Curt Surls to speak at the Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA) September 2018 workshop “Workplace Investigations"

The Law Office of Curt Surls announced today that Mr. Surls has been asked by the Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA) to speak in September on a panel regarding “Workplace Investigations: What Works and What Doesn't.” The panel will be comprised of experienced workplace investigators.  Attorneys Ann Fromholz (defense) and Curt Surls (plaintiff) will discuss the best practices for conducting a workplace investigation. On the panel will also be Ann Kotlarski (arbitrator & mediator). The materials and discussion they provide will be practical pointers on a wide variety of related topics including:

Tips for representing your client during a workplace investigation
Deposing the investigator
Mistakes made by employers during an investigation
The impact of the current #MeToo climate upon investigations

Curt Surls is an attorney in the areas of Employment Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, and Wrongful Termination with nearly 30 years of experience focusing almost exclusively on this area of law.

Mr. Surls stated “I am grateful for the opportunity to share my experience of almost 30 years and to join such distinguished panelists. Internal workplace investigations are an important risk management tool for employers when there are allegations such as harassment. I am truly looking forward to this workshop.” He then explains in more detail: “A few years ago in the case of Crawford v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, 555 U.S. 271 (2009), the Supreme Court reminded employers of their duty ‘to ferret out and put a stop to any discriminatory activities’ in the workplace. It instructs employers ‘to adopt and strengthen procedures for investigating, preventing, and correcting discriminatory conduct.’”

The Law Office of Curt Surls provides the personalized assistance and effective support his clients need when facing any of the following legal challenges:
Employment discrimination
Sexual harassment
Wrongful termination
Workplace investigations
Age discrimination
Disability discrimination
Other labor and employment law issues

Mr. Surls received his B.A. from the University of Iowa and his J.D. from Loyola Law School (Los Angeles) in 1988. in 1988, Mr. Surls was admitted to the California Bar.  Mr. Surls began his legal career with the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, initially as a law clerk and later as a staff.

Mr. Surls is involved in a number of organizations such as the Executive Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association Labor and Employment Section and served as Section Chair in 2015-2016. He also was Chair of the Section’s 2012 Labor and Employment Law Symposium. He has also served on the Fair Judicial Election Practices Committee and the Judicial Election Evaluation Committee and served as Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Disability Rights Legal Center (www.disabilityrightslegalcenter.org) from 2008 to 2010.

Prior to opening the Law Office of Curt Surls in July 2012, he was a partner with Bornn & Surls for over 15 years. Mr. Surls was also an attorney with the Oakland, California civil rights firm then known as Saperstein, Seligman & Mayeda, specializing in employment and civil rights class actions. Mr. Surls also worked for the State of California as counsel to the Director of the Department of Industrial Relations.