Dome Construction & AGC of California Presents a COVID-19 Construction Industry Panel Discussion

Hannah Sweiss is a member of the firm’s COVID-19 Taskforce, a cross-disciplinary team of attorneys dedicated to advising employers on the many workplace law aspects of the global coronavirus pandemic.

Hannah Sweiss represents a broad range of clients, from small businesses to national companies, in a variety of industries including trucking, hospitality, travel, manufacturing, and healthcare. Hannah’s practice is focused on representing and defending employers in class action wage and hour lawsuits as well as representative lawsuits brought under California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). Hannah has been lead counsel on numerous complex wage and hour/PAGA lawsuits achieving great results in cases with less than twenty members to cases with thousands of members.

Hannah has also handled a full range of Labor and Employment matters, from single plaintiff to multi-plaintiff actions with claims including, harassment, discrimination, retaliation and wrongful termination.  Hannah has unique experience with individual matters and audits before the Employment Development Department (EDD), Department of Labor (DOL) and California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE).

Additionally, Hannah advises employers on preventative measures to litigation arising from various issues including wage and hour compliance, workplace safety, employee classification, independent contractor classification, mass layoff strategy, and management training.

Hannah was recognized by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star from 2016-2019 and in 2021. She has also been named Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch (2021). Hannah is active in the legal community at the local and national level. She is the President-elect of the Arab American Lawyers Association of Southern California and is a founding steering committee member of the National Arab American Bar Association in Washington D.C. Hannah also serves on the Board of the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Human Resources Association and is one of five of the organization’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council members.

Hannah has presented on a variety of Labor and Employment topics, including legal updates, various COVID-19 topics, elimination of bias, anti-harassment and many other Employment Law areas. She has also authored and published several subject-matter articles, blogs and legal alerts.

Mr. Melgoza’s practice includes occupational safety and health issues and representation before the California Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board in proceedings alleging safety violations.

Prior to becoming a partner and his work with the Robert D. Peterson Law Corporation, Mr. Melgoza was the presiding administrative law judge of the California Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board. He also served as an administrative law judge of the Appeals Board before becoming the presiding administrative law judge. He has presided over thousands of appeal proceedings, trained and supervised administrative law judges, and led workshops on how to effectively present cases before the Appeals Board. Mr. Melgoza has additional experience as an administrative law judge for the California Public Employment Relations Board and as an attorney for the Agricultural Labor Relations Board and the California Rural Legal Assistance. He served a 5-year term as a member of the Los Angeles City Employee Relations Board, a quasi-adjudicative body administering employment laws that cover Los Angeles city employees.

Mr. Melgoza received his law degree from UCLA in 1979 and was admitted to the California State Bar in 1979. He received his undergraduate degree from Loyola-Marymount University in 1976. He is admitted to practice in all California courts and one Federal Circuit court. He is bilingual (Spanish-English).

Jose Pienknagura’s expertise includes land acquisition, contract negotiation, insurance placement and negotiation, claims, and litigation. He has served as a guest speaker and writer on various construction and insurance topics; he has done so for the likes of ABA, IRMI, and Construction Super Conference. Jose Pienknagura received his BA, MA and JD from Indiana University.