Charmaine L. Huntting

Charmaine Huntting has more than twenty years of experience as an attorney practicing labor and employment law in state and federal courts, and before administrative agencies. She represents and advises labor union members, employees, and public sector and tribal employers in labor and employment law matters.

Charmaine previously served as in-house counsel for a labor union, representing the union itself and its public employee members concerning all matters involving California public sector labor relations law.

Charmaine spent the first three years of her legal career representing Indian tribes and low-income Native American individuals on issues of Federal Indian Law arising in California, including issues concerning the Indian Child Welfare Act, environmental law, and application of Federal labor statutes to tribal labor relations. 

She has also previously represented public and private employers while working as an associate at private labor law firms. Expertise recognized her as one of the Best Employment Lawyers in Los Angeles in 2023.

Charmaine advises and represents clients in litigation involving a variety of employment-related claims, including wrongful termination, workplace discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage and hour, labor union/management disputes, and numerous other types of employment law matters. She regularly consults with human resources professionals to advise on a wide array of matters, including worker classification, personnel policies and procedures, and employee handbooks.  
 

Admissions

• California
• U.S. District Court, Central District of California
• U.S. District Court, Southern District of California

Memberships

• California Lawyers Association, Labor and Employment Law Section
• California Indian Law Association
• American Indian Alumni of UCLA

Community Involvement

• Volunteer Attorney, State Bar of Texas, Disaster and Humanitarian Relief
• Troop Leader, Girl Scouts of Northern California (2013-2017) 
• Parent Lead, Project Cornerstone, YMCA of Silicon Valley (2015-2017) 
   

Representative Experience

• Served as lead counsel in numerous employment matters involving claims of wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, and retaliation filed in state and federal courts and arbitration forums throughout California.
• Negotiated favorable resolutions at pre-litigation, litigation, arbitrations, mediations and through informal settlement discussions for cases ranging from wage and hour actions to single and group-plaintiff cases involving alleged violations of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and other state and federal laws. 
• Prevailed in ten annual arbitrations, representing labor union in agency-fee compliance hearings before AAA arbitrators.
• Secured over $1.3 million in back pay and make-whole damages for transportation workers illegally laid off in contracting-out case against school district employer in hearing and on appeal before the California Public Employment Relations Board.
• Achieved favorable decision before the California Appellate Court, interpreting California Education Code due process notice provisions. Court held employer violated 5-day written notice requirement by delivering notice during the summer when school was not in session and worker was not available; and ordered reinstatement of worker and awarded over $40,000.00 to CSEA and the worker.
• Prevailed in a California Appellate case, clarifying that the California Education Code mandates benefits of classified employee status for substitute workers employed more than 75% of the college year; thereafter negotiated settlements with defendant of over $1 million in damages.

Appellate Cases

• California School Employees Association v. Livingston Union School District (2007) 149 Cal.App.4th 391.
• California School Employees Association v. Governing Board of the South Orange County Community College District (2004) 124 Cal.App.4th 574.
   

Education

J.D., University of California Los Angeles School of Law

• Associate Editor, Chicano-Latino Law Review
• President, Native American Law Student Association

B.A., California State University, Northridge

• President, American Indian Student Association

Honors

• Best Employment Lawyers in Los Angeles, Expertise (2023)
• Exemplary Public Service by a Grant Recipient, National Association for Public Interest Law (1991)