Professional Biography
Image of Chelsea Dwyer Petersen

Chelsea Dwyer Petersen Partner

Firmwide Chair, Class Action Defense Practice

  • Seattle

    D +1.206.359.3993

    F +1.206.359.9000

    Seattle

    1201 Third Avenue, Suite 4900

    Seattle, WA 98101-3099

    +1.206.359.3993

    CDPetersen@perkinscoie.com

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Overview

Experience

Employment Class Actions and Collective Actions

Ginsburg, et al. v. Comcast

Defeated class certification in a putative wage-and-hour class action involving an alleged class of call center employees.

Lucke, et al. v. Comcast

Resolved individual claims prior to class certification in the defense of a putative wage-and-hour class action involving an alleged class of service technician employees.

Minter v. OfficeMax and companion case Gonzalez v. OfficeMax

Defeated class certification and obtained summary judgment dismissal of Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims in consolidated cases related to meals and rest periods.

Strange & Morris v. Les Schwab Tire Centers Inc. and EEOC v. Les Schwab Tire Centers Inc.

Defeated class certification of a private putative gender discrimination class action and negotiated favorable consent decree in a consolidated pattern and practice discrimination case brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) involving hiring and promotion.

Adolf v. Les Schwab Tire Centers, Inc.

Defeated class certification and obtained dismissal of a Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claim in a California putative wage-and-hour class action related to meals and rest periods.

Gerard v. Les Schwab Tire Centers, Inc.

Defeated class certification in a putative class case alleging violations of California state wage-and-hour laws related to alleged misclassification of store managers and resulting failure to pay overtime.

Rogers v. Les Schwab Tire Centers, Inc.

Leveraged success in defeating class certification in a related case (Gerard v. Les Schwab) to obtain favorable class-wide settlement in a California wage-and-hour putative class case involving alleged misclassification of assistant managers.

Nouri v. Boeing

Achieved a jury verdict on a disparate treatment claim and a bench verdict on a disparate impact claim in a national origin discrimination class case involving the company’s compensation and retention systems. The verdict was affirmed on appeal.

Solomon Williams, et al. v. The Boeing Company

Obtained a jury trial victory on a disparate treatment claim and positive ruling from the bench on a disparate impact claim in a race discrimination class action.

EEOC v. Wyndham

Secured partial dismissal by summary judgment and negotiated the resolution of five-plaintiff case involving allegations of sexual harassment.

Rosemarie Troy, et al. v. Kehe Food Distributors, Inc.

Negotiated the favorable settlement of a hybrid class/collective action related to classification of employees under Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and state wage laws.

Construction Services Company

Defeated class certification in a wage-and-hour class action involving an alleged class of current and former non-managerial and nonsupervisory employees.

The Boeing Company

Negotiated the favorable settlement of a nationwide wage-and-hour class/collective action related to classification of employees under Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) nationwide and Washington state law.

Restaurant Group

Negotiated favorable settlement in a wage-and-hour class action involving service charge disclosure, minimum wage, and rest break claims.

Labor & Employment

Workplace Harassment Investigations

Conducted internal investigations for multiple clients relating to unlawful employee conduct and sexual assault/harassment allegations.

National Retailer

Negotiated favorable settlements in three separate single-plaintiff matters in which a former employee was accused of sexual assault by three different women.

Single-Plaintiff Litigation and Counseling

Defended discrimination charges filed with the EEOC and state agencies, single-plaintiff litigation, and/or has provided ongoing, long-term counseling for the following clients: General Dynamics Land Systems, Microsoft Corporation, Starbucks Corporation, Chihuly, Inc. and The Boeing Company.

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RELATED INFORMATION

Bar and Court Admissions

  • Washington
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington

Education

  • Seattle University School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 2002
  • University of California, Berkeley, B.A., 1994