Ian Silvers - Newport Beach, CA

Ian Silvers has a substantial background in employment law and is fervent about protecting and fighting for the rights of employees. He represents employees in an array of cases including discrimination, harassment, retaliation and wage and hour matters. Silvers is a member of Bisnar Chase’s Class Action Litigation Department that handles wage and hour class actions. He also tackles non-class action matters addressing sexual harassment, wrongful termination, retaliation and discrimination. Silvers has successfully briefed, argued, certified, and gained court settlement approval in class actions as well as settlement approval in Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) actions.

A Passion for Helping Employees and Wage Earners

When in law school, he interned at the Katharine and George Alexander Community Law Center, advising low-income employees under the supervision of other attorneys on employment matters, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongfully terminated employees, unemployment, and wage and hour.

It was here, Silvers says, that he got a taste of what it’s like to help “those who were truly not able to help themselves.”

I could see that in employment law matters, some so many employees did not fully know their rights, and as a result they were being taken advantage of by their employers,” he said. “However, these employees are not always able to take action against the employers, often for financial reasons.”

Labor and Class Action Legal Representation

Silvers has also represented employees before the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement on wage and hour matters and obtained favorable decisions for his clients.

He became a member of the California State Bar in December 2006 and is licensed to practice in California state courts and before the United States District Courts for the Central, Northern, and Eastern Districts of California.

Silvers perseveres in his efforts to assist those who cannot afford legal representation by volunteering advisory services. He received the Wiley W. Manuel Award for Pro Bono Legal Service in 2009.

Before joining Bisnar Chase, Silvers worked at a Long Beach employment law firm, where he regularly dealt with wage and hour matters, including employee class actions and Private Attorneys General Act matters.

Mr. Silvers has been able to reach significant settlements, including multiple seven-figure class action settlements for both small and large classes of employees.

Since joining Bisnar Chase, Ian has become a key part of the firm’s class action litigation and employment law departments. He handles various claims, including wage and hour, and takes pride in protecting employees.

In July 2020, Ian settled a wage-and-hour class action against a defendant employer for $8,750,000 in California Superior Court and subsequently obtained final approval from the court. As a result, the employment class action got final approval from the court.

The claims included unpaid minimum wages, overtime, meal and rest break violations, and other claims for false wage statements and penalties for paying wages late.

In July 2021, Ian settled a wage-and-hour class and PAGA action against a defendant employer for $4,880,000 in California superior court. The certified employment class action involved claims for unpaid minimum wages, meal-and-rest break violations, and derivative claims for inaccurate wage statements and penalties for the late payment of wages due.

The court overseeing the matter has preliminary approved the class settlement and appointed Ian as co-lead class counsel.

Published Appellate Success in Employment Law

Ian recently won an appellate victory when he affirmed a trial court’s denial of a motion to dismiss or stay an employment case. The employer sought to enforce a forum selection clause and have the case heard in Ohio instead of California.

Ian opposed it based on California Labor Code Section 925, which makes certain forum selection clauses voidable (those in a contract entered into, modified, or extended on or after January 1, 2017).

This was the first Appellate Court decision to address what modified means in terms of Section 925. The Appellate Court upheld the trial court’s decision in a public opinion.

They also said that “modification” means any change to the contract, not just a change to a forum selection clause. They rejected claims that this would make the law illegally apply to the past and would be against the Contracts Clause in both the U.S. and California Constitutions.

See Midwest Motor Supply Co. v. Superior Court of Contra Costa Cty., No. A160096, 2020 WL 6305492, at *1 (Cal. Ct. App. Oct. 28, 2020).

The Appellate Court also affirmed the intent of the statute to provide California employees with a forum in California to litigate employment-related claims if the terms of their employment changed after January 1, 2017.

Ian is optimistic that this will help ensure that such forum selection clauses in California are no longer used, as the statute intended.

What Trial Attorney Ian Silvers Values Most

Silvers says that his case successes for the employees whom he has helped over the years count among his greatest accomplishments.

“It’s not just about helping them stand up for themselves against their employers, but also to help them understand how they can move on and get some sort of closure,” he said.

“These cases are not just about money. Often times, employees get fixated on what happened to them, and it not only affects their future employment but also their relationships with others.”

When he represents these individuals whose lives have been deeply impacted, Silvers says that he makes a point of looking to the future on their behalf and helping them figure out how to get past the situation. He gets tremendous satisfaction when he sees the difference he has made for an individual employee.

“Employers may win, lose, or settle a lawsuit, and it will not really change their business or how they conduct themselves,” Silvers said. “However, each time I receive appreciation from an employee who sees that I believed in him or her and fought on his or her behalf to help right injustice and wrongdoing, I’m reminded about why I love this area of law.

Pride in Being a Bisnar Chase Team Member

Silvers says he has been impressed with Bisnar Chase’s commitment to helping and giving back to the community – calling that a rare quality.

“Many law firms pay attention to only their cases and the business, but Bisnar Chase regularly focuses on what it can do to help the community – whether it is donating some essentials such as backpacks, knitting items, etc., or contributing to a variety of charities not only financially but also with their time,” he said.

Silvers grew up in the Los Angeles area. He lives in Orange County with his wife, Jennifer, a teacher in Anaheim and their two children, Lucas and Makenna. When Silvers is not fighting for employees’ rights, he enjoys spending time with his family, watching sports, especially football and basketball, and traveling.