USS-Posco Indus. v. Edwards, 111 Cal. App. 4th 436 (2003)
Ezell Edwards was terminated from his employment as a mill worker at USS-Posco Industries’ (UPI’s) tin mill after he made generalized threats of violence against UPI, including a statement that “they’re going to have to change the company’s name from USS-Posco to USSColumbine.” The trial court issued a three-year injunction in the name of
Jalali v. Root, 109 Cal. App. 4th 1768 (2003)
Farideh Jalali sued her former employer for racial discrimination and sexual harassment. During the first phase of the trial, the jury awarded Jalali $750,000 in compensatory damages. During the punitive damages phase of the trial, the employer offered to settle the matter for $2.75 million for all claims, conditioned on confidentiality. Jalali accepted the offer
Smith v. IBEW, Local 11, 109 Cal. App. 4th 1637 (2003)
Donald Smith was terminated from his job as a union organizer for Local 11 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). Smith alleged that his employment was terminated in violation of the public policy against age and disability discrimination and in violation of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. The Court
Operating Engineers Local 3 v. Johnson, 110 Cal. App. 4th 180 (2003)
Bonita Vinson and her union, Operating Engineers Local 3, filed this lawsuit against Sylvia Johnson, the Chief Probation Officer of the County of Alameda and the county, alleging violation of Vinson’s right to privacy. Vinson alleged that Johnson had made an announcement at a managerial meeting, in the presence of other employees
Du Charme v. IBEW, Local 45, 110 Cal. App. 4th 107 (2003)
Frank Du Charme sued the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Local 45 and Cecil Wynn, the individual who was assigned to operate Local 45 after it was placed in trusteeship in conjunction with an investigation into its financial operations. Among other things, Du Charme alleged defamation in connection with Wynn’s posting
Koo v. Rubio’s Restaurants, Inc., 109 Cal. App. 4th 719 (2003)
An attorney representing a corporate defendant in a class action lawsuit concerning allegedly unpaid overtime wages for managers filed a declaration stating that he represented both the employer and its managers. The attorney later clarified that his only intention was to put opposing counsel on notice that the employer’s managerial agents were “represented
Herr v. Nestlé U.S.A., Inc., 109 Cal. App. 4th 779 (2003)
Richard Herr alleged age discrimination in violation of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) against his former employer, Nestlé, and obtained a jury verdict in the amount of $5,163,600. Herr also successfully asserted a claim under the Unfair Competition Law (UCL) in which he obtained equitable relief from the trial court
Rivera v. National R.R. Passenger Corp., 331 F.3d 1074 (9th Cir. 2003)
After John Rivera, who worked for Amtrak as a night watchman, threatened to “blow people away” in Amtrak’s San Jose office, the local police went to his home and found drugs, drug paraphernalia and an unregistered assault rifle with ammunition. Rivera was terminated shortly thereafter for falsification of a timecard, violation of
State of Cal. Dep’t of Rehabilitation v. WCAB, 30 Cal. 4th 1281 (2003)
Ronald Lauher worked as a rehabilitation counselor for the California Department of Rehabilitation for 25 years before submitting a claim for workers’ compensation benefits based on work-related stress and depression. After Lauher was diagnosed with Gerstmann’s Syndrome (a brain lesion that causes learning disabilities) and prescribed medication, his disability was considered
Escalante v. Wilson’s Art Studio, Inc., 109 Cal. App. 4th 692 (2003)
Wilson’s Art Studio terminated Hector Escalante’s employment as a printer after he was physically attacked by another employee, but failed to leave the scene, deciding instead to go back to fight. In his wrongful termination lawsuit, Escalante, an at-will employee, alleged that Wilson’s had violated public policy by terminating him for exercising