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Ian B. Wieland

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Practice Areas

  • Labor Relations
  • Employment Law
  • Employment Discrimination
  • Wrongful Termination
  • Harassment
  • Wage and Hour Law
  • Business Litigation
  • Unfair Competition
  • Trade Secret
  • Breach of Contract
  • Class Action Defense

Biography

Ian Wieland is a founding shareholder of Sagaser, Watkins & Wieland PC and currently serves as the firm’s managing shareholder.  

Mr. Wieland represents private and public sector employers in all aspects of labor relations and employment law matters, including employment discrimination, wrongful termination, harassment, retaliation, labor relations, union matters, class and representative actions, administrative agencies, and wage and hour. He regularly counsels employers regarding human resources policy matters and employee relations issues.

Mr. Wieland has extensive experience with class action and PAGA representative lawsuits, particularly those involving claims for unpaid overtime, off-the-clock work, record keeping violations, misclassification, meal & rest periods, inaccurate wage statements, and unreimbursed expenses. He has defended over five hundred (500) class action, FLSA, and/or PAGA representative lawsuits in various industries, including agriculture, growers, packing houses, farm labor contractors, trucking/transportation, manufacturing, food processing, health care industry, hospitals, restaurant, retail, storage services, sales, property management, and temporary staffing. Mr. Wieland has defeated numerous attempts to bring class action and PAGA lawsuits against his clients and has advised clients on the implementation of practices to prevent future class and PAGA lawsuits from occurring in the future.

Mr. Wieland also represents employers in all types of employment litigation matters, including wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wage & hour in all California state and federal courts. Mr. Wieland also aggressively litigates complex employment cases in private arbitrations and mediations and has represented clients before numerous state and federal administrative agencies such as the DFEH, EEOC, ALRB, NLRB, and Cal-OSHA. He has additionally defended dozens of employers before the California Labor Commissioner and the Department of Labor regarding wage audits, wage citation appeals, and hearings. Mr. Wieland also provides advice and counsel to employers regarding proactive policies and practices to avoid claims and liability.

In addition to his employment litigation practice, Mr. Wieland represents private sector clients with business litigation matters, including unfair competition, trade secret, and breach of contract. In total, he has represented clients in thousands of various types of litigation matters.

Prior to practicing law, Mr. Wieland worked with several California State Assembly and U.S. House of Representatives members where he gained a unique understanding of the legislative process, strategic planning, outreach, and analysis. Further, he managed campaigns for several local elected officials and spent two years as a member consultant with the California State Assembly Speaker's Office of Member Services. He also worked as the Program Coordinator for the Kenneth L. Maddy Institute at California State University, Fresno. Mr. Wieland was selected as a member of the 40 under 40 class of 2013 by Business Street Online. 

As a result of his experiences in the political world, when necessary, Mr. Wieland also provides public relations, crisis management, and legislative consulting guidance to clients.

Ian was born and raised in Madera, California and currently lives in Fresno, California. He is married to Allie and they have two young boys.

Education

  • San Joaquin College of Law, Fresno, California
    • Juris Doctor
  • California State University, Fresno
    • B.A., Bachelor of Arts
    • Honors: magna cum laude
    • Honors: Member, Smittcamp Honors College, CSU, Fresno
    • Honors: Awarded a Full-Ride Honors Scholarship
    • Honors: Maddy Institute Scholar Intern
    • Major: Political Science
    • Major: History

Bar Admission

  • California
  • U.S. District Court Eastern District of California
  • U.S. District Court Northern District of California
  • U.S. District Court Central District of California
  • U.S. District Court Southern District of California
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit
  • Supreme Court of California

Professional Associations

  • Fresno County Bar Association, Board of Directors -> Fresno County Bar Association, Board of Directors (2020 – 2022)
  • Fresno Chamber of Commerce, Board of Directors Member, Chair (2020), Executive Committee -> Fresno Chamber of Commerce, Board of Directors Member, Chair (2020), Executive Committee Member (2017 – 2021), Board of Directors (2015 – 2022)
  • American Bar Association, Labor and Employment Section, Member
  • State Bar of California, Employment Law Section, Member
  • Fresno County Young Lawyers
  • Central California Society for Human Resource Management (“SHRM”)
  • Fresno Leading Young Professionals (“FLYP”)
  • Madera County Farm Bureau, Business Member
  • The Maddy Institute of Public Affairs Board of Directors Member, Maddy Associate Member
  • Central California Employment Round Table (CCERT), Board Member
  • Business Associates Board Member, Craig School of Business, California State University - Fresno, 2016 - 2022
  • The Fresno Business Council, Executive Committee Board Member, 2019 to Present
  • Fresno Chamber of Commerce, Political Action Committee (Chair 2021, 2022), (Member, 2017 - Present)
  • Fresno State Alumni Association, Board Member, 2021 to Present

Current Employment Position

  • Partner

Honors

  • Selected as a member of the 40 under 40 class of 2013 by Business Street Online
  • 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 Northern California Rising Star by Super Lawyers
  • 2022 Northern California Super Lawyers

Past Positions

  • California State Assembly Speaker’s Office of Member Services, Member Consultant
  • Kenneth L. Maddy Institute at California State University, Program Coordinator