Sarju A. Naran
Shareholder, Chair - Employment Law
55 South Market St., Suite 900
San Jose, CA 95113
408-947-2456 | 408-287-2583
sarju.naran@hogefenton.com
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Main Bio
“At the heart of every company are its employees. Employees can be a company’s greatest asset and also its greatest source of legal risk. The risks can be particularly challenging in California, where the cards appear to be stacked against employers and the technical ‘gotchas’ and penalties are abundant. I collaborate with employers to shape their employment practices, help develop and maintain a positive corporate culture, address compliance issues strategically, and navigate through disputes that are often nuanced and emotionally charged.” —Sarju Naran
Background
Sarju Naran is a zealous advocate for his clients, and approaches litigation with creativity and strategy. Chair of the Employment Law Group, Sarju’s experience spans from representing middle-market and family-owned closely held businesses to large multi-national companies. He regularly litigates and provides advice and counsel to companies on:
- Wage and hour issues
- Trade secret misappropriation
- Employee mobility
- Wrongful termination
- Performance management
- Leaves of absence
- Other high risk matters
Sarju appreciates that litigation can be an unwelcome distraction to business operations, and often comes at high financial and intangible cost. As such, Sarju is committed to representing his clients with an eye toward prevention, compliance, mitigation, and efficiency.
Sarju spent his first five years of practice with Hoge Fenton, then was an associate with Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker, LLP in Palo Alto for four years before rejoining Hoge Fenton in May 2010.
Sarju was named a “Northern California Super Lawyer” from 2016-2021. Each year, no more than five percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor. He also received the 2020 Martindale-Hubbell AV® Preeminent Attorney Award and received the Avvo Top Attorney Rating.
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Practice Areas
- Agriculture
- Banking & Mortgage
- Class Action
- Construction
- Employment Law
- Litigation and Dispute Resolution
- Software
- Telecommunications
Education
- J.D., University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, with distinction
- B.A., English and Philosophy, Santa Clara University
Admissions
- California
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Affiliation & Awards
Professional & Community Activities
- San Jose Downtown Association, Board member and Committee chair
- Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), Professional Member
- ProVisors (San Jose 1), Executive Committee Member and Host
- California Minority Council Program, Member
- San Jose/Silicon Valley Community Leadership Program, Alumnus
- Firm Pro Bono Chair
- Rotary Club of San Jose, Member
Awards
Sarju was named a “Northern California Super Lawyer” from 2016-2021. Each year, no more than five percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor. He also received the 2020 Martindale-Hubbell AV® Preeminent Attorney Award and received the Avvo Top Attorney Rating.
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Representative Experience
Representative Matters
- Obtained temporary injunctive relief to prevent a Fortune 100 employer from interfering with a Chief Technical Officer’s new position with another Fortune 100 employer by attempting to enforce an out-of-state non-compete agreement in California
- Settled—through direct negotiations, mediation, and often pre-litigation—dozens of employee claims for alleged overtime violations, exemption misclassification, missed meal and rest break claims, disability discrimination, age discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, and unfair competition
- Advised and counseled an international company through the one and one-half year-long process of closing one of its California plants, including guidance through WARN compliance, and drafting retention agreements, relocation agreements, and separation agreements
- On the eve of trial, successfully resolved a highly contentious lawsuit for nuisance value, where a former employee sued for alleged unpaid commissions and the client employer filed a cross-action for trade secret misappropriation based on documents uncovered through litigation
- Favorably resolved numerous sexual harassment lawsuits based on uncovering damaging and provocative employee information through inexpensive computer forensics and informal investigation of publicly-available social media postings
- Obtained a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction preventing a former sales employee of a franchisee business from unlawfully competing through the use of his former employer’s client lists, pending and completed transaction lists, and other confidential, proprietary, and trade secret information
- On behalf of a prominent national Silicon Valley-based company, conducted HR investigations of complaints lodged against a Vice President for alleged disability discrimination and retaliation
Speaking & Publications
Webinars
- 2022 Annual Employment Law Update, Hoge Fenton, January 11, 2022
- Employers’ Hard Lessons Learned Through Wage & Hour Lawsuits, Hoge Fenton, September 22, 2021
- Reopening California – What Employers Need to Know, Pensionmark Financial Group, July 15, 2021
- Reopening California – What Employers Need to Know, June 16, 2021
- California Employers’ Obligation to Recall Laid-Off Employees First, Hoge Fenton, April 28, 2021
- Hiring: First Impressions Matter…and So Does Not Getting Sued, Hoge Fenton, April 7, 2021
- CA Labor Law Discussion, California MBA, January 12-13, 2020
- 2021 Annual Employment Law Update, Hoge Fenton, December 15, 2020
- Litigation in Reverse, Santa Clara County Employer Advisory Council, October 27, 2020
- Return to work… or Not?, Pensionmark Financial Group, October 8, 2020
- Employee Lawsuits on the Rise: What You Can Do, Hoge Fenton, September 23, 2020
- Best Practices for Managing a Remote Workforce, Hoge Fenton, September 2, 2020
- Reopening California: PPP Forgiveness & Return to Work, The SVO, July 14, 2020
- Reopening California: PPP Forgiveness & Return to Work, Hoge Fenton, June 30, 2020
- Round Table: Schools Returning to the Workplace, Filice Insurance, June 25, 2020
- Returning to Work, Hoge Fenton, May 26, 2020
- Tactics and Traps in Deposing and Defending Business Representatives Under FRCP 30(b)(6) and CCP 2025.230, The SCCBA Real Property, Business Litigation and High Tech Law, May 19, 2020
- Employment Issues, Relating to COVID-19, California Mortgage Banker’s Association, May 7, 2020
- How Manufacturers are Taking Care of Business Amid COVID-19, AMBayArea Virtual CEO Roundtable Discussion, April 30, 2020
- Your COVID-19 Funding & Employment Questions Answered, Hoge Fenton, April. 23, 2020
- The FFCRA and CARES Act Update, Hoge Fenton, April 7, 2020
- Human Resources Compliance – AB5, The Silicon Valley Chapter of the California Association of Business Brokers, March 26, 2020
- COVID-19 Update: New Paid Leave Benefits for Employees, Hoge Fenton, March 20, 2020
- Small Mistakes, Major Consequences…Let’s Hit Rewind, July 27, 2018
- Wage and Hour Law Update, November 15, 2017
- Employment Law 101, November 18, 2016
Publications
- Santa Clara County workers get revised mask rules
- San Jose workers prepare for new mask rules
- Déjà Vu: California Requires COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave…Again
- The Revamp of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act
- Two New California Laws on Employees and COVID-19
- More Changes; Employees or Independent Contractors
- California Adopts New Test for Determining Independent Contractor Classifications
- Local Changes to Minimum Wage Laws Effective July 1, 2017
- Hoge Fenton Legal Update: 2014 Minimum Pay Rates for Exempt Computer Software Professionals and Licensed Physicians
- Fall 2013 Employment Law Seminar
- Protecting Your Company’s Trade Secrets
- Don’t Let “Stray Remarks” in the Workplace Put Your Company At Risk
- Can you quickly put your hands on a critical business record?
Speaking Engagements
Sarju is a frequent speaker, having presented seminars to clients, professional organizations, and trade associations on such topics as wage and hour compliance, overtime exemptions, independent contractor classifications, performance management, leaves of absence, sexual harassment (AB 1825 training), social media and technology in the workplace, document management and retention, trade secret audits and protection, employment terminations, and annual employment law updates. Sarju has also been a panelist on electronic discovery issues for the Santa Clara County Bar Association. For a list of these and other trainings offered by Sarju, please click here.
