California Employment Law Notes

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Stamps v. Superior Court, 136 Cal. App. 4th 1441 (2006)

Robert Stamps sued his former employer, Traylor Brothers, Inc., for, among other things, violation of California Civil Code §§ 51.7 and 52.1 (granting all persons the right to be free from violence and intimidation by threat of violence based on race, religion, ancestry, national origin, etc.). The employer filed a demurrer in response to…

Ash v. Tyson Foods, Inc., 546 U.S. 454, 126 S. Ct. 1195 (2006) (per curiam)

Anthony Ash and John Hithon, two African-American poultry plant superintendents, unsuccessfully sought promotion to shift manager positions; instead, two white males were selected. The employer filed a motion for judgment as a matter of law after a jury found in favor of Ash and Hithon. The district court granted…

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. v. Dabit, 547 U.S. 547 U.S. 71, 126 S. Ct. 1503 (2006)

Shadi Dabit, a former Merrill Lynch broker, filed this class action on behalf of himself and all other former or current brokers who, while employed by Merrill Lynch, owned and continued to own securities. Dabit alleged Merrill Lynch breached the fiduciary duty and covenant of…

Harris v. Investor’s Business Daily, 138 Cal. App. 4th 28, 2006 WL 786806 (Mar. 29, 2006)

Plaintiffs were employed as telemarketers selling subscriptions to a financial newspaper, Investor’s Business Daily. The telemarketers’ compensation was based on a point system, which rewarded them for selling longer subscriptions, winning daily contests and meeting weekly sales goals. In addition, they were subject to a “chargeback” if the…

Hulteen v. AT&T Corp., 441 F.3d 653 (9th Cir. 2006)

The federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 (PDA) became effective in 1979. Prior to the PDA, an AT&T employee who was on pregnancy leave was not awarded service credit for the period of her pregnancy leave, whereas employees who were on other temporary disability leaves received full credit for such absences. Four female employees…

Gober v. Ralphs Grocery Co., 137 Cal. App. 4th 204 (2006)

Six Ralphs employees sued for sexual harassment after the store director allegedly engaged in inappropriate touching, used profanity, made inappropriate comments about some of the employees’ sex lives and threw various objects at some of them. The jury awarded each of the employees between $50,000 and $200,000 in compensatory damages and between $150,000…

Armenta v. Osmose, Inc., 135 Cal. App. 4th 314, 2005 WL 3549422 (Dec. 29, 2005)

Osmose, Inc., which is in the business of maintaining standing wood utility poles for major utility companies, employed union members as employees pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement. In this class action, the employees alleged they were not compensated for various tasks, including travel time in company vehicles, preparing…

Kroske v. U.S. Bank Corp., 432 F.3d 976 (9th Cir. 2005)

Kathy Kroske, a former bank manager of U.S. Bank Corp. in Spokane, Washington, alleged her employment was terminated after 25 years based upon her age (51 years old). The Bank contended Kroske had been terminated because her branch failed to meet its daily performance goals. After Kroske filed suit in Washington state court,…

Josephs v. Pacific Bell, 432 F.3d 1006 (9th Cir. 2005)

Joshua Liam Josephs, a former Pacific Bell service technician, sued PacBell for mental disability discrimination in violation of the ADA and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. PacBell hired Josephs after he checked “No” to a question on his employment application asking whether he had ever been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor.…

Rivera v. Baker West, Inc., 430 F.3d 1253 (9th Cir. 2005)

Jack Rivera sued his former employer, Baker Concrete Construction, Inc., for race and national origin discrimination and wrongful termination. The matter was settled for “$40,000 less all lawfully required withholdings” during a settlement conference before a magistrate judge. Baker subsequently issued a settlement check in the amount of $25,140, withholding $14,860 for federal…