’s Family," May 10, 2016

Media Mentions

Speaking Engagements

• “New Policies And Practices,” Futureland Montessori School Inc., 2013
• “Legal Update And Best Practices Potpourri,” Professionals In Human Resources, 2011

Memberships

Board Member, Professionals in Human Resources

Member, South Asian Bar Association

Board Member, Futureland Montessori School Inc.

Board Member, Montessori Academy of North Hollywood, Inc.