On Wednesday, June 23, 2010, I will be speaking at the 2010 Employment Law Update telephonic conference sponsored by CEB. It is always a lively and informative program, and I encourage you to enroll. The program runs from 1:00 p.m. to 2 p.m. (Pacific). One hour of MCLE credit is available.
Details after the break.
The California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement opined that an intensive educational and training program designed for young urban adults (18-24 years old) that places these individuals in internships with non-profit and for-profit businesses is exempt from the minimum wage law (interns receive a stipend but not a salary or wages). DLSE Opinion Letter (Apr. 7, 2010), available at http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/OpinionLetters-byDate.htm.
Rosas v. The Corporation of the Catholic Archbishop of Seattle, 598 F.3d 668 (9th Cir. 2010)
Cesar Rosas and Jesus Alcazar were Catholic seminarians who sued the Corporation of the Catholic Archbishop for, among other things, failure to pay them overtime wages under Washington state law. Based on the ministerial exception, the district court dismissed the case on the pleadings. The Ninth Circuit affirmed,
Bamonte v. City of Mesa, 598 F.3d 1217 (9th Cir. 2010)
The plaintiffs in this case are employed as police officers for the City of Mesa, Arizona. They contended that the city violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) by failing to compensate them for the time spent donning and doffing their uniforms and accompanying gear. The district court dismissed the lawsuit on summary
Arenas v. El Torito Restaurants, Inc., 183 Cal. App. 4th 723 (2010)
The plaintiffs in this case are salaried managers at El Torito, El Torito Grill and Guadala Harry’s restaurants in California from May 2002 to the present. Plaintiffs alleged they were misclassified as employees exempt from overtime because they routinely spent more than half of their working hours performing duties delegated to non-exempt
Wald v. Truspeed, 184 Cal. App. 4th 378 (2010)
Alex Wald, who is in the business of “finding, buying and then selling again used Porsches,” found 11 Porsches for Truspeed (a car dealer), which Truspeed sold without paying Wald the finder’s fee. In response to Wald’s lawsuit against Truspeed alleging breach of contract, unjust enrichment and fraud, Truspeed asserted that Wald lacked a dealer’s
Ventress v. Japan Airlines, 603 F.3d 676 (2010)
Martin Ventress, a flight engineer for Japan Airlines (“JAL”), alleged his employment was terminated in violation of the California whistleblower statute (Labor Code § 1102.5(b)) for allegedly reporting safety violations six months after they occurred. JAL moved for judgment on the pleadings, asserting complete federal preemption by the Federal Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, as amended
Mendoza v. ADP Screening & Selection Servs., Inc., 182 Cal. App. 4th 1644 (2010)
William Mendoza sued ADP Screening and Selection Services, Inc. (“SASS”) for violations of Penal Code §§ 290.4 and 290.46, the Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act and declaratory relief based upon SASS’s apparent disclosure to a prospective employer of information uncovered during a background check conducted on Mendoza, indicating his status
JustMed, Inc. v. Byce, 600 F.3d 1118 (9th Cir. 2010)
Michael Byce developed the source code used in the software of a digital audio larynx device that JustMed owned. JustMed contended that Byce was its employee when he developed the code and that the code, therefore, belonged to JustMed under the work-for-hire doctrine of the federal Copyright Act. Byce, however, contended he was an
Gutierrez v. G&M Oil Co., 184 Cal.App.4th 551 (2010)
Maria Gutierrez filed a wage-and-hour class action lawsuit against G&M Oil Company, an operator of a chain of gas stations throughout California. Michael Gray was G&M’s vice president and general counsel and its registered agent for service of process Gray agreed to accept service of the complaint from Gutierrez’s attorney and decided to handle the