California Employment Law Notes

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Price v. Starbucks Corp., 192 Cal. App. 4th 1136 (2011)

Drake Price worked as an entry-level Starbucks barista for approximately 13 shifts before he was fired. Following his termination, he sued Starbucks on behalf of himself and a putative class of employees seeking to recover unpaid wages, penalties and damages for Starbucks’ alleged failure to timely pay him wages upon termination, failure to pay…

Heritage Residential Care, Inc. v. Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, 192 Cal. App. 4th 75 (2011)

Heritage Residential, a company that operates seven residential care facilities, employed 24 workers, 16 of whom lacked social security numbers. Heritage treated the 16 employees who did not have social security numbers as independent contractors and issued them 1099 statements rather than itemized wage statements. Following a workplace…

Seymore v. Metson Marine, Inc., 194 Cal. App. 4th 361 (2011)

Plaintiffs Andrew Seymore and Kenneth Blonden were employed by Metson Marine as crew members on Metson’s offshore oil spill recovery vessels. Crew members worked 14-day rotational hitches, alternating with 14-day rest periods and were paid to work a 12-hour daily shift during the two-week period, except on crew-change days, when they worked only…

Christopher v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., 635 F.3d 383 (2011)

Michael Christopher and Frank Buchanan were employed as pharmaceutical sales representatives (“PSRs”) of SmithKline d/b/a GlaxoSmithKline (“Glaxo”) and were classified as outside salesmen exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act. PSRs work outside of a Glaxo office and spend much of their time traveling to the offices of and working with physicians within their assigned…

Hodge v. Aon Ins. Servs., 192 Cal. App. 4th 1361 (2011)

Plaintiffs in this case are claims adjusters employed by a third party administrator (Cambridge Integrated Services Group, Inc.). Depending on the entity with which it contracts and the terms of the contract, Cambridge adjusts general liability, vehicle-related and workers’ compensation claims. In their claim alleging violation of the Unfair Competition Law, plaintiffs alleged…

United Parcel Serv., Inc. v. Superior Court, 192 Cal. App. 4th 1043 (2011)

Pursuant to Labor Code § 226.7(b), “[i]f an employer fails to provide an employee a meal period or rest period… the employer shall pay the employee one additional hour of pay at the employee’s regular rate of compensation for each work day that the meal or rest period is not provided.”…

Collins v. Gee West Seattle LLC, 631 F.3d 1001 (9th Cir. 2011)

On September 26, 2007, Gee West informed its 150 employees that although it was actively pursuing the sale of the business, it would be closing its doors and would terminate all but a few business office employees on October 7, 2007 if a buyer was not found by then. Between the time…

Lopez v. Pacific Maritime Ass’n, 636 F.3d 1197 (2011)

When Santiago Lopez first applied to be a longshoreman in 1997, his application was rejected because he tested positive for marijuana. The PMA, which represents the shipping lines, stevedore companies and terminal operators that run the ports along the west coast, follows a “one-strike rule,” which eliminates from consideration for employment any applicant who tests…

Dawson v. Entek Int’l, 630 F.3d 928 (9th Cir. 2011)

Shane Dawson, a former temporary production line worker for Entek, ran a production line that rolled up battery separators. Dawson, who is gay, worked with 24 other male employees. Dawson’s employment was terminated two days after he had complained to human resources that he was being called “a homo and a fag and a…

Angelotti v. The Walt Disney Co., 192 Cal. App. 4th 1394 (2011)

Anthony Angelotti was injured while rehearsing a stunt for a film that was being produced by Second Mate Productions, Inc. Angelotti sued Second Mate as well as The Walt Disney Company, which provided the financing for the film. Angelotti alleged that Disney had assumed a duty to ensure that the production complied…