California Employment Law Notes

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Gober v. Ralphs Grocery Co., 128 Cal. App. 4th 648 (2005)

The jury awarded Dianne Gober and five other employees of Ralphs a total of $550,000 in compensatory damages and punitive damages in the amount of $30 million as a result of sexual harassment they suffered in the workplace. The trial court conditionally granted a new trial on the amount of punitive damages as…

McRae v. Dep’t of Corrections, 127 Cal. App. 4th 779 (2005)

Dr. Margie McRae filed a lawsuit against her employer, the California Department of Corrections, and four individual defendants, seeking damages for discrimination and retaliation in violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). The trial court granted summary judgment to the four individual defendants, and the case proceeded to trial against the…

SEC v. Gemstar-TV Guide Int’l, 401 F.3d 1031 (9th Cir. 2005) (en banc)

As part of its announced plans to restructure its management and corporate governance, Gemstar-TV Guide entered into negotiations for termination agreements with its CEO and CFO. The CEO’s termination agreement provided for a “termination fee” of $22.45 million, an additional $7.03 million in unpaid salary, bonuses, and unused vacation and millions…

Lutz v. Glendale Union High School, 403 F.3d 1061 (9th Cir. 2005)

Claudette Lutz, a longtime teacher and assistant principal at schools in Glendale, Arizona, alleged that she was fired in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Lutz filed her case in Arizona state court, and the school district removed the action to federal court. Lutz then had 10 days during which…

Goldberg v. Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., 125 Cal. App. 4th 752 (2005)

Ilene Goldberg sued her former employer, Warner/Chappell Music, and her former supervisor for wrongful termination, discrimination, and retaliation for “whistle blowing,” among other things. Goldberg moved to disqualify Warner’s counsel, the law firm of Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP (MS&K), on the ground that six years earlier she had consulted with an MS&K…

Estrada v. RPS, Inc., 125 Cal. App. 4th 976 (2005)

Anthony Estrada, a former driver for RPS, alleged unfair business practices under Business & Professions Code § 17200, contending that RPS unlawfully classified its pickup and delivery drivers as “independent contractors” rather than employees and, as a result, had failed to reimburse them for employment-related expenses as required by Labor Code § 2802. After…

Moran v. Murtaugh, Miller, Meyer & Nelson, 126 Cal. App. 4th 323 (2005)

Gene Moran was hired as a paralegal by the Murtaugh, Miller law firm. Shortly thereafter, one of the firm’s associates conducted a computerized legal database search and discovered that Moran had several felony convictions in his past, including grand theft and second-degree burglary. The associate notified a number of the firm’s…

Steinhebel v. Los Angeles Times Communications, 126 Cal. App. 4th 696 (2005)

Kurt Steinhebel and other telesales employees of the Los Angeles Times sold newspaper subscriptions and received commissions for those sales. Under the Telesales Agreement, a “chargedback order (when a customer does not keep the paper for at least 28 days)” was not a commissionable order. The employees received commission advances against which…

Honeywell v. WCAB, 35 Cal. 4th 24 (2005)

William Wagner, a sheet metal specialist for Honeywell, claimed work-related injuries to his body and psyche due to employment. On July 20, 1998, Wagner made statements that management was prejudiced against him and hampered his promotion and transfer, that he could not “take it anymore,” and that his doctor had prescribed medication for work stress. On…

CIR v. Banks, 543 U.S. 426, 125 S. Ct. 826 (2005)

In these consolidated cases, John W. Banks, II and Sigitas J. Banaitis failed to report as income portions of a settlement (in Banks’s case) and a favorable judgment (in Banaitis’s case) that were paid to their attorneys. The United States Supreme Court held that when a litigant’s recovery constitutes income, the income includes…