California Employment Law Notes

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Sullivan v. Oracle Corp., 547 F.3d 1177 (9th Cir. 2008)

Three Oracle instructors (all non-residents of California) filed this class action to recover allegedly unpaid overtime under California law for work they performed while in California. Two of the instructors were residents of Colorado and one was a resident of Arizona; all of them worked in their home states and, from time to time,…

Mora v. Hollywood Bed & Spring, 164 Cal. App. 4th 1061 (2008)

Salvador Mora sued his former employer and its president after his arm was crushed in a power press machine. Mora alleged the machine lacked an adequate guard to protect against injury and, therefore, pursuant to Cal. Lab. Code § 4558, he was not limited to a remedy provided under the Workers’ Compensation…

United States v. Easterday, 539 F.3d 1176 (9th Cir. 2008)

Jack Easterday operated a chain of nursing homes. Between 1998 and 2005, the payroll taxes for his company and its subsidiaries were approximately $45 million of which only $26 million was paid to the IRS. In his criminal trial for failure to pay over payroll taxes, Easterday did not dispute that he failed to…

Avila v. Continental Airlines, Inc., 165 Cal. App. 4th 1237 (2008)

Henry Avila sued his employer, Chelsea Food Services (a division of Continental Airlines), following his termination for excessive absences from work. Avila sued for disability discrimination and for violation of his rights under the California Family Rights Act (“CFRA”). The trial court granted summary judgment to Continental, but the Court of Appeal reversed…

Mamou v. Trendwest Resorts, Inc., 165 Cal. App. 4th 686 (2008)

Tamer Mamou was employed as a project director for Trendwest (a company that sells timeshares at various resort locations) when he was terminated after approximately 12 years of employment. Trendwest terminated Mamou after it became aware that he had filed documents with the California Secretary of State in which it appeared Mamou was…

Alch v. Superior Court, 165 Cal. App. 4th 1412 (2008)

In this ongoing putative class action filed by television writers alleging “industry-wide” age discrimination, the writers served subpoenas on the Writers Guild of America (“WGA”) and other third parties, seeking demographic information, including dates of birth, employment data such as writers’ employers, job titles, credits and dates of employment, and anecdotal evidence of age…

Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court, 165 Cal. App. 4th 25 (2008)

In this case, the Court of Appeal decided a number important issues concerning employee class action claims for alleged rest break violations, meal period and “early lunching” violations and off-the-clock/“time shaving” violations. The Court of Appeal determined the claims were not amenable to class treatment because individual issues predominated and, accordingly, granted…

Edwards v. Arthur Andersen LLP, 44 Cal. 4th 937 (2008)

CPA Raymond Edwards II was hired in 1997 as a tax manager for the Los Angeles office of the now defunct accounting firm Arthur Andersen LLP (“Andersen”). As a condition of his employment, Edwards was required to execute a noncompetition agreement that prohibited his (1) “perform[ing] professional services” for 18 months post-termination on behalf…

Chamber of Commerce v. Brown, 554 U.S. 60, 128 S. Ct. 2408 (2008)

Assembly Bill 1889, enacted in 2000, prohibited private employers that receive state funds – whether by reimbursement, grant, contract, use of state property or pursuant to a state program – from using such funds to “assist, promote, or deter union organizing.” Violators were to be liable to the state for the…

Steele v. Youthful Offender Parole Bd., 162 Cal. App. 4th 1241 (2008)

Lisa Steele worked as an office assistant/receptionist for the YOPB. In her spare time, Steele competed in several bikini contests that were sponsored by a local radio station. On the day of the final contest, Raul Galindo, chairman of the YOPB, asked Steele if she was going to participate in any other…