Although the threat of COVID-19 (remember that?) seems to have diminished considerably over the past five years, once upon a time in Hollywood many production companies (along with other employers) required employees to be...more
4/1/2025
/ Actors ,
Anti-SLAPP ,
Appeals ,
California ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
First Amendment ,
Vaccinations
We invite you to review our newly-posted January 2025 California Employment Law Notes, a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law....more
No Claim By Employee Who Was Friends With Alleged Harasser Atalla v. Rite Aid Corp., 2023 WL 2521909 (Cal. Ct. App. 2023) -
Hanin Atalla and Erik Lund had a social relationship and became “close friends” before Atalla...more
4/3/2023
/ Arbitration ,
California ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Labor Code ,
Over-Time ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Wrongful Termination
Price v. Victor Valley Union High Sch. Dist., 2022 WL 16845113 (Cal. Ct. App. 2022) -
La Vonya Price worked as a part-time substitute special education aide at the Victor Valley Unified School District before applying for...more
In Michelle Roman v. Hertz Local Edition Corp., a United States District Court Judge for the Southern District of California granted summary judgment in favor of Hertz, and against former employee Michelle Roman, whose...more
5/26/2022
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
California ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
FEHA ,
Hertz ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Former UCLA Physician Can Proceed With Whistleblower Claims -
Scheer v. The Regents of the Univ. of Cal., 76 Cal. App. 5th 904 (2022) -
Arnold Scheer, M.D., M.P.H., sued the Regents of the University of California and...more
5/23/2022
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
CAFA ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Forced Labor ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Code ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
Manicurist Can Proceed With Hostile Work Environment Claim -
Fried v. Wynn Las Vegas, 18 F.4th 643 (9th Cir. 2021) -
Vincent Fried, a manicurist at a salon in the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas, was sexually propositioned by a...more
1/20/2022
/ Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hostile Environment ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Nonprofits ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
State Labor Laws ,
Volunteers ,
Wage Statements ,
Wrongful Termination
A Los Angeles jury has ordered an apartment building owner and property management company to pay $7.6 million to two former live-in apartment managers who claimed to have been wrongfully terminated and discriminated against...more
9/9/2021
/ Compensatory Damages ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Emotional Distress Damages ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
FEHA ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Housing Discrimination ,
Lost Wages ,
Punitive Damages ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Wrongful Termination
A U.S. District Court recently dismissed the lawsuit of a former employee who claimed disability discrimination after he was terminated for testing positive for marijuana in a pre-employment drug test. Espindola v. Wismettac...more
Trial Court Properly Dismissed Employee’s CFRA And Disability Discrimination Claims -
Choochagi v. Barracuda Networks, Inc., 60 Cal. App. 5th 444 (2021) -
George Choochagi worked as a technical support manager for...more
3/19/2021
/ ABC Test ,
CA Supreme Court ,
California Family Rights Act (CFRA) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
FEHA ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Over-Time ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wrongful Termination
Last summer, Nike began requiring its retail employees to wear masks to combat the spread of COVID-19. A few weeks later, Cali Bunn entered one of its San Diego-area stores to purchase some shoes. Ms. Bunn is deaf and, like...more
2/4/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Hearing-Impaired ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
Nike ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Public Accommodation ,
Retailers ,
Workplace Safety
Caldera v. California Dep’t of Corrs. & Rehab., 2020 WL 2109751 (Cal. Ct. App. 2020) -
Augustine Caldera is a correctional officer at a state prison who stutters when he speaks. Caldera alleged that the prison’s...more
Doe v. Department of Corr. & Rehab., 2019 WL 6907515 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019) -
John Doe, who worked as a psychologist at Ironwood State Prison, alleged discrimination, harassment and retaliation based upon a disability; Doe...more
Glynn v. Superior Court, 42 Cal. App. 5th 47 (2019) -
John Glynn worked as a pharmaceutical sales representative before he commenced a medical leave of absence for a serious eye condition (myopic macular degeneration)....more
Employers all over California are once again hearing the siren call of arbitration in the wake of a $15.4 million single-plaintiff verdict that a Los Angeles jury delivered to a former Los Angeles Times sports columnist on...more
We’re delighted to report that we secured two summary judgments in two separate alleged discrimination cases on behalf of our client Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in matters that were pending in the Los Angeles Superior Court....more
Proving it still is possible to obtain a favorable jury verdict in California, a federal jury sided with Chipotle Mexican Grill last Wednesday in a case involving disability discrimination claims by former assistant store...more
Employee Non-Solicitation Provision Was An Unenforceable Restraint -
AMN Healthcare, Inc. v. Aya Healthcare Servs., Inc., 2018 WL 5669154 (Cal. Ct. App. 2018) -
AMN and Aya are competitors in the business of providing...more
11/20/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Attorney's Fees ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
First Amendment ,
Misappropriation ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Trade Secrets ,
Uniform Trade Secrets Acts ,
UTSA ,
Wage and Hour
Former LA Times Columnist's Age/Disability Discrimination Judgment Upheld, New Trial On Damages Ordered -
Simers v. Los Angeles Times Commc'ns, LLC, 18 Cal. App. 5th 1248 (2018) -
T.J. Simers, a well-known sports...more
3/23/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-SLAPP ,
Class Certification ,
Digital Realty Trust Inc v Somers ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
FEHA ,
Former Employee ,
Fraud Prevention ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Qui Tam ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
State Labor Laws ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
Trial Court Erroneously Granted Bill Cosby's Anti-SLAPP Motion -
Dickinson v. Cosby, 17 Cal. App. 5th 655 (2017) -
After Janice Dickinson went public with her accusations of rape against Bill Cosby, Cosby's attorney...more
1/17/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-SLAPP ,
Breach of Contract ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Defamation ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Discovery ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
FEHA ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Joint Employers ,
Layoffs ,
Misclassification ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Summary Judgment ,
Title VII ,
USERRA ,
WARN Act ,
Wrongful Termination
Jobseeker Website May Be Compelled To Disclose Identity Of Anonymous Posters Who Criticized Employer - ZL Technologies, Inc. v. Does 1-7, 13 Cal. App. 5th 603 (2017) - ZL Technologies brought suit, alleging libel per se and...more
9/13/2017
/ Accrual Requirements ,
Age Discrimination ,
Anti-SLAPP ,
Appeals ,
Burden-Shifting ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Cause of Action Accrual ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Day of Rest Laws ,
Demurrers ,
DFEH ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Discovery ,
Discovery Disputes ,
Dismissals ,
Evidence ,
FEHA ,
First Amendment ,
Former Employee ,
Genuine Issue of Material Fact ,
Independent Contractors ,
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress ,
Interim Adverse Judgment Rule ,
Involuntary Reduction in Force ,
Libel ,
Litigation Fees & Costs ,
Malicious Prosecution ,
Motion to Compel ,
Pretext ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Probable Cause ,
Public Policy ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Race Discrimination ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remedies ,
Retaliation ,
Reversal ,
Right to Privacy ,
Section 998 ,
Settlement Offer ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Subpoenas ,
Summary Judgment ,
Telemarketing ,
Trade Secrets ,
Vacation Pay ,
Vicarious Liability ,
Waiting Periods ,
Websites
Ruth Featherstone alleged that her former employer (SCPMG) discriminated against her based on a "temporary disability" that was caused by an adverse drug reaction, which resulted in an "altered mental state." During this...more
5/8/2017
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Age Discrimination ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Anti-SLAPP ,
Appeals ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Automatic Stay ,
Car Accident ,
CEOs ,
Chapter 11 ,
Company Vehicles ,
Defamation ,
Disability Discrimination ,
E-Verify ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Grocery Stores ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Internal Reporting ,
McLane Co. v EEOC ,
Motions to Quash ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Piece-Rate Pay ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Public Policy ,
Remand ,
Rescission ,
Resignation ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Standard of Review ,
Subpoenas ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Vicarious Liability ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (“DFEH”) recently obtained a settlement on behalf of a custodian for a school district who was fired after an on-the-job injury. As part of the settlement, the...more
Victoria Zetwick, a county correctional officer, alleged that the county sheriff created a sexually hostile environment in violation of Title VII and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act by, among other things,...more
3/9/2017
/ Anti-SLAPP ,
Appeals ,
California Family Rights Act (CFRA) ,
Class Action ,
Company Vehicles ,
Credit Reports ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
FEHA ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hostile Environment ,
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Race Discrimination ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Retaliation ,
Reversal ,
Sales Commissions ,
Standard of Review ,
Summary Judgment ,
Title VII ,
Vicarious Liability
$90 Million Judgment Reinstated: Employers Must Relieve Employees Of All Duties During Their Rest Periods -
Augustus v. ABM Sec. Servs., Inc., 2016 WL 7407328 (Cal. S. Ct. 2016) -
Jennifer Augustus filed this...more
1/10/2017
/ Anti-SLAPP ,
Appeals ,
Apple ,
Assault ,
Breach of Contract ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Car Accident ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
CNN ,
Defamation ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Discrimination ,
DLSE ,
Emotional Distress Damages ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Protection ,
FEHA ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Hostile Environment ,
On-Call Employees ,
Preemption ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Retaliation ,
Safe Harbors ,
Security Guards ,
Stock Options ,
Summary Judgment ,
Teamsters ,
Unions ,
UPS ,
Vacation Pay ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Statements ,
Wages ,
Workers' Compensation Claim ,
Wrongful Termination