Teresa (Teri) Toffer is one of Employment Matters Counseling & Consulting LLP’s Orange County partners. Teri’s practice at EMC2 focuses on helping employers engage in effective employment practices by proactively managing all aspects of the employment relationship. Teri counsels clients on preventative management practices related to hiring and terminating employees; promptly addressing employee misconduct and performance issues; as well as implementing and enforcing comprehensive policies and procedures. Teri also specializes in advising clients on compliance issues pertaining to leaves of absence under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), California’s Family Rights Act (CFRA), and California’s Pregnancy Disability Leave Law (PDL); disability accommodation obligations under state and federal law, wage and hour laws, harassment and discrimination issues. Teri also has experience drafting employment agreements and policies, as well as conducting employment and payroll practices audits. She also regularly provides in-house management training seminars for executives, supervisors, managers, and human resources professionals, including sexual harassment prevention training pursuant to AB 1825.
Teri represents a diverse variety of employers in the biotech, healthcare, hospitality, legal, retail, financial, manufacturing, educational, utility and human resources sectors. She has appeared in state and federal court, as well as before various governmental agencies, including the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Department of Labor Standards Enforcement.
In addition, Teri has extensive experience conducting workplace investigations as an independent investigator on behalf of private employers and litigation counsel. She has conducted workplace investigations involving allegations of harassment, discrimination, retaliation and whistleblower violations, theft, misappropriation, and employee misconduct. Teri is a Charter Member of the Association of Workplace Investigators.
Teri has published several articles in the Orange County Business Journal and given numerous presentations on proactive strategies for managing employee leaves of absence under the FMLA, CFRA and PDL, such as “Untangling the FMLA, ADA and Workers’ Compensation Laws” for the Counsel on Education Management. Teri has also provided customized training on these issues to numerous groups of HR professionals and administrators.
Prior Experience
Prior to joining EMC2, Teri worked for the Orange County office of Fisher & Phillips LLP, one of the oldest and largest firms in the country practicing exclusively labor and employment law. Prior to joining Fisher & Phillips, Teri worked at Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, LLP, where Teri’s practice concentrated on complex, multi-district litigation including class actions, toxic torts, products liability, securities litigation and employment litigation.
Before attending law school, Teri worked as a Consultant for ZS Associates, a global management consulting firm focused on sales force management and marketing issues. At ZS, Teri applied scientific methodology and quantitative analysis towards developing sales and marketing strategies for Fortune 500 companies.
Education
Teri received her law degree from the University California, Davis School of law, and was awarded the American Jurisprudence Award for Tort Law. During law school, Teri clerked for the Honorable Frank C. Damrell of the United States District Court, Eastern District of California. In addition, she served as the Senior Articles Editor for the U.C. Davis Law Review, as well as a teaching assistant for Tort Law and Legal Writing. Teri authored the comment “Beyond the Name of the Game: A Framework for Analyzing Recreational Sports Injury Cases”, which was published in the U.C. Davis Law Review and was recently cited by California Supreme Court Justice Joyce L. Kennard.
Teri received her B.A. cum laude in political science and philosophy from DePauw University in Indiana, where she received the University’s highest distinction award for her senior philosophy thesis.
Publications & Presentations
Teri has published several articles in the Orange County Business Journal, including two articles on California’s Paid Family Leave Law. She has also given numerous presentations on proactive strategies for managing employee leaves of absence under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, California’s Family Rights Act, and California’s Pregnancy Disability Leave Act, as well as other state and federal leave laws. Teri recently presented “Untangling the FMLA, ADA and Workers’ Compensation Laws” for the Counsel on Education Management and has provided customized training on these issues to numerous groups of HR professionals.
Memberships & Affiliations
Teri is admitted to practice in California, and is a member of the State Bar of California. She is a charter member of the Association of Workplace Investigators.
