California Employment Law Notes

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Church v. Jamison, 143 Cal. App. 4th 1568 (2006)

In this action arising from the alleged malpractice of John Church’s attorney, the trial court granted the attorney’s motion for judgment on the pleadings on the ground that the attorney could not be held liable for legal malpractice because the statute of limitations had not run on Church’s claim for unpaid vacation at the time…

Roby v. McKesson HBOC, 2006 WL 3775897 (Cal. Ct. App. Dec. 26, 2006)

After doing a “stellar” job for 25 years and working as a customer service support liaison for McKesson, Charlene Roby developed a panic disorder and began missing substantial amounts of time from work. McKesson fired Roby for abusing its attendance policy, though many of her absences were attributable to her mental…

In re Farmers Ins. Exch., 466 F.3d 853 (9th Cir. 2006)

In this class action case, more than 2,000 current and former insurance claims adjusters sought overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), alleging that Farmers had improperly classified them as exempt administrative employees. The Ninth Circuit applied a regulation issued by the United States Department of Labor (29 C.F.R. § 541.203),…

Dore v. Arnold Worldwide, Inc., 39 Cal. 4th 384 (2006)

Brook Dore, who was employed as a management supervisor, countersigned an employment agreement (in the form of a letter) that characterized his employment as “at-will,” which was defined as the right of either party to terminate the employment “at any time.” Although the trial court granted the employer’s motion for summary judgment, the court…

Seever v. Copley Press, Inc., 141 Cal. App. 4th 1550 (2006)

Michael Seever worked as a building superintendent for The Daily Breeze (owned by Copley) before the company instituted a reduction in force that resulted in the elimination of 18 positions, including Seever’s. Seever alleged discrimination on the basis of a disability (he had tripped over his cat, injuring his shoulder) and his age…

Wallace v. City of San Diego, 460 F.3d 1181 (9th Cir. 2006)

James D. Wallace was employed as a police officer and detective by the City of San Diego for more than 25 years. In 1982, Wallace began serving as an officer in the Naval Reserve. After several tours of duty, including tours in Iraq (during Operation Desert Storm) and Bosnia, Wallace resigned from…

Bass v. County of Butte, 2006 WL 2348467 (9th Cir. 2006)

Allison Bass and two co-workers asserted employment discrimination claims against the County of Butte based upon the county’s alleged failure to accommodate their work-related disabilities. Plaintiffs alleged violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act and the Disabled Persons Act on the theory that the two state statutes incorporated Title I (the anti-discrimination provision)…

Romaneck v. Deutsche Asset Mgmt., 2006 WL 2385237 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 17, 2006)

Lawrence Romaneck worked as the Director of Sales for Deutsche Asset Management’s West Region from 1996 to 2004. Deutsche Bank asserted that it had terminated Romaneck for his involvement in facilitating market timing by one of the company’s clients; Romaneck alleged his employment was terminated in violation of several statutes, including…

Baptist v. Robinson, 2006 WL 2699181 (Cal. Ct. App. 2006)

While riding his motorcycle, Ronald Baptist struck a large plastic agricultural bin that had fallen onto the highway from the back of a pickup truck that was owned and driven by Thomas Robinson. Robinson was employed by Thomas Fogarty Winery and had, without the winery’s knowledge or permission, borrowed and was transporting the bin…

Sonoma State Univ. v. WCAB, 142 Cal. App. 4th 500 (2006)

Lesley Hunton worked as a police dispatcher for Sonoma State University for 14 years before filing a workers’ compensation claim in which she alleged an injury to her psyche arising out of and in the course of her employment. Hunton complained that the frequent and unexpected sounding of false fire and burglar alarms…