Janette Wipper, Sanford Heisler's CA Managing Partner, Takes Top U.S. Department of Labor Position For West Coast

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Sanford Heisler LLP, a leading national public interest law firm, is delighted to announce its California Managing Partner Janette Wipper has been named Regional Director-Pacific Region in the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).  The OFCCP is a civil rights agency at the Department of Labor with a mission to protect workers.  It enforces both non-discrimination and affirmative action requirements of federal contractors and subcontractors.

"Janette has been a major contributor to the success of many of our most important individual and class employment litigations since 2006," said David Sanford, Chairman and Founding Partner of Sanford Heisler.  "She has extensive knowledge and experience in employment law, including expertise with statistical evidence that is second to none.  She will be a tremendous asset to the Department of Labor's oversight in the Pacific Region.  Our loss is a major gain for the OFCCP and the U.S. workers it protects."

In her seven years at Sanford Heisler, Wipper was counsel in many of the high-profile gender discrimination class action victories of the firm, including Bellifemine, et al. v. Sanofi-Aventis U.S., and she played an important role in crafting the Firm's strategy on the statistical experts in Amy Velez, et al., v. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp.  Wipper also served as Lead Counsel in a gender discrimination class action against Publicis Groupe S.A., one of the Big Four global advertising giants, and as Lead Counsel in a range of wage and hour class actions, including cases against Valero Energy Corporation and AT&T.

"As I look forward to enforcing the rights of American workers at the Department of Labor, I cannot help but reflect on all I have accomplished with the incredible team of lawyers at Sanford Heisler," said Wipper.  "I am proud of the lasting changes in workplace practices that resulted from our pursuit of justice for our clients.  The Sanford Heisler team will continue to accomplish great things, and the California office in particular will thrive under the leadership of my close colleague and friend, Felicia Medina.  Felicia is a zealous civil rights advocate who has been instrumental to the firm's success." 

A 1999 graduate of Vermont Law School, Wipper worked at national civil rights organizations before joining Sanford Heisler, including the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and the NAACP.  Wipper's background also includes representation of non-profit organizations as amici curiae in a number of civil rights cases in the U.S. Supreme Court, including Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education and Alexander v. Sandoval.  Prior to attending law school, she worked on behalf of indigenous communities challenging oil contamination in the Ecuadorian and Peruvian Amazon with Accion Ecologica in South America.

"Of course, should Janette ever decide to rejoin private practice," concluded Mr. Sanford, "we would welcome her back with open arms.  There are not enough good things to say about her."

About Sanford Heisler

Sanford Heisler is a public interest law firm with offices in Washington, D.C., New York, and San Francisco that specializes in employment discrimination, wage and hour, qui tam and other civil rights matters.  The firm has extensive experience in complex class action litigation, having successfully represented thousands of individuals in major class action cases in the United States.

Sanford Heisler also represents select individual clients with a particular emphasis on the representation of executives and lawyers in employment disputes and whistleblowers. In May 2010, the firm won the largest jury award in the U.S. in a gender discrimination employment class action when a jury returned a verdict of $253 million in compensatory and punitive damages against Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation.  In 2012, the firm settled a wage and hour case on behalf of sales reps employed by Novartis Pharmaceuticals for $99 million.  For more information, contact Sanford Heisler at (202) 499-5200.

SOURCE Sanford Heisler LLP