California Employment Law Notes

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Rivera v. National R.R. Passenger Corp., 331 F.3d 1074 (9th Cir. 2003)

After John Rivera, who worked for Amtrak as a night watchman, threatened to “blow people away” in Amtrak’s San Jose office, the local police went to his home and found drugs, drug paraphernalia and an unregistered assault rifle with ammunition. Rivera was terminated shortly thereafter for falsification of a timecard, violation of…

State of Cal. Dep’t of Rehabilitation v. WCAB, 30 Cal. 4th 1281 (2003)

Ronald Lauher worked as a rehabilitation counselor for the California Department of Rehabilitation for 25 years before submitting a claim for workers’ compensation benefits based on work-related stress and depression. After Lauher was diagnosed with Gerstmann’s Syndrome (a brain lesion that causes learning disabilities) and prescribed medication, his disability was considered…

Escalante v. Wilson’s Art Studio, Inc., 109 Cal. App. 4th 692 (2003)

Wilson’s Art Studio terminated Hector Escalante’s employment as a printer after he was physically attacked by another employee, but failed to leave the scene, deciding instead to go back to fight. In his wrongful termination lawsuit, Escalante, an at-will employee, alleged that Wilson’s had violated public policy by terminating him for exercising…

Intel Corp. v. Hamidi, 30 Cal. 4th 1342 (2003)

Kourosh Kenneth Hamidi, a former Intel engineer, formed an organization named Former and Current Employees of Intel (FACE-Intel) to disseminate information and views critical of Intel’s employment and personnel policies and practices. Over a 21-month period, Hamidi sent as many as 35,000 messages to e-mail addresses at Intel. The trial court granted Intel’s application for…

Parris v. Superior Court, 109 Cal. App. 4th 285 (2003)

Cynthia Parris and Willie Lopez filed a class action lawsuit against Lowe’s H.I.W., Inc., alleging violations of California’s wage and hour laws regarding allegedly unpaid overtime compensation that was owed to employees who were compelled to work “off the clock.” Parris and Lopez then filed a motion for leave to communicate with potential class…

Black & Decker Disability Plan v. Nord, 538 U.S. 822 (2003)

Kenneth L. Nord was employed by a Black & Decker subsidiary as a material planner in a job classified as “sedentary” because it required up to six hours of sitting and two hours of standing or walking per day. Nord consulted with a physician about hip and back pain from which he had…

State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Campbell, 538 U.S. 408, 123 S. Ct. 1513 (2003)

Curtis and Inez Campbell sued their automobile insurance carrier (State Farm) for bad faith, fraud, and intentional infliction of emotional distress after State Farm declined to settle within the $50,000 policy limit a wrongful death and personal injury lawsuit that had been filed against Curtis Campbell. Although State…

Breuer v. Jim’s Concrete of Brevard, Inc., 538 U.S. 691, 123 S. Ct. 1882 (2003)

Phillip T. Breuer sued Jim’s Concrete, his former employer, in Florida state court for unpaid wages, liquidated damages, interest and attorney’s fees under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which provides that such an action “may be maintained… in any Federal or State court of competent jurisdiction.” Jim’s…

Levy v. Skywalker Sound, 108 Cal. App. 4th 753 (2003)

Robert M. Levy worked as an audio recording engineer for Skywalker Sound in Marin County beginning in 1995. When Levy was hired, he was told that the scoring stage was a “non-union room” and that his position at Skywalker Sound would not be a union position. (Shortly after he began work, Levy began to…

Reynolds v. Bement, 107 Cal. App. 4th 738 (2003)

In this class action lawsuit brought by shop managers and assistant shop managers of Earl Scheib, Inc., the managers asserted that the officers and directors of Earl Scheib were personally liable for unpaid overtime in that they were “employers” within the meaning of Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Order No. 9. The trial court sustained…