Allison C. Callaghan

Allison Callaghan serves as co-chair of Nossaman's Employment Group and focuses her practice on employment litigation and counseling for public and private employers. She has a proven track record defending employers in high-stakes litigation, including wage-and-hour class and PAGA representative actions and single-plaintiff harassment, discrimination and wrongful termination lawsuits. Allison has successfully represented clients in all phases of litigation, including at trial, as well as in administrative and alternative dispute resolution proceedings.

Allison also regularly provides advice and counsel to employers on a broad array of employment and management issues, including discipline and termination, reasonable accommodation, family and medical leave, paid sick leave, wage and hour compliance, personnel policies and procedures and arbitration, severance and other employment agreements. She also has broad experience conducting workplace investigations and holds the designation of Association of Workplace Investigators Certificate Holder (AWI-CH).

Additionally, Allison has significant experience representing public pension plans in disability retirement proceedings at both the administrative and appellate levels.

Allison has been recognized as a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers and as a “One to Watch” by Best Lawyers in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

Experience

Successfully resolved numerous putative class and representative PAGA lawsuits for employers, including:

• Young v. CEP America-California. Represented group of emergency room physicians in putative statewide class and representative PAGA action for alleged wage and hour violations.
• Ghilotti v. Merced Ambulatory Surgery Center, LLC, et al. Represented ambulatory surgery center against alleged individual discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims and representative PAGA claim for purported wage and hour violations.
• Beals v. Greenberry Industrial. Represented industrial contractor in putative representative PAGA action for alleged wage and hour violations.
• Valikhani v. CEP America-California. Represented group of emergency room physicians in putative statewide representative PAGA action for alleged wage and hour violations.
• Jaimes v. Baker’s Burgers. Represented hospitality client in putative representative PAGA action for alleged wage and hour violations.

Successfully defended employers in broad range of individual disputes, including for claims of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, breach of contract, denial of equal pay, misclassification, and wrongful termination, including:

• Koszka v. California State Assembly. Defended employer in five-week trial involving discrimination, retaliation, and failure to accommodate claims. Nine-person jury returned a unanimous verdict for the public entity employer and the court awarded costs against the plaintiff.
• City of Oakland. Represented City in various employment-related arbitrations and administrative hearings.
• Nielsen v. Seneca Healthcare District. Defended hospital in individual action alleging claims of misclassification, breach of contract, denial of equal pay, discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful termination.
• Finnigan v. California State Assembly. Represented public entity in alleged individual discrimination, harassment, and retaliation action.
• Martinez, et al. v. Biergarten, et al. Defended hospitality client against numerous individual claims of alleged wage and hour violations.
• Salazar v. Populus Financial Group. Defended financial services company in individual action alleging claims of discrimination, failure to accommodate, retaliation, and wrongful termination.

Successfully represented employers in administrative proceedings, including before the California Civil Rights Department (formerly, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing), State Personnel Board, and Labor Commissioner’s Office.  

Advised public and private employers on a broad range of employment law issues, including reasonable accommodation requests, leaves of absence, employee complaints and investigations, discipline and termination, layoffs, diversity and inclusion initiatives, equal pay, workplace safety and wage-and-hour compliance.

Publications

Blog Posts

Speaking Engagements

News

Honors & Recognitions

Included in Best Lawyers: Ones To Watch, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Labor and Employment Law - Employee, Labor and Employment Law - Management, Litigation - Labor and Employment, 2021-2025

Selected to the Super Lawyers, Northern California Rising Stars list, 2020-2023

Achieved the Designation of "AWI-CH" from the Association of Workplace Investigators