Steven G. Zieff
Retired Partner
“My law practice has been based on the conviction that we should be using the law to seek justice for workers and to send a message to corporate boardrooms across the country.”
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Steve Zieff is a Retired Partner with the law firm of Rudy, Exelrod, Zieff & Lowe, LLP, where he has practiced from 1986 to 2023. After spending his formative years as a public interest lawyer, he first associated with Mark Rudy in 1986, and later they co-founded the partnership in 1989. Steve established the firm’s wage and hour practice and has been instrumental in pioneering the prosecution of wage and hour class actions in state and federal courts. He has served as lead counsel in numerous wage and hour class actions, achieving multimillion dollar resolutions in numerous cases. Steve first developed the use of the wage and hour class action to enforce the right to overtime pay when he filed and successfully prosecuted Breaux v. Agency Rent-A-Car in the early 1990s, which was the first case to enforce California overtime laws by the use of the class action device. In 2001, Steve obtained the largest overtime judgment in United States legal history in the landmark case Bell v. Farmers Insurance Exchange. In the Bell case, he represented over 2400 employees, eventually recovering over $200 million. Steve’s work directly led to what became one of the hottest and most prolific areas of employment law – wage and hour class actions.
Besides handling wage and hour cases, Steve also regularly represented individuals in discrimination and wrongful discharge matters. He frequently handled cases relating to severance and termination of employment, as well as matters involving sexual harassment and discrimination claims.
Steve has authored articles on a variety of employment and litigation related subjects, and has lectured on employment matters at meetings, conferences and MCLE programs sponsored by the Rutter Group – California Judge’s Association, the California Employment Lawyers Association, San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association, the National Employment Lawyers Association, the American Trial Lawyers Association, the American Bar Association, the California State Bar, and California Continuing Education of the Bar. He has been honored by having been named as a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Law, an honorary society. Mr. Zieff is a recipient of the California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (“CLAY”), was named as one of the “Top 100” Most Influential Lawyers in California by the Daily Journal in 2002, and has been frequently listed in the Top 100 Lawyers in Northern California. Mr. Zieff has consistently been listed in the Best Lawyers in America and as a Superlawyer. In 2015, Mr. Zieff was honored by being named Best Lawyers’ “Lawyer of the Year” in San Francisco for San Francisco Litigation – Labor and Employment. Steve also spends a great deal of time on pro bono matters, including memberships on several public interest boards and writing position pieces for the National Employment Lawyers Association advocating for the rights of American workers.
- Bell v. Farmers Insurance Exchange (2004) 115 Cal.App.4th 715, prior history at (2001) 87 Cal.App.4th 805
- Jury verdict on July 10, 2001 for over $90 million in damages phase of overtime class action against Farmers Insurance Exchange brought on behalf of personal lines claims adjusters, eventually resulting in payments of over $200 million.
- Farmers MDL
- Lead counsel in nationwide class and collective action under federal and state laws brought on behalf of approximately 2800 claims adjusters working in states across the country, originally resulting in judgments totaling over $52 million which were reversed on appeal and eventually settled for $8 million.
- Giannetto v. Computer Science Corporation, Case No. CV 03-8201 (C.D. Cal.).
- $24 million settlement in overtime class action brought on behalf of computer maintenance workers with co-counsel.
- Breaux v. Agency Rent-A-Car, Case No. C92 2717 WHO
- Following successful class action trial determining that officers, managers and assistant office managers were entitled to overtime pay; case settled for in excess of $8 million.
- Kerr v. Snap-On, Inc.,American Arbitration Association No. 74-160-1032-97, also known as Kerr v. Snap-on Tools Company, Case No. CV758116 in the Santa Clara Superior Court.
- Class arbitration prosecuted on behalf of employees seeking unreimbursed expenses under California Labor Code Sec. 2802 resulted in a settlement of $8.4 million.
- Addvensky v. Corporate Express Delivery Systems, Inc., Case No. 720794 (San Diego County Superior Court).
- $9.75 million settlement on behalf of same-day delivery drivers, who had raised claims for failure to pay minimum wage, failure to pay overtime and failure to reimburse necessary business expenses.
- Zuckman, et al. v. Allied Group, Inc., et al., Case No. 02-5800 SI (United States District Court, Northern District of California)
- This was a wage and hour overtime misclassification case brought on behalf of a class of insurance claims representatives. A settlement class was certified and the matter settled for $8,000,000.
- Gerlach v. Wells Fargo & Co., Civil No. 05-CV-00585-CW (N.D. Cal.)
- This was a case involving class claims on behalf of employees who were misclassified as exempt from overtime pay requirements under the FLSA and California and law thus, deprived of the benefits of the overtime pay protections mandated by certain state and/or federal laws. The Gerlach court gave final approval to a $12,800,000 class action settlement.
- Giannetto v. Computer Sciences Corporation, Case No. CV 03-8201 (C.D. Cal.).
- This case was filed on behalf of a class of technical support workers with the primary duties of installing and/or maintaining computer software and hardware for CSC contending that they were improperly classified as exempt from the payment of overtime compensation in violation of the FLSA and/or the state laws of California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, and Washington. A settlement class was certified and the matter settled for $24,000,000.
- Zuckman, et al. v. Allied Group, Inc., et al., Case No. 02-5800 SI (United States District Court, Northern District of California)
- This wage and hour overtime misclassification case brought on behalf of a class of insurance claims representatives. A settlement class was certified and the matter settled for $8,000,000.
- Rosenburg v. International Business Machines Corp., Case No. CV 06-00430 PJH (N.D. Cal.).
- This case was filed on behalf of a class of computer technical workers with the primary duty of installing, maintaining or supporting computer software or hardware for IBM alleging that class members were improperly classified as exempt from the payment of overtime compensation and unlawfully denied overtime pay for all overtime hours they worked in violation of the FLSA and the laws of multiple states, including California. A settlement class was certified and the matter settled for $65 million.
- Hoenemier v. Sun Microsystems, Case No. 106CV-071531 in the Santa Clara Superior Court.
- This case was brought on behalf of technical writers for unpaid overtime due under California law. That case settled in 2010 for $5,000,000.
- Sabatino v. Weight Watchers, Case No. 09-4926 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
- This case was brought claims for unpaid wages and violations of the California Labor Code on behalf of persons working as receptionists and leaders in California. The United States District Court Judge gave final approval to the settlement of that case for $6,200,000.
- Stephens v. Coldwell Banker Commercial Group (1988) 199 Cal.App.3d 1394
- Appellate court upheld the jury’s punitive damage award to an employee who was discriminated against on the basis of his age.
- Keyhea v. Rushen (1986) 178 Cal.App.3d 526
- Injunction affirmed by court of appeal that vindicated state prisoners’ right to be free from forced drugging without first being afforded specific procedural protections.
Professional Associations and Memberships
- National Employment Lawyers Association
- College of Labor and Employment Attorneys, Fellow
Pro Bono Activities
- Legal Aid Society – Employment Law Center, Board Member and Member of the Executive Committee
- East Bay Community Law Center, Board Member
- Thelton Henderson Center for Social Justice-Advisory Council Member
- Best Lawyers in America, 2006 – 2020
- Northern California Super Lawyers List, 2004 – 2023
- California Lawyers of the Year (CLAY) Award, 2002
- Named to the Hundred Most Influential Lawyers in California by the Daily Journal in 2002
- Best Lawyers 2015 San Francisco Litigation – Labor and Employment “Lawyer of the Year”
- University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley Law, Berkeley, California -J.D. – 1978
- Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island- A.B. – 1974, Honors: With Honors, Major: Public Policy Making