California Employment Law Notes

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Nicholas Labs., LLC v. Chen, 199 Cal. App. 4th 1240 (2011)

Nicholas Labs sued its former employee, Christopher Chen, for breach of contract, conversion, negligence, money had and received, unjust enrichment, etc., after discovering that, while employed by Nicholas Labs, Chen had engaged in a business that made him a competitor of Nicholas Labs and that Chen had diverted business opportunities away from Nicholas…

Brennan v. Townsend & O’Leary Enter., Inc., 199 Cal. App. 4th 1336 (2011)

Stephanie Crowley Brennan sued her former employer and a manager who was not her supervisor (Scott Montgomery) for sexual harassment. A jury awarded Brennan $200,000 against the agency and $50,000 against Montgomery, but the trial court granted defendants’ motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and entered a judgment in their favor.…

Ellis v. Costco Wholesale Corp., 657 F.3d 970 (9th Cir. 2011)

In this appeal, Costco challenged the district court’s order granting class certification in an action in which Costco’s promotional practices were alleged to have discriminated against female employees. The district court’s order granting class certification preceded the United States Supreme Court’s opinion in Wal-Mart Stores v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011).…

We invite you to review our newly posted September 2011 California Employment Law Notes — a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law.  The highlights include:

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SeaBright Ins. Co. v. US Airways, Inc., 52 Cal. 4th 590 (2011)

US Airways uses a conveyor to move luggage at San Francisco International Airport. US Airways hired independent contractor Lloyd W. Aubry Co. to maintain and repair the conveyor and did not direct Aubry’s employees in their work. The conveyor lacked certain safety guards in violation of various Cal-OSHA regulations. After one of…

NewLife Sciences, Inc. v. Weinstock, 197 Cal. App. 4th 676 (2011)

NewLife terminated the employment of Ronald Weinstock, the purported inventor of a Therapeutic Magnetic Resonance Device (“TMRD”), which NewLife had purchased approximately one year before the termination. In connection with its purchase of the TMRD, NewLife had obtained a non-compete covenant, which prohibited Weinstock from competing for five years after the termination of…

Johnson v. Lucent Techs. Inc., 653 F.3d 1000 (2011)

In 2008, Russell H. Johnson, III, an African-American, sued Lucent and the administrator of his disability insurance benefits for retaliation in violation of Title VII, violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981 and intentional infliction of emotional distress in retaliation for his filing suit against Lucent in 2005 for stopping payment of his disability benefits. In…

Pitts v. Terrible Herbst, Inc., 653 F.3d 1081 (2011)

Gareth Pitts filed a class action against his employer, Terrible Herbst, Inc., alleging a collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act for failure to pay overtime and minimum wages, a class action for violations of Nevada labor laws and a class action for breach of contract. Although Pitts claimed only $88 in damages for…

Plancich v. UPS, Inc., 198 Cal. App. 4th 308 (2011)

Larry Plancich sued UPS for failure to pay overtime, meal and rest breaks; failure to keep, maintain and furnish accurate wage statements, and unfair competition, among other claims. The trial court ruled in favor of UPS on the unfair competition claim and a jury found in favor of UPS on the remaining claims. The…

Zelasko-Barrett v. Brayton-Purcell, LLP, 198 Cal. App. 4th 582 (2011)

Following his graduation from law school but before he had passed the California bar examination, Matthew Zelasko-Barrett worked for the law firm of Brayton-Purcell, LLP as a Law Clerk II. After his voluntary departure from the firm, Zelasko-Barrett filed this lawsuit claiming he was misclassified as an exempt employee while he worked for the…