Michele Ballard Miller

Chair, West Coast Labor & Employment

Michele is a widely recognized management-side labor and employment attorney. For more than 30 years, she’s represented businesses in single and multiple plaintiff cases and collective actions. Her clients — who run the gamut from Fortune 50 powerhouses to burgeoning startups — trust her practical business-centered advice and counsel on a wide range of workplace matters.

Michele is a frequent speaker on employment law issues for clients and outside groups, and has been selected for the Northern California Super Lawyers list every year since 2004. She is also consistently named to “Women Leaders in the Law” lists. Prior to joining the firm, Michele was the founding and managing partner of a California labor and employment law firm.

Michele earned her bachelor’s degree from University of Michigan and her law degree from University of California, Hastings College of Law.

News

Best Lawyers Honors More Than 200 Cozen O'Connor Attorneys to its Best Lawyers in America 2024 Edition

August 17, 2023

Best Lawyers selected 232 Cozen O’Connor lawyers from 24 of the firm’s U.S. offices for inclusion in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

California Pay-Disclosure Practices Draw Scrutiny from Regulators

June 19, 2023

Michele Ballard Miller was quoted in SHRM discussing the new pay transparency requirements in California.

COVID Increased Disability, but It Also Showed How to Make Society More Accessible

April 06, 2023

Michele Ballard Miller was quoted in Speech Technology Magazine discussing how the COVID-19 pandemic has potentially caused a significant increase in the number of people with disabilities, including long COVID, which will have ramifications for society and businesses.

Employers are revisiting early-pandemic policies as delta variant surges

August 30, 2021

Michele Ballard Miller spoke with HR Dive about handling the recent COVID-19 surge.

Should ‘Deskless’ and Office Workers Be Treated Differently?

August 19, 2021

Michele Ballard Miller and Ethan Chernin were quoted in SHRM discussing how the recent focus on the return to worksites and hybrid work, employers risk overlooking "deskless" employees who never had the option to work remotely.

Vaccinated workers in California could go maskless under proposed workplace rules

June 11, 2021

Michele Ballard Miller was quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle discussing job setting rules proposed Friday by California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health.

California Courts Grapple With Proposition 22’s Gig Fallout

February 25, 2021

Michele Ballard Miller was quoted in Bloomberg Law discussing Proposition 22.

How Do You Require Customers to Wear Masks Without Endangering Employees?

August 04, 2020

Michele Miller and Bethany Vasquez spoke with SHRM about how businesses that ask customers to wear face masks walk a fine line between complying with mask mandates and putting employees at risk if customers refuse and respond violently.

Judge Halts California Labor Law from Applying to Independent Truckers

January 16, 2020

Michele Miller was quoted in KTLA 5 discussing a new California labor law that was blocked to more than 70,000 independent truckers.

Uber makes major changes to California rides as gig-work law takes effect

January 08, 2020

Michele Miller was quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle discussing the impact AB5 has on companies such as Uber.

West Coast Expansion Continues with the Addition of 13 Labor & Employment Lawyers from Miller Law Group in California

August 01, 2019

Cozen O’Connor is pleased to announce 13 attorneys from California’s Miller Law Group — one of the largest woman-owned employment law firms in the country — have joined its San Francisco and Los Angeles offices.

Publications

Update to California’s New Pay Disclosure Requirements [Alert]

January 05, 2023

Senate Bill 1162 imposes significant new pay scale disclosure requirements on California employers.

COVID-19 FAQs For California Employers

July 01, 2020

Michele Ballard Miller, Walter Stella, Elena Hillman, and Austin Dieter designed an FAQ that California Employers have regarding COVID-19.

Events & Seminars

Upcoming Events

Boilerplate Employment Documents in California: Time to Review and Update to Minimize Risk

April 23, 2024 - Webinar

Ethan Chernin, Elena Hillman, Michele Ballard Miller, and Bethany Vasquez will present "Boilerplate Employment Documents in California: Time to Review and Update to Minimize Risk."

Past Events

Pay Equity: 2023 Update and Trends

May 25, 2023 - Webinar

Pay Equity: 2023 Update

April 20, 2023 - Webinar

ESG in the Workplace

February 01, 2023 - Webinar

Pay Equity: Legislation and Litigation

April 07, 2022 - Webinar

California Employment Law Update

February 23, 2022 - Webinar

COVID-19 Protocols for California Employers

January 11, 2022 - Webinar

The Year in Review for California Employers

December 15, 2021 - Webinar

Employment Litigation Year in Review

December 14, 2021 - Webinar

The Impact of the Pandemic on Woman in Law

September 28, 2021 - Webinar

Startup Essentials Program

March 05, 2021 - Webinar

Addressing Bias In The Virtual Workplace

October 28, 2020 - Webinar

ACC 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting

October 15, 2020 - Webinar

The Year in Review and Looking Ahead to 2020

December 12, 2019 - Webinar

AB5: Is the Gig Up for California Employers?

December 04, 2019 - Webinar

I Don't Like Your Face

November 07, 2019 - Santa Clara, CA

Managing Leaves of Absence

October 24, 2019 - Webinar

Is the Gig up for California employers?

September 27, 2019 - Webinar

Navigating Accommodations for Disabled Workers

September 19, 2019 - Webinar

Education

  • University of California, Hastings College of the Law, J.D., 1982
  • University of Michigan, B.A., 1978

Awards & Honors

Northern California Super Lawyers, 2004 – Present

Northern California Top Lawyer, San Francisco Magazine, 2017

Southern California Top Lawyer, The Los Angeles Times, 2017

California Top Rated Lawyer, 2022

Best Lawyers in America, 2024

The American Registry’s list of America’s Most Honored Professionals, 2017

“Women Leaders in the Law,” The Los Angeles Times,2014

“Women Leaders in the Law,” The San Francisco Chronicle, 2014

Top Labor & Employment Lawyer in California, Daily Journal, 2013

AV Preeminent, Martindale-Hubbell

“Women Leaders in the Law, The Recorder, 2012

  • California

Chair, Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel (FDCC), Employment Practices and Workplace Liability Committee, 2012-2015