ALEX WHEATLEY (Chair)
Alex Wheatley is a partner in Fisher Phillips’ Portland and Seattle offices. Alex’s practice focuses on employment litigation, labor management relations, and counseling employers on Oregon and Washington employment and labor issues. He has substantial experience working with employers of all sizes to create and implement legally compliant policies and practices. Alex also provides counsel with respect to leave, disability, wage and hour, and discrimination and retaliation laws as well as discipline and termination decisions. Alex defends employers against lawsuits and administrative complaints related to all types of employment claims.
SALLY LAJOIE (Past Chair)
Sally LaJoie is a neutral arbitrator, mediator, and workplace investigator in private practice. She is a graduate of Willamette University College of Law and has spent over twenty-five years working in labor and employment law in Oregon.
Before opening her arbitration and mediation practice, Sally was a mediator for the Oregon Employment Relations Board (“ERB”). As one of three mediators for the ERB, she assisted public employers and unions throughout Oregon to resolve labor disputes. Those mediations included resolving collective bargaining agreements, grievances, unfair labor practice cases and civil service appeals. She also conducted joint trainings and facilitations for labor and management.
Prior to becoming a neutral, her legal practice focused on representing employees in individual and class action claims for Wage and Hour, Family Medical Leave Act, Title VII, and other employment related cases. She has also worked as a public affairs attorney at the Oregon State Bar in the law improvement and government relations program, as a labor representative for the Oregon Nurses Association, and as a Labor Relations Manager for Multnomah County. Sally also currently provides services as a special education mediator and investigator for the Oregon Department of Education and is a licensed investigator providing workplace investigation services.
LESLIE BAZE
Leslie Baze is a partner at Schuck Law PLLC. For more than ten years, Leslie’s legal practice has focused solely on employee representation in Oregon and Washington, where she routinely represents workers in cases of protected class discrimination, protected leave law violations, disability and pregnancy accommodations, workplace safety and whistleblowing, equal pay, and wage-and-hour claims. Leslie is an active member of the Washington Employment Lawyers Association (WELA), and of the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association (OTLA) and its labor and employment section. Along with her partners at Schuck Law, Leslie is also one of the authors of the current Oregon Bar Books Labor and Employment Law in Oregon: Private Sector ch. 4 – “Enforcement of Wage Statues.
JON EGAN
Jon M. Egan has practiced law for 25 years. He represents plaintiffs in wage-and-hour cases, with an emphasis on class and collective actions. He received a BA from Yale University in 1996 and a JD from the University of Texas School of Law in 1999. He has contributed to the drafting of wage-and hour bills that were passed into law, the Oregon Uniform Civil Jury Instructions for wage-and-hour claims, and co-authored the 2025 Wage and Hour Fundamentals chapter update in the Oregon Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law in Oregon: Private Sector volume. Jon is active in several legal organizations that advocate for workers’ wage rights, including the national Wage and Hour Clearinghouse; the Low-Wage Workers Legal Network; and the Wage and Hour and Class and Collective Sections of the National Employment Lawyers Association. He also participates in the advancement of wage-and-hour law through the Employment and Litigation Sections of the Oregon State Bar Association; and the Rule 23, Class Actions and Derivative Suits, Employment and Labor Relations, and Employment Law Committees of the Litigation Section of the American Bar Association
SAMUEL HERNANDEZ
Sam is an attorney with the law firm of AmicusPoint Law LLC. Sam began his legal career working as a judicial clerk for the Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court. After his clerkship, he worked for a boutique firm specializing in employment defense. He later transitioned to work for one of the largest AmLaw 100 firms in the country, continuing to hone his skills by working complex commercial and employment litigation matters for national and international companies. Sam also worked with clients to provide legal compliance advice; draft agreements and policies; enforce trade secrets; and handle single, multi-plaintiff, and class action litigation. After nearly a decade working for notable law firms, he decided to start AmicusPoint Law LLC and continue to help companies and individuals wade through business and employment-related challenges in state and federal courts. Sam currently serves as an Advisory Board Member to LatinoBuilt, an association for Latino contractors in Oregon. Sam served as an Infantry Officer with the Oregon Army National Guard, attained the rank of Major, and conducted two combat deployments to Afghanistan and one NATO-led deployment to Kosovo.
MARIANN HYLAND
Mariann Hyland, founder of Hyland Solutions, brings a powerful blend of legal expertise and compassionate insight to conflict resolution. A seasoned mediator, she draws on her experience as a labor and employment attorney and her mediation training from Pepperdine and Harvard Schools of Law. Mariann also has resolved conflict, reduced harm and empowered transformation in leadership roles at Chemeketa Community College, Oregon Health & Science University, the Oregon State Bar Association, University of Oregon, and Oregon Community Foundation. With a master’s degree in social work, Mariann leads with a strength-based, trauma-informed lens. She completed Level I Internal Family Systems (IFS) training in 2024, which she applies to conflict coaching and mediation as an IFS practitioner. Mariann empowers transformative communication and connection by all participants leading to desired outcomes and durable solutions.
SONIA MONTALBANO
Sonia Montalbano is an attorney serving as Of Counsel at the law firm McKean Smith. For over 25 years she has counseled employees and employers of all sizes in the areas of employment and business law, as well as litigated in both state and federal courts. Ms. Montalbano advises clients on all aspects of business operations, including wage and hour issues; compliance with leave laws; contract negotiations; investigations into employee misconduct; non-competition agreements; severance packages; and handbook policies. She has also litigated and testified as an expert witness on the issue of attorney fees in fee disputes and served as an arbitrator in numerous cases. Ms. Montalbano is rated “AV – Preeminent” with Martindale-Hubbell.
Combining her communication skills and a background in theater, Ms. Montalbano frequently performs as an auctioneer and emcee. Her contributions have assisted in raising over 1.5 million dollars for a number of non-profit organizations.
DIANE S. SYKES
Diane S. Sykes has practiced law for 24 years, primarily in the area of employment, with an emphasis on civil rights case work. She represents both public and private employees of all sizes, including federal employees. Ms. Sykes graduated from UC Berkeley with a BA in 1992 and University of Oregon School of Law with a JD in 1997. After law school, Ms. Sykes was a public defender with the firm of Squires and Lopez, specializing in the representation of low-income Hispanic populations. In 1999, she was hired at Legal Aid Services of Oregon and continued to serve low-income populations at the Oregon Center, performing primarily casework in the area of employment and housing discrimination, as well as consumer protection cases, over a 10-year period. In 2009, Ms. Sykes was hired by Oregon Department of Justice to create and lead the DOJ Civil Rights Unit. In this capacity, Ms. Sykes litigated several employment and fair housing cases. In 2013, Ms. Sykes launched a private law practice in SE Portland and continues to advocate for the rights of employees.