Ferrick v. Santa Clara Univ., 231 Cal. App. 4th 1337 (2014)
Linda Ferrick, a former senior administrator for Santa Clara University, claimed the termination of her employment resulted from her reporting that her supervisor had engaged in what Ferrick believed to be commercial bribery as part of a “kickback scheme.” The trial court sustained the university’s demurrer and dismissed the lawsuit because Ferrick had
Diego v. Pilgrim United Church of Christ, 231 Cal. App. 4th 913 (2014)
Cecilia Diego, the former assistant director of Pilgrim United’s preschool, sued her former employer for retaliation in violation of public policy that resulted from the director’s mistaken belief that Diego had lodged a complaint with the California Department of Social Services, which resulted in an unannounced inspection of the preschool. The
Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc. v. Busk, 574 U.S. ___, 2014 WL 6885951 (2014)
The employer in this case, Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc., provides staffing to Amazon.com throughout the United States. Plaintiffs Jesse Busk and Laurie Castro worked as hourly employees retrieving and packaging products at Integrity Staffing warehouses in Nevada. Integrity Staffing required its employees to undergo a screening before leaving the warehouse at
Tabarrejo v. Superior Court, 2014 WL 7335417 (Cal. Ct. App. 2014)
Manuel Tabarrejo was employed as a caregiver by Princess Retirement Homes, Inc. (“PRH”). After Tabarrejo left his employment with PRH, he filed a claim with the Labor Commissioner for unpaid wages and other wage-related claims and was awarded $131,096.77. PRH appealed the Labor Commissioner’s order and posted an undertaking as required by Cal.
Martinez v. Joe’s Crab Shack Holdings, 231 Cal. App. 4th 362 (2014)
Roberto Martinez and three other current or former employees of Joe’s Crab Shack (“JCS”) filed this putative class action asserting that they and similarly situated salaried managerial employees had been misclassified as exempt employees and were entitled to unpaid overtime and related wages. Plaintiffs alleged they worked more than 55 hours per
West Hollywood Cmty. Health & Fitness Ctr. v. CUIAB, 2014 WL 6852700 (Cal. Ct. App. 2014)
After leaving his job as a massage therapist at West Hollywood Community Health & Fitness Center (d/b/a “Voda Spa”), Mario Serban applied for unemployment benefits. The Employment Development Department sent Voda Spa a letter indicating that Serban had been an employee (and not an independent contractor) and that
Ibarra-Hernandez v. Holder, 770 F.3d 1280 (9th Cir. 2014)
Gloria Ibarra-Hernandez, a native and citizen of Mexico, sought review of a final order of removal from the United States after the Board of Immigration Appeals (the “Board”) held that she was ineligible for cancellation of removal following her conviction for taking the identity of another in violation of Arizona state law. Ibarra-Hernandez admitted at
California continues to be perhaps the most pro-employee state in the country and is well known for its ever more restrictive labor and employment laws. Here is an interesting recent blog post by The Federalist (“The Eight Most Horrible Features of California Labor Law”) that describes some of the Golden State’s more problematic employment restrictions and helps explain the “Flight to Texas” that is occurring
Negro v. Superior Court, 2014 WL 5341926 (Cal. Ct. App. 2014)
Navalimpianti USA, Inc. subpoenaed Google, Inc. to produce copies of email messages it had relating to one of Navalimpianti’s former employees, Matteo Negro. Prior to initiating this action against Google in state court in California, Navalimpianti sued Negro and other former employees in state court in Florida for various breaches of duty pursuant
Kao v. The University of San Francisco, 229 Cal. App. 4th 437 (2014)
Dr. John S. Kao was a tenured professor at USF who submitted a 485-page complaint (plus a 41-page addendum) to the university alleging race-based discrimination and harassment at the school. Kao was not satisfied with the university’s two-page response, which he said did not offer any remedies for the problems he