PHYLLIS W.  CHENG, ESQ .

Summary of Background     

 

• Mediation services on employment, civil rights, class actions, appeals, and other matters.

 

Education

      

• J.D., Law, 1993, Southwestern University School of Law, Los Angeles

• Ph.D., Planning, 1987, University of Southern California, Los Angeles (James Irvine Fellow)

• M.Ed. & Teaching Credential, Education, 1976 & 1975, University of California, Los Angeles

• B.A., Painting|Sculpture|Graphic Arts, 1974, University of California, Los Angeles

 

Honors

​

• 2024, Fellow, The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers

• 2012 Ronald M. George Public Lawyer of the Year, State Bar of California Public Law Section

• Winner, 1993 Annual CLE Essay Contest, American Law Institute‑American Bar Association

• First Place Winner, 1992 Writing Competition, State Bar of California Labor & Employment Law Section

• Winner, 1992 Writing Competition, Workers' Compensation Defense Attorneys' Association

• Best Brief Finalist and Best Oralist Alternate Finalist, 1990 Moot Court, Southwestern University School of Law

• Who's Who among Students in American Universities and Colleges, 1993

• Who's Who in California, 1989, 1997

• James Irvine Fellow, 1976‑80, University of Southern California

• Regents' Graduate Research and Travel Grant, 1976, University of California, Los Angeles

• Phi Delta Kappa, 1975, University of California, Los Angeles

 

Legal Experience

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• Mediator, ADR Services, Inc., 2018-present, Los Angeles

• Mediator, Mediate.Work, 2016-present, Los Angeles

• Partner, 2014-2016, DLA Piper LLP (US), Los Angeles

• Director, 2008-2014, California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, retained by Governor Jerry Brown, and unanimously confirmed by the Senate, Sacramento Area and California Statewide

• Of Counsel, 2007-2008, Littler Mendelson, P.C., Los Angeles

• Senior Appellate Court Attorney, 2003-2007, California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division 7, Los Angeles

• Deputy Attorney General, 1999-2003, California Department of Justice, Attorney General’s Office, Civil Rights Enforcement Section, Los Angeles

• Commissioner & Vice Chair, 1993-1999, California Fair Employment and Housing Commission, appointed and reappointed by Governor Pete Wilson and confirmed by the Senate, San Francisco

• Attorney at Law, 1995‑1999, Solo Practice, Glendale

• Associate, 1993‑1995, Hadsell & Stormer, Inc., Pasadena

• Law Clerk, 1992-93, Evans, Cumming & Malter, Woodland Hills

• Law Clerk, Fall 1992, MCA/Universal Merchandising, Inc., Legal Office, Universal City

• Certified Law Clerk, Summer 1992, Los Angeles County District Attorney’ Office, Glendale

• Law Clerk, Summer 1991, Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office, Criminal Branch, Appellate Section, Los Angeles

• Law Clerk, Summer 1990, California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, Legal Office, Los Angeles 

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Other Professional Experience

 

• Project Director, 1988-89, Comparative Ethnicity Training and Research Project, University of Southern California, Los Angeles

• Project Director, 1987-88, Change Agents, federally funded applied research project, Los Angeles

• Project Director, 1985-86, Project on State Title IX Laws, federally funded applied research project, Los Angeles

• Debate Panelist, 1983-86, KNBC Television, Free-4-All, Burbank

• Commission Founder, Executive Director & Title IX Coordinator, 1978-83, Los Angeles Unified School District, Los Angeles (monitored Title VII consent decree in Irina Szewiola v. Los Angeles Unified School District, Case No. CV 80-3348 WMB (C.D. Ca. 1981)) 

• Visiting Lecturer, 1981, Organizational Theory, Graduate School of Education, UCLA, Los Angeles

• Evaluator, 1977-78, Far West Laboratory for Educational Research & Development, San Francisco

• Resident Consultant, 1977, RAND Corporation, Social Sciences Department, Santa Monica

• U.S. Fellow Consultant, Summer 1976, Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD), International Management and Training of Educational Change (IMTEC), Oslo, Norway

• Research Associate, 1976, Instructional Objectives Exchange, Inc., Los Angeles

• Teaching Assistant, 1975, UCLA Graduate School of Education, Teacher Education Laboratory, Los Angeles 

 

Bar Memberships/Appointments

   

• Bar Membership: State Bar of California, Bar Number 168808, 12/13/93; United States District Court, Central District of California 12/13/93, Eastern District of California 2/22/02, Southern District of California 8/13/03; Northern District of California 8/28/15; United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals 1/12/01

• Certified Mediator: Los Angeles County Bar Association, 1995; ADR Trainer Steven Rosenberg, 2011; ADR Services Mediator Claudia Hagadus Long, 2016; Pepperdine University School of Law Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, 2016; US District Court, Central District of California, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024; ADR Services 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024

• Mediation Panels: ADR Services, Inc., U.S. District Court, Central District of California, Mediation Panel, 2016-present; California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Mediation Program, 2016-present, Sixth Appellate District, 2023-present

• Fellow, The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, 2024-present

• Member, California Employment Lawyers Association, CELA Marketplace, 2024-present

• Convener, Mediation Practice Group, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, 2019-2023

• Association of Attorney-Mediators, 2019-present

• Southern California Mediation Association, 2016-2017

• Certified Arbitrator: State Bar of California Committee on Mandatory Fee Arbitration, Los Angeles County Bar Association Dispute Resolution Services, Inc., and National Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc., 1994-99

• Judge Pro Tem: Los Angeles Municipal Court, 1999

• Settlement Officer: Los Angeles Superior and Municipal Courts, 1998-1999

• Private Counsel Panel (criminal, juvenile delinquency and dependency appeals), California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, 1994-99

​

Published Decisions

​

• Colmenares v. Braemar Country Club, Inc. (2003) 29 Cal.4th 1019, per curiam, rev. den. (2003) [2003 Cal. LEXIS 9882] (definition of “physical disability” under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act is broader than that of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act)

• Fair Employment  & Housing Com. v. Superior Court (Las Brisas Apartment, Ltd. Partnership) (2004) 115 Cal.App.4th 629, rev. den. (2004) [2004 Cal. LEXIS 3508] (30-day statute of limitations period under Government Code section 11523 applies to writ of administrative mandate actions challenging Fair Employment and Housing Commission decisions)

• Kasky v. Nike, Inc. (2002) 27 Cal.4th 939, reh. den. [2002 Cal. LEXIS 5250], writ of cert. dism. Nike, Inc. v. Kasky (2003)123 S. Ct. 2554 (corporation’s allegedly false statements were commercial speech for purposes of constitutional free speech analysis under the California and United States Constitutions)

• Taiheiyo Cement Corp. v. Superior Court (Jeong) (2004) 117 Cal.App.4th 380 (California’s World War II Slave Labor Act, Code of Civil Procedure section 354.6, is unconstitutional because it conflicts with the 1951 Treaty of Peace with Japan)

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Administrative Decisions

 

• Ruled as Commissioner on 78 Fair Employment and Housing Commission per curiam decisions, of which 17 are precedential and citable.  Available on Lexis, Westlaw, and Fair Employment and Housing Commission Precedential Decisions, CEB 1992-93 to 1998-99

 

Legislation Developed and Chaptered

 

• Sen. Bill 1038 (Committee on Budget & Fiscal Review), 2012 Reg. Sess., ch. 46, §§ 18, 27-66, 68, 70, 101 & 115 (budget trailer bill making major refoms on enforcement of California's civil rights law, the Fair Employment and Housing Act)

• Sen. Bill 1252 (Corbett), 2010 Reg. Sess., ch. 524, 2010 Cal. Stat. 1 (statute making technical amendments to the housing provisions under the Fair Employment and Housing Act)

• Assem. Bill 3133 (Roos), 1983 Reg. Sess., ch. 1117, 1983 Cal. Stat. 3, p. 4211 (California's "Title IX" law prohibiting sex discrimination in educational institutions receiving state financial assistance) (Cal. Ed. Code §§ 200 et seq. & 66250 et seq.)

• Sen. Bill 793 (Ed Davis), 1987 Reg. Sess., ch. 118, 1987 Cal. Stat. 1, p. 403 (statute requiring administrative regulations to be issued by the Trustees of the California State Universities, Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, and State Board of Education to implement California's "Title IX" law)

• Assem. Conc. Res. 55 (Roos), 1983 Reg. Sess., res. ch. 53, 1983 Cal. Stat. 4, p. 5426 (resolution memorializing the United States Congress to support federal Title IX guidelines)

 

Administrative Regulations Promulgated 

 

• Fair Employment and Housing Council, Cal. Code Regs., tit. 2, §§ 11003-11141, Register 2013, No. 52 (2013)

• Department of Fair Employment and Housing Procedures, Cal. Code Regs., tit. 2, §§ 10000-10066, Register 2011, No. 36 (2011)

• Fair Employment and Housing Commission Procedures, Cal. Code Regs., tit. 2, former §§ 7400-7467, Register 99, No. 12 (1999)

• Family Care and Medical Leave, Cal. Code Regs., tit. 2, former §§ 7297.0-7297.11, Register 95, No. 44 (1995)

• Pregnancy, Childbirth and Related Conditions, Cal. Code Regs., tit. 2, former §§ 7291.2-7291.16, Register 95, No. 28 (1995)

• Disability Discrimination, Cal. Code Regs., tit. 2, former §§ 7293.5-7294.2, Register 95, No. 29 (1995)

 

Selected Community Service

 

• Member, Equity Review Committee, Chevron Corporation, 2022-present

• Member, Southern California Chinese American Lawyers Association, 2019-present

• Member, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, 2019-present

• Member, Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles, 2022-present

• Member, Board of Directors, California Dispute Resolution Council, 2018-19

• Member, LA Lawyers Philharmonic, Legal Voices, 2016-2018

• Member, Board of Trustees, Southwestern Law School, 2013-2016

• Member/Advisor, State Bar of California Council on Access and Fairness, 2014-17 (Chair, Law School & College Committee, 2015-16)

• Founding Member, State Bar of California, Real Property Law Section, Fair Housing & Public Accommodations Subsection, 2008-14

• Member, State Bar of California Committee of Bar Examiners, 2007-08

• Executive Committee, State Bar of California Labor & Employment Law Section, 2003-2006, Advisor, 2012-15

• Editorial Board, California Labor & Employment Law Review, 2003-2008 (Editor-in-Chief and Co-Editor-in-Chief, 2003-06)

• Executive Committee, State Bar of California Public Law Section, 1999-2003 (Editor, Public Law Journal, 2000-02)

• Commissioner, California Commission on the Status of Women, appointed by Governor George Deukmejian and confirmed by the Senate, 1983-87

• Vice Chair and Member, California Comparable Worth Task Force, appointed by California Commission on the Status of Women, 1984-85

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Publications

 

• Co-Editor, California Fair Housing & Public Accommodations (The Rutter Group California Civil Litigation Series) 2014-present (co-edited with Ann Noel and Susan Saylor).

• Managing Editor, California Labor & Employment Law Review, California Lawyers Association, 2021-2023.

• Attorney Editor, Employment Litigation (The Rutter Group California Practice Guide) 3 Chapters, 2008-2022 (edited by Justice Ming W. Chin (Ret.), Justice Rebecca A. Wiseman (Ret.), Judge Consuelo Maria Callahan, and David A. Lowe).

• Labor and Employment Case Law Alert, California Lawyers Association (formerly State Bar of California) E-Alerts, 2007-present.

• What Would Clara Shortridge Foltz Think? Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journal, April 9, 2024.

• California's Employment Protection Landscape Faces Pending Cases, Los Angeles & San Francisco Daily Journal, January 4, 2024.

• Creativity in Mediation, AAM-A-GRAM, Association of Attorney Mediators, January 2023.

• Women's Wages, Pay Equity, and Data Reporting, California Labor & Employment Law Review, California Lawyers Association Labor and Employment Law Section, July 2022, Vol. 36, No. 4, pp. 1-5.

• Women's Wages and the California Fair Pay Act, Los Angeles & San Francisco Daily Journal, Top Women Lawyers 2022 Supplement, May 18, 2022.

• Title IX at 50, Los Angeles & San Francisco Daily Journal, January 12, 2022, pp. 4-5. Reprinted in Legal Perspectives, California Lawyers Association, Summer 2022, p. 6.

• The Unruh Civil Rights Act at 60, California Labor & Employment Law Review, California Lawyers Association (formerly State Bar of California) Labor and Employment Law Section, November 2019, Vol. 33, No. 6, pp. 1-9.

• Cases Pending before the California Supreme Court, California Labor & Employment Law Review, California Lawyers Association (formerly State Bar of California) Labor and Employment Law Section, regular column, August 2003-present.  Various book reviews.

• Responding to Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: A Roundtable Discussion, The Corporate Counselor, January 2018. Reprinted in Law.com, January 9, 2018.

• Transgender Access in the Workplace, Bender's California Labor & Employment Bulletin, August 1, 2016 (co-authored with Daniel Lac).

• California Fair Pay Act: the Revival of Comparable Worth, Bender's California Labor & Employment Bulletin, Feb. 1, 2016.

• The EEOC Turns 50: A Review of the Nation’s Civil Rights Agency, Bender's California Labor & Employment Bulletin, Vol .2015, No. 10, pp. 321, 323-330.  Reprinted in Bender's Labor & Employment Bulletin (national), November 2015, Vol.  15, No. 11, pp. 370-377.

• Employment Law for 2014 – A Banner Year for Statutory Changes in Labor and Employment Law, 2014 California Litigation Review,  March 2015.

• Animals in the Workplace: New Accommodations for employees with Disabilities, California Labor & Employment Law Review, November 2014 (co-authored with Mallory Sepler-King).

• Assistive Animals in Housing Accommodations, California Real Property Journal, November 2014, Vol. 32, No. 3, 11-14, abstracted in CalVets Newsletter, November 2014 (co-authored with Mallory Sepler-King).

• 2013 Changes at the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, Guest Blogger, Seyfarth, March 14, 2013.

• Clearing Up the Law on Service Animals, Los Angeles & San Francisco Daily Journal, Guest Column, Dec. 3, 2013, p. 5 (co-authored with Mallory Sepler-King).

• Transformative Year for Civil Rights in California, Los Angeles & San Francisco Daily Journal, Guest Column, August 22, 2012, pp. 1, 3.

• DFEH Update: How the DFEH Manages to Soar in the Age of Austerity, Bender’s California Labor & Employment Bulletin, May 2012, pp. 153-157.

• Building a Better Fair Housing Practice in California, Real Property Journal, Vol. 29, No. 4, Dec. 2011, pp. 25-33.

• California’s New Procedural Regulations Will Facilitate Administrative Claims, Los Angeles & San Francisco Daily Journal, Forum, November 9, 2011, p.10 (co-authored with Margaret Gillespie).

• A Phoenix Rises from the Budgetary Ashes, California Labor & Employment Law Review, State Bar of California Labor and Employment Law Section, Vol. 25, No. 2, March 2011, pp. 33, 35.

• Civil Rights Legends and Pioneers Honored at State Bar Annual Meeting, California Labor and Employment Law Review, State Bar of California Labor and Employment Law Section, Vol. 24, No. 1, January 2010, pp. 37-38.

• Through Struggle to the Stars: A History of Fair Housing Law, California Real Property Journal, State Bar of California Real Property Law Section, Vol. 27, No. 4, pp. 3-12.  (co-authored with Ann Noel).

• FEHA History-Makers, California Labor and Employment Law Review, State Bar of California Labor and Employment Law Section, Vol. 23, No. 5, September 2009, pp. 3-4, 22-23.

• Playing House with the Bar, Los Angeles & San Francisco Daily Journal, Forum, February 23, 2009, p. 6.  Reprinted in HRC Bulletin, Winter 2009, pp. 1, 6.

• Summary Judgments Reconsidered: The California Supreme Court Resolves a Conundrum, MCLE Self-Study, California Labor & Employment Law Review, State Bar of California Labor and Employment Law Section, Vol. 20. No. 1, February 2006, 1, 10-12.  Reprinted in California Bar Journal, Nov. 2006, 14, 16.

• Book Review: Employment Practices in the Digital Gaming Industry, California Labor & Employment Law Review, State Bar of California Labor and Employment Law Section, Vol. 20, No. 4, August 2006, 8.

• The Majesty of the Law: Reflections of a Supreme Court Justice, Book Review, California Labor & Employment Law Review, Vol 17., No. 6, December 2003, 19.

• Editor-in-Chief,  Co-Editor-in-Chief, and Editorial Board, California Labor & Employment Law Review, 2003-06 (co-edited with Lois Kosch).

• Editorial Board, Bender's California Labor & Employment Bulletin, 2012-2016.

• Editor, Public Law Journal, 2000-2002.

• Legal Rights of Persons with Disabilities (4th Ed.), Writer, California Attorney General’s Office, Nov. 2003.

• Physical Disability in Employment Accorded Greater Protection under the FEHA than the ADA, Public Law Journal, State Bar of California Public Law Section, Vol. 26, No. 2, Spring 2003, 1, 3-5. 

• Native American Mascots in Public Schools and Colleges: Are They Worth Keeping? Public Law Journal, State Bar of California Public Law Section, Vol. 24, No. 3, Summer 2001, 16-18.

• Public Library Internet Filters: An Attack on Access to Freedom of Information, Public Law Journal, State Bar of California Public Law Section, Vol. 24, No. 2, Spring 2001, 16-17.

• Unlawful Discrimination/Your Rights and Remedies: Civil Rights Handbook (3d Ed.), Editor and Writer, California Attorney General’s Office, July 2001.

• Lawyer Advertising of CLE Accomplishments: Toward an Optimum Level of Professionalism and Consumer Knowledge, The CLE Journal and Register, American Law Institute‑American Bar Association, Committee on Continuing Legal Education, Vol. 39, No. 5, September 1993, 5‑15.

• Recent Developments in Preemption of State and Local Government Action under the Machinists Lodge/Golden State Doctrine, California Labor and Employment Law Quarterly, State Bar of California Labor and Employment Law Section, Vol. 8, No. 10, Fall 1992, 1‑4.

• The New Federalism and Women's Educational Equity, unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Southern California, December 1987. Research funded in part under a grant from the US Department of Education, Women's Educational Equity Act.  Abstracted as a paper presented at the 1988 Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Phoenix, AZ, April 1988.

• California Comparable Worth Task Force Minority Report, report submitted to the Governor and California State Legislature, August 1985 (co-authored with Professor Donald Treiman).

• The Second Wave: Shaping State "Title IX" Laws: The California Case Study, California Women, Issue 2, 1985.

• A Blow to Women's Equality: The Damage Done by Title IX's Death, Los Angeles Herald Examiner, Comment Section, Sunday, March 4, 1984, F-1, F-4.

• Uncle Sam Shouldn't Try to Block Equal Wages for Women, Los Angeles Herald Examiner, Op-Ed Section, February 4, 1984, A-15.

• Handgun Control: The Real Issue is Law and Order, Los Angeles Herald Examiner, Op-Ed Section, October 28, 1983, A-17.

• Equal Pay: L.A.'s School Board Ducks a Tough Issue, Los Angeles Herald Examiner, Op-Ed Section, September 6, 1983, A-17.

• In Chinese Schools: It's Back to the Bourgeois Three R's, Los Angeles Times, Opinion Section, Sunday, May 21, 1978, 2.

​

Presentations    

 

• Made over 500 keynote, panel, webinar, and other multimedia presentations to bar, business, human resources, employer, employee, housing, realtor, apartment, homeowner, condominium association, mediation, civil rights, education, private and public sector groups

 

Foreign Language   

 

• Chinese (Cantonese, Shanghai, Mandarin dialects)