California Employment Law Notes

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Mooney v. Fife, 118 F.4th 1081 (9th Cir. 2024)

Thomas Mooney was the chief operating officer of Vivida Dermatology before his employment was terminated for an alleged violation of a confidentiality provision in his employment agreement. Following his termination, Mooney sued his former employer for retaliation under the False Claims Act (FCA), breach of contract and breach of the implied covenant of good…

North Am. Title Co. v. Superior Court, 17 Cal. 5th 155 (2024)

Pursuant to Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 170.3, a party that seeks to disqualify a trial court judge by filing a verified statement of disqualification must do so “at the earliest practicable opportunity after discovery of the facts constituting the ground for disqualification.” The statute also provides that there shall be…

Rodriguez v. Lawrence Eqpt., Inc., 2024 WL 4719479 (Cal. Ct. App. 2024)

Julian Rodriguez sued his former employer, Lawrence Equipment, Inc., for various wage and hour violations under the Labor Code and sought civil penalties and wages pursuant to the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). Enforcing the arbitration agreement Rodriguez had signed, the trial court ordered arbitration of the wage and hour claims and…

Nebraska v. Su,121 F.4th 1 (9th Cir. 2024)

Five states challenged President Biden’s 2021 Executive Order 14026, which directed federal agencies to include a clause in federal contracts requiring contractors to pay employees a $15 minimum wage. The states argued that the executive order and the implementing rule issued by the Department of Labor violate the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act…

Osborne v. Pleasanton Auto. Co., 106 Cal. App. 5th 361 (2024)

Eva Osborne sued her former employer (Pleasanton Automotive) and its executive general manager (the ironically named Bob Slap) for discrimination, retaliation, harassment and wage and hour violations arising during the four years while Osborne worked as Slap’s executive assistant. Two years into the litigation, Slap filed a cross-complaint against Osborne, asserting that statements…

Wawrzenski v. United Airlines, Inc., 2024 WL 4750558 (Cal. Ct. App. 2024)

Alexa Wawrzenski was fired from her position as a United Airlines flight attendant for having a social media account featuring pictures of herself in uniform and wearing a bikini, with a link to an OnlyFans subscription-based account that she advertised as providing “exclusive private content you won’t see anywhere else.” Wawrzenski sued…

Miller v. California Dep’t of Corr. & Rehab., 105 Cal. App. 5th 261 (2024)

Maria Miller worked as a correctional officer at the California Institute for Women before she was injured in a slip-and-fall accident in 2016. After Miller had exhausted her workers’ compensation wage replacement benefits in 2018, the Department placed her on an unpaid leave of absence. When the Department subsequently…

Liu v. Miniso Depot, Inc., 105 Cal. App. 5th 791 (2024)

Youngtong “Jade” Liu sued her former employer, Miniso Depot, Inc., for various wage and hour violations of the California Labor Code and the California Code of Regulations; sex discrimination; sexual orientation/gender identity harassment and discrimination in violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA); retaliation in violation of the whistleblower statute…

Kim v. Uber Techs., Inc., 105 Cal. App. 5th 252 (2024)

This lawsuit arose out of a traffic accident that occurred at 2:28 a.m. when an off-duty Uber driver hit Mackenzie Young Jay Kim, the pedestrian plaintiff in the case. The undisputed facts established that the driver went to “offline status” at 2:24 a.m. at a location in West Los Angeles that was…