EEOC v. Morgan Stanley
My Legal Practice
I represent employees who are challenging systemic discrimination and wage and hour violations. I’m also a member of our government representation practice, where I leverage my prior experience working in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Specifically, I handle discrimination cases that have the potential to affect wide swaths of workers, including cases based on race, national origin and immigration status, disability, age, religion, pregnancy, and sex and gender. I also help my clients challenge wage theft, particularly where companies have misclassified their employees under the law, depriving them of minimum wage, overtime, paid leave, and other important benefits.
My clients have come from all walks of life, including drivers, janitors, members of the military, congressional staffers and senior corporate executives.
Prior to rejoining Outten & Golden, I served as senior counsel to the assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. In this role, I advised Justice Department leaders on a wide range of civil rights investigations, enforcement actions, and policy matters, with a focus on those related to economic justice and discrimination in employment, housing, lending and federal contracting programs.
Notable Matters
- Representing a proposed class of all U.S. military reservists and National Guard members who were employed by the federal government and did not receive differential pay (also known as “top up” pay) when deployed to active duty during a national emergency.
- Representing plaintiffs in a class action challenge to RTX Corporation’s (formerly Raytheon Corporation) hiring practices that allegedly exclude job applicants over the age of 40 from a large number of entry-level positions reserved only for “recent graduates” from college.
- Successfully represented recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and other immigrants in numerous challenges to policies that prohibit lending opportunities on the basis of citizenship status, including against Discover Bank.
Credentials
- B.A., Washington State University, summa cum laude
- J.D., Stanford Law School
- Served as law clerk to the Hon. Fernando M. Olguin, U.S. District Court Judge for the Central District of California.
I’ve dedicated my life to fighting for economic justice and the civil rights of workers. In particular, I enjoy taking on big and complex challenges, where my work can make a real difference in people’s lives.
Mikael Rojas
My Story
My parents, a truck driver and a paraeducator, worked hard to provide me with opportunities that they never had, including the ability to go to college, graduate, and have a professional career in a big city.
For many families, hard work is the building block for a better future. That’s why I believe that an honest day’s work should be respected, and opportunities should never be denied because of what someone looks like, or any other reason other than their merit as a human being.
I’ve been proud to work side by side with my clients, non-profit civil and workers’ rights organizations, labor unions, and government agencies to protect this essential part of the American dream, one case at a time.
