Employment Law - Management Labor Law - Management Litigation - Labor and Employment
Arthur F. "Art" Silbergeld
Recognized in Best Lawyers since 2011 
Firm
Thompson Coburn LLP
121 Best Lawyers awards
Awarded Practice Areas
Biography
Arthur Silbergeld is a partner in Dickstein Shapiro’s Employment Practice. He has defended employers in over 100 trials in federal and state court and arbitrations, including trials of wage class actions, and he is annually identified as one of the top employment litigators in California. Mr. Silbergeld has defended numerous employers in federal and state bench and jury trials in class action and individual claims. Mr. Silbergeld advises major and midsize companies on all aspects of wage and hour, equal opportunity employment, wrongful termination, harassment, disability, labor relations, and occupational safety and health matters as well as drug testing, mergers and acquisitions, workforce reductions and leaves of absence, Sarbanes-Oxley, and trade secrets issues. He frequently conducts trainings for supervisors on personnel compliance, harassment, anti-discrimination and union avoidance issues and has taught courses on federal and California wage and hour and leave of absence laws. Mr. Silbergeld is the class action editor of Bender’s California Labor & Employment Bulletin, a chapter editor for The Developing Labor Law, and recently completed the third edition of Doing Business in California: An Employment Law Handbook. He is a fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, a member of the American Employment Law Council, and is currently on the executive committee of the California Committee South of Human Rights Watch. He is a past trustee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association and past chair of the 1,200-member Labor and Employment Law Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He is also a charter member and past officer of the Association of Workplace Investigators, Inc. Mr. Silbergeld has been a member of the executive committee of the Labor & Employment Law Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association since 1981. In 2011 and 2012, Mr. Silbergeld was named one of the top employment lawyers in California by the Los Angeles Daily Journal and recognized in The Best Lawyers in America. Mr. Silbergeld has been recognized by Super Lawyers each year since 2005.
Firm
Thompson Coburn LLP
121 Best Lawyers awards
Overview
- English
- Temple University, J.D., graduated 1975
- University of Pennsylvania, MA, graduated 1971
- California, The State Bar of California
- American Employment Law Council - Member
- California Committee South of Human Rights Watch - Executive Committee Member
- College of Labor and Employment Lawyers - Fellow
- English
- California, The State Bar of California
- American Employment Law Council - Member
- California Committee South of Human Rights Watch - Executive Committee Member
- College of Labor and Employment Lawyers - Fellow
- Temple University, J.D., graduated 1975
- University of Pennsylvania, MA, graduated 1971
Client Testimonials
Awards & Focus
Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2026 for work in:
- Employment Law - Management
- Labor Law - Management
- Litigation - Labor and Employment
Awards:
- Southern California Super Lawyers
- The Best Lawyers in America
- Los Angeles Daily Journal, Top Labor & Employment Lawyers
- Super Lawyers Corporate Counsel Edition, top attorney in corporate litigation
News & Media
Case History
Cases
- Zalua v. Tempo Research
Defended subsidiary of Fortune 500 company in wage class action seeking retention bonuses to be paid over four years, but which were not due to layoffs following a substantial recession in the industry. After individual claimants won three administrative hearings and one superior court trial, we defended the class action. On appeal of an adverse ruling in a bench trial, we won a court of appeal ruling that the bonuses were never due in the first instance, reversing any liability for damages as well as the trial court’s award to plaintiffs’ counsel of $880,000. When the trial court, on remand, awarded plaintiffs’ counsel catalyst theory fees of $307,000, we appealed. The Court of Appeal reversed that award and, instead, held that our client is entitled to recover all of its fees and costs throughout the eight-year litigation.
- Alvarado v. Aiko Party
Defended retailer in a class action claim alleging misclassification of store managers and assistant managers, failure to pay overtime, and failure to provide meal and rest periods. Successfully opposed certification of meal period class and conducted an eight-day trial resulting in a reduction of the class size by approximately 60 percent.
- Gallo v. Masco Corp.
Defended the subsidiary of a major consumer products company in a class action filed in federal district court by door installers working throughout Southern California. After challenging whether common issues of fact existed among the class members, plaintiffs waived deadline for filing motion to certify the class and filed a separate action for 52 other individuals in California Superior Court. After we successfully removed the state case to the federal district court, 62 individual plaintiffs agreed to a settlement on terms favorable to the defendants.
- Anderson v. Signix, Inc. et. al.
Defended a company that had relied on a background check company’s forms to be compliant with the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act in a class action filed on behalf of more than 17,000 individuals claiming technical noncompliance with the act. We asserted that the company was not liable for the technical errors and successfully persuaded a general liability insurer to support a classwide settlement of all claims on terms favorable to our client. Less than 30 percent of the class responded to the claims forms sent out by a third-party administrator.
- O’Connell v. Supercuts et. al.
Defended franchisor and franchisee in California Superior Court against claims of sexual harassment and national origin, religious, sexual orientation, and gender discrimination brought by a former employee who alleged that, as the only male stylist in the shop, he was subject to religious and ethnic slurs and that his termination for poor performance and violation of policies was a pretext. During a seven-day trial, Mr. Silbergeld established that none of the claims had merit and that the reasons articulated in performance reviews and uncovered in final investigation of misconduct were true. Obtained jury’s 12-0 verdict on all causes of action following one-hour deliberation and court’s subsequent award of costs.
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