VIP Mortg. Inc. v. Gates, 162 F.4th 1010 (9th Cir. 2025)
The district court confirmed an arbitration award in favor of Jennifer Gates under the Fair Labor Standards Act and Arizona state law, and denied VIP Mortgage’s petition to vacate the award of unpaid overtime wages, attorneys’ fees and liquidated damages. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s orders. VIP contended the
Wise v. Tesla Motors, Inc., 2025 WL 3707196 (Cal. Ct. App. 2025)
Talia Shayla Alexis Wise sued her former employer (Tesla) for disability discrimination and related claims. In response, Tesla filed a motion to compel arbitration, which the trial court denied after determining that the arbitration agreement should be read together with a nondisclosure agreement (NDA), which contained unconscionable terms that permeated the arbitration
Sierra Pac. Industries Wage & Hour Cases, 116 Cal. App. 5th 1038 (2025)
For more than four years, Sierra Pacific defended against this wage and hour class action, “remaining silent on the subject of arbitration and refusing to produce arbitration agreements signed by putative class members, despite being ordered to do so.” Only after eight plaintiff classes were certified did Sierra Pacific produce
The Merchant of Tennis, Inc. v. Superior Court, 2026 WL 102728 (Cal. Ct. App. 2026)
After Jessica Garcia filed a putative class action for unpaid wages against her former employer (The Merchant of Tennis), the employer entered into approximately 954 individual settlement agreements (ISAs) with employees (paying over $875,000) in exchange for waiving their claims and opting out of the class action litigation. After
Hollis v. R&R Restaurants, Inc., 159 F.4th 677 (9th Cir. 2025)
Zoe Hollis sued a Portland, Oregon strip club called Sassy’s under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for misclassifying its dancers as independent contractors rather than employees and for violating corresponding wage and hour provisions. After Hollis filed the complaint, Frank Faillace, a partner and manager of Sassy’s and another club
Iloff v. LaPaille, 2025 WL 3718335 (Cal. Ct. App. 2025)
Laurence Iloff performed maintenance on various structures that were located on property that was owned by Bridgeville Properties, Inc. (BPI) and managed by Cynthia LaPaille. Under an informal arrangement, Iloff’s employers allowed him to live rent-free in one of the houses on the property but did not provide him with any other benefits or
Spilman v. The Salvation Army, 2026 WL 35953 (Cal. Ct. App. 2026)
Justin Spilman, Teresa Chase, and Jacob Tyler worked full-time for the Salvation Army at its retail thrift stores. They worked without wages as part of a six-month, residential, substance abuse rehabilitation program. The trial court determined that the wage and hour laws do not apply because these three individuals were volunteers for
Randolph v. Trustees of the Cal. State Univ., 2025 WL 3763384 (Cal. Ct. App. 2025)
Teresa Randolph sued her former employer for employment discrimination, whistleblower retaliation and termination of her employment. The trial court dismissed the action based on Randolph’s failure to bring the action to trial within the 5-1/2 year statutory deadline of Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 583.310 and Judicial Council emergency
County of Los Angeles v. Niblett, 116 Cal. App. 5th 454 (2025)
The County obtained a three-year Workplace Violence Restraining Order (WVRO) pursuant to Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 527.8 that protected “nonparty Samuel S.” from Neill Francis Niblett. Prior to the issuance of the WVRO, both men worked for the county’s fire department (Samuel was an assistant chief and Niblett was a
Roe v. Smith, 116 Cal. App. 5th 227 (2025)
Plaintiffs (Jane Roe and John Doe) sued defendants, a daughter and mother, pseudonymously as “Jenna Smith” and “Mother Smith.” Jenna and Mother Smith told other students that John had sexually assaulted Jenna and Jane. Following an investigation in which John voluntarily cooperated, the school determined John was not responsible with respect to any of