California Employment Law Notes

Subscribe to California Employment Law Notes via RSS

Aber v. Comstock, 212 Cal. App. 4th 931 (2013)

Lisa Aber sued her employer and two co-employees (Michael Comstock, Aber’s supervisor, and James Cioppa) for sexual harassment and sexual battery, among other things. Comstock filed a cross-complaint against Aber in which he alleged defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. In response to Comstock’s cross-complaint, Aber filed a special motion to strike under Code of…

Lawler v. Montblanc N. Am., LLC, 704 F.3d 1235 (9th Cir. 2013)

Cynthia Lawler alleged disability discrimination, harassment, retaliation and intentional infliction of emotional distress (“IIED”) associated with the termination of her employment. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Montblanc, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that Montblanc had shown that Lawler could not perform the essential functions of…

Sanchez v. Swissport, Inc., 2013 WL 635266 (Cal. Ct. App. 2013)

In a case of first impression, the California Court of Appeal determined in this case whether an employee who has exhausted all permissible leave (four months) under the California Pregnancy Disability Leave Law (“PDLL”) may state a claim for failure to accommodate a disability under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”). The…

Harris v. Superior Court, 56 Cal. 4th 203 (2013)

Wynona Harris alleged her employment was terminated by the City of Santa Monica because of her pregnancy in violation of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. The city claimed Harris had been fired for poor job performance – she had two preventable traffic accidents and two late arrivals to work during her first six months…

We invite you to review our newly-posted January 2013 California Employment Law Notes – a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law. The highlights include:

…

Morgan v. Wet Seal, Inc., 210 Cal. App. 4th 1341 (2012)

Crystal Morgan and two other former employees sued Wet Seal because the company allegedly required employees to purchase Wet Seal clothing and merchandise as a condition of employment and also failed to reimburse employees for their mileage between Wet Seal business locations. The trial court denied class certification on the ground that common…

Bradley v. Networkers Int’l, LLC, 2012 WL 6182473 (Cal. Ct. App. 2012)

The three named plaintiffs in this case were among approximately 140 skilled workers retained by Networkers to provide repair and installation services at cell sites. Each worker was required to sign a standard contract, which stated that he or she was an independent contractor rather than an employee. The purported independent contractor…

Lui v. City and County of San Francisco, 211 Cal. App. 4th 962 (2012)

After suffering a major heart attack, Kenneth Lui retired from his position as a police officer with the San Francisco Police Department. After the Department informed him there were no administrative positions available that did not require him to perform the strenuous duties regularly performed by patrol officers in the…

Olofsson v. Mission Linen Supply, 2012 WL 6200336 (Cal. Ct. App. 2012)

Lars Olofsson was a regular route driver for Mission Linen when he informed the plant manager (Jack Anderson, Sr.) that he needed seven weeks off from work to care for his elderly mother in Sweden who was recuperating from back surgery. Anderson told Olofsson he could have the leave if he filled…

Ventura v. ABM Indus., Inc., 2012 WL 6636255 (Cal. Ct. App. 2012)

Sylvia Ventura worked as a janitor for ABM. Ventura alleged a history of harassment and an act of violence by her supervisor, Carlos Manzano, and ratification by ABM. The jury awarded Ventura $100,000 in compensatory damages for past mental suffering. The trial court entered judgment in Ventura’s favor in the amount of…