About Dawn
Dawn M. Irizarry has substantial experience representing management in all phases of civil litigation involving claims of sexual harassment, unlawful discrimination, hostile work environment, retaliation, wrongful discharge, defamation, failure to accommodate and other employment-related disputes before federal and state courts, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and state civil rights enforcement agencies, as well as through private mediation and binding arbitration. She currently assists clients ranging from mid-sized California business, to large, multi-national corporations.
Irizarry has substantial experience representing employers in the healthcare industry, including hospitals, medical technology companies, physician specialty groups, and urgent care centers. She also has experience representing clients in the retail and gig economy as they face uncertainty in wage and hour and classification laws in the state.
Irizarry has also represented a number of financial institutions before the National Association of Securities Dealers and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. In addition, she regularly counsels employers regarding personnel policies, employee discipline and terminations, employment contracts, pregnancy and other medial leaves of absence, separation agreements, employee benefits issues and internal employee complaints.
In addition, she has significant experience conducting internal investigations that often involve sensitive issues related to allegations of sexual harassment that have arisen prior to and since the #metoo movement. Irizarry counsels employers on the next steps based on the results of the investigation and makes recommendations based on her findings so that companies can mitigate risk and potential exposure. She regularly assists employers with compliance audits and investigations conducted by state and federal agencies.
Irizarry has served as a guest speaker for large and small groups of employers and lectured on updates in employment law, the importance of drafting and maintaining employee handbooks, and how to stop sexual harassment before it begins.
In 2009, Irizarry completed a nine-month secondment as the Senior Employment Law Attorney for BT Americas Inc., a subsidiary of British Telecommunications plc. In that role, she served as in-house counsel to the Fortune 200, multi-billion dollar telecommunications company, undertaking substantive and case-management oversight for all litigation and day-to-day advice and counsel on employment matters in the U.S. and Canada. In addition, she regularly advised the Global Legal Team and Global Human Resources Team on labor and employment issues with international implications.
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