Bruce D. May
Bruce D. May is a founding partner of Stuart Kane LLP, and practices in the Employment group.
Mr. May has represented employers for 38 years. Since 1979, he has devoted his practice exclusively to advising and defending companies of all sizes in every aspect of employment litigation and employment counseling. His expertise spans the entire spectrum of employment law from recruitment and hiring to termination and post-employment misconduct, and everything in between.
Mr. May provides expert counseling to management on day-to-day personnel issues, with an emphasis on minimizing the risk of employee lawsuits while protecting the employer’s right to manage the workplace. But he is also a highly effective trial lawyer who defends employers in everything from small wage claims before the Labor Commissioner to multi-million class action lawsuits in state and federal court.
This dual role as counselor and litigator has enabled Mr. May to master the best strategies for dealing with the toughest personnel issues. Knowing how a workplace dispute will play out at trial provides powerful insights in how to prevent that dispute from getting to court in the first place.
Employment Counseling
Mr. May’s expertise in counseling employers includes every aspect of the employment relationship, from before the employee is recruited and hired to after the employee leaves the company and starts competing. Here is a partial list of the subject matters that he has mastered:
- Recruiting practices and background checks
- Immigration compliance
- Overtime exemptions and wage and hour compliance
- Drafting offer letters, employment contracts, and bonus and commission plans
- Creating employee handbooks and personnel policy manuals
- Leaves of absenceAccommodation of disabilities
- Workplace safetyUnionism and collective bargaining
- Unlawful harassment, discrimination, and retaliation complaints
- Employee discipline and termination
- Layoffs and reorganizations
- Negotiating and drafting severance agreements
- Return of company property
- Post-employment competition, trade secrets, and non-competes
Employment Litigation
Mr. May also has nearly 35 years of experience representing employers in litigation and at trial in State and federal court in both individual and class action lawsuits. His expertise includes all of the following types of claims:
- Employment discrimination, harassment, and retaliationWrongful termination and “whistleblower” claims
- Overtime, meal and rest period, and other wage and hour claims
- Commission and incentive compensation claims
- Accommodation of the disabled
- Occupational safety and health
- Unfair competition and trade secrets
Public Speaking
Mr. May is also a highly effective public speaker and educator. He has developed an enlightening and entertaining workshop for management called Unlawful Harassment 101 which satisfies the requirements for anti-harassment training in California and which he has presented to hundreds of companies and trade groups over the years. He is also a regular speaker before the National Human Resources Association, OC Tech Alliance (formerly TechAmerica and the American Electronics Association), and numerous networking groups including Vistage and Trusted Advisors.
Pro Bono Work
Throughout his career, Mr. May has also devoted significant time to charitable and pro bono causes. Since 2010, he has served as President of the Board of Directors of Providence Speech and Hearing Center, a leading non-profit speech and hearing clinic based in Orange County.
Mr. May also provides free legal representation to a variety of charitable and religious organizations, including:
- The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange
- The Discovery Science Center
- The AIDS Services Foundation of Orange County
- THINK Together
Newport Beach, California 92660