Rick Hicks

I attended the University of Idaho from 1962 through 1966 on an NROTC scholarship. Upon graduation, I was commissioned an Ensign in the United States Navy. I served from 1966 through 1970. During that period, I was promoted to a Lieutenant. On my discharge in 1970, I was serving with SEAL Team ONE after my deployment to Vietnam as a member of an underwater demolition team.

After my discharge in 1970, I enrolled in University of California, Hastings School of Law. I was admitted to practice in the State of California in 1974.

I practiced law for 17 years, and in 1991 began practicing with my wife and law partner, Eugenia Hicks, representing employees in cases involving racial discrimination, sexual harassment, disability discrimination, hostile work environment, whistleblower claims, wrongful termination, wage and hour violations, and many other employment law violations.

I have appeared in administrative proceedings before the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Department of Labor Standards Enforcement and the Employment Development Department.

I am duly licensed to practice before all of the courts of the State of California, the United States District Court, Central District of California, and the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC).

As an attorney duly licensed to practice before the CAVC, I have represented veterans in requesting an impartial judicial review of administrative decisions by the Board of Veterans' Appeals that are adverse to the veteran–appellant's claim of entitlement to benefits for service–connected disabilities, survivor benefits and other benefits such as education payments and waiver of indebtedness.

Having obtained a Certificate from the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution from Pepperdine University School of Law, I am equipped with a full range of negotiation and mediation skills which have helped me obtain outstanding settlement results for my clients.

I am a member of the California Employment Lawyers Association (“CELA”) and the Los Angeles Employment Lawyers Association (“LEFTJAW”).

Recent cases include:

• an African–American sales clerk in a racial harassment and retaliation claim against a major department store;
• a yard supervisor in a sexual orientation harassment/retaliation claim against a trucking company;
• a female executive in a sexual harassment/retaliation claim against a labor union;
• an injured truck driver who was denied reasonable accommodation for his injury and was then demoted and terminated;
• wage & hour violations on behalf of on–site property managers against property management company;
• a customer service representative in a national origin harassment case against a luxury retailer;
• a factory worker in a whistleblower claim who was terminated after complaining about contaminated food products;
• a long–term employee terminated from working at a printing press company after suffering a work–related injury;
• multiple African–American auto salesmen in a race discrimination/retaliation case against a luxury automobile dealership in Southern California;
• a number of low–wage earners in wage & hour claims involving misclassification, failure to pay overtime and failure to pay meal breaks and rest breaks;
• a Caucasian female harassed and terminated after management discovered she was married to an African–American;
• a customer service representative who was terminated because she refused to have sex with the Regional Manager of a large multinational corporation.