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
Silvers graduated from the University of California, San Diego, in June 2003 with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics. He obtained his law degree from Santa Clara University School of Law in May 2006. Silvers was a member of the Phi Delta Phi International Legal Honors Fraternity.
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, 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, there were so many employees who 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 & Class Action
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 class actions and Private Attorneys General Act matters. He 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 department. He handles a wide range of 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. The employment class action involved claims for unpaid minimum wages, unpaid overtime, meal-and-rest break violations, and derivative claims for inaccurate wage statements and penalties for the late payment of wages due, and subsequently obtained final approval from the court.
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 preliminarily approved the class settlement and appointed Ian co-lead class counsel.