United States v. Quality Stores, Inc., 572 U.S. ___, 134 S. Ct. 1377 (2014)
Before and following the filing of an involuntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Quality Stores and its affiliated companies terminated thousands of employees. The employees received severance payments, and Quality Stores reported those payments as wages on W-2 tax forms, paid the employer’s required share of FICA taxes and withheld the employees’
White v. County of Los Angeles, 2014 WL 1478701 (Cal. Ct. App. 2014)
Susan White worked as a Senior District Attorney Investigator with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Following the death of her brother-in-law, White began experiencing emotional difficulties on the job and was observed acting erratically in the workplace with “very high emotional highs and very low lows.” At one point,
Global Hawk Ins. Co. v. Le, 2014 WL 1478514 (Cal. Ct. App. 2014)
Jerry Le was one of two truck drivers on a cross-country trip for V&H Transport for which he was to be paid a lump sum of $1,100 with no deductions. Le was seriously injured when the other truck driver was involved in a one-vehicle accident. After the accident, V&H refused to
Baumann v. Chase Inv. Servs., 2014 WL 983587 (9th Cir. 2014)
Joseph Baumann sued his employer, Chase Investment Services Corporation, under the Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”), alleging claims for unpaid overtime, meal breaks and rest periods and timely expense reimbursements. Baumann further alleged his potential share of any recovery and attorney’s fees would be less than $75,000. Chase removed the action under the
deSaulles v. Community Hosp. of the Monterey Peninsula, 2014 WL 1724043 (Cal. Ct. App. 2014)
Maureen deSaulles agreed to dismiss with prejudice two of her seven causes of action in exchange for a settlement payment from her former employer in the amount of $23,000. The trial court subsequently exercised its discretion and awarded $12,731.92 in costs to the employer. deSaulles appealed, claiming that the
$150,000 Sexual Harassment Verdict And $680,000 Fee Award Affirmed
Taylor v. Nabors Drilling USA, LP, 222 Cal. App. 4th 1228 (2014)
Max Taylor worked as a floorhand on an oil rig where he alleged he was harassed by his supervisors who called him “queer,” “fagot [sic],” “homo,” and “gay porn star” and was subjected to other humiliating and harassing conduct, including simulated masturbation
Charles Schwab announced last week that it is planning to move “a significant number of San Francisco-based jobs” out of state over the next three to five years. According to a recent article in Forbes, “Observers close to the situation blame the city’s extreme payroll tax and high cost of doing business in California as the reasons for the company’s exodus.” The article notes that
Are your employee handbooks and policies collecting dust? In the highly regulated workplace, human resource professionals, compliance officers, IT, and their counsel must work together to ensure that employee handbooks and policies reflect current best practices in light of expanding employment laws and regulations. In this interactive webinar, you will learn:
• Best practices for employee handbooks and policies
• How to avoid liability when
On December 16, we obtained summary judgment on behalf of our client, Paramount Pictures Corporation, in a case brought by a former paralegal in the studio’s Business Affairs Administration department. The plaintiff claimed discrimination, constructive discharge and wrongful termination on the basis of her race. (The plaintiff was represented by Tom Girardi, who had previously represented Erin Brockovich.) Yarbrough v. Paramount Pictures Corp., Los
TV Station’s Failure To Hire Weather News Anchor Was Protected By Free Speech Rights
Hunter v. CBS Broadcasting, Inc., 221 Cal. App. 4th 1510 (2013)
Kyle Hunter sued CBS Broadcasting for age and gender discrimination after it refused to hire him as a weather news anchor. Hunter alleged that CBS “repeatedly shunned him for numerous on-air broadcasting positions due to his gender and age”