The OBBBA and the Modern Workplace: Tax and Employment Implications for Employer

Michael focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions, transactional tax planning, and business tax matters. He advises buyers, sellers, founders, and closely held businesses on the tax aspects of mergers, acquisitions, restructurings, entity formation, and other strategic transactions.

In addition to his transactional practice, Michael represents businesses and individuals in complex federal and state tax controversy matters before the Internal Revenue Service, California Franchise Tax Board, California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, and other taxing authorities, including examinations, appeals, collection matters, and voluntary disclosure programs.

Michael is also an Adjunct Professor at Chapman University Fowler School of Law. He is actively involved in the American Bar Association Section of Taxation and the California Lawyers Association Taxation Section. Michael is also a co-host of the ABA Section of Taxation’s People in Tax podcast.

Luiza Manuelian is a Labor & Employment Lawyer based in Los Angeles, serving business owners throughout California. Luiza represents employers in various employment-related matters including class and representative action for wage & hour disputes/misclassification and claims brought under the California Private Attorney General’s Act (PAGA). She also represents employers in claims for civil rights violations, harassment, discrimination, retaliation, whistleblower claims, wrongful termination, defamation, breach of employment contract and unfair business practices. Luiza also represents employers before government agencies including California DLSE, EDD, and EEOC.

Luiza provides clients with general labor advice and counsels clients to ensure compliance with State, Federal and local ordinances to avoid litigation, including conducting wage/hour audits, preparing policies/handbook for compliance, employment agreements and policies catered to each client’s industry-specific needs. She trains employers on Sexual Harassment, Wage & Hour Compliance, Violence Prevention in the Workplace, Management/Human Resource personnel on employment discipline/leaves. She does presentations through various State Bar affiliations, including the Los Angeles County Bar Association, San Fernando Valley Bar Association, Armenian Women’s Bar Association, amongst others.

Prior to joining Grant Shenon Almaraz, where she is now a Partner leading the Labor & Employment Law Practice for the firm, Luiza worked at an exclusively employment defense firm, representing employers throughout California. Prior to her experience in employment litigation, she served as a Supervising Partner and Chair of the Toxic Tort Division at a Los Angeles law firm. She has extensive trial experience in product liability toxic tort and civil rights violation cases and has tried matters throughout California, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Oakland. Luiza graduated from Southwestern University School of Law, where she participated in the Moot Court Program and was a finalist at the National American Bar Association competition in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Luiza received her J.D. from Southwestern Law School in 2004, where she served as a judicial extern for the Court of Appeals, Limited Jurisdiction, of the Central District of California. Prior to entering law school, Luiza worked at law firms since she was 15 years old. She received her B.A. from the California State University, Northridge in Psychology in 2000, where she was published for her research on gender studies.