California Employment Law Notes

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Swat-Fame, Inc. v. Goldstein, 101 Cal. App. 4th 613 (2002)

After the employer, Swat-Fame, prevailed in a fraud/breach of contract action that a former sales representative, Leslie Goldstein, had filed against it, Swat-Fame sued Goldstein and her attorneys for malicious prosecution. The trial court granted Goldstein’s and her lawyers’ motions for summary judgment. The Court of Appeal affirmed the dismissal of the malicious prosecution…

Corbett v. Superior Court, 101 Cal. App. 4th 649 (2002)

The plaintiff in this non-employment case filed a class action seeking an injunction against a bank and a car dealership, alleging violations of the Consumers Legal Remedies Act, the Unfair Competition Law (UCL), fraud and intentional interference with prospective economic advantage. This action arose from defendants’ alleged practice of approving car loans at an…

Mendoza v. Zirkle Fruit Co., 301 F.3d 1163 (9th Cir. 2002)

The prospective class of legally documented agricultural workers in this case alleged that their employers had depressed their wages by way of an “Illegal Immigrant Hiring Scheme,” pursuant to which the employers knowingly hired workers of illegal status who were willing to accept below-market wages. The employees alleged a violation of the Racketeer…

Schlage Lock Co. v. Whyte, 101 Cal. App. 4th 1443 (2002)

J. Douglas Whyte was employed as a vice-president of Schlage where he was responsible for sales to The Home Depot (which alone accounts for 38 percent of Schlage’s sales) and other “big box” retailers such as HomeBase and Lowe’s. Whyte signed a confidentiality agreement to protect Schlage’s proprietary information and agreed to abide…

Humble v. Boeing Co., 305 F.3d 1004 (9th Cir. 2002)

Su Humble, a union member who was employed as a fabrication bench mechanic for Boeing, suffered an on-the-job injury to her shoulder. After taking a series of medical leaves of absence over the course of approximately 15 months, Humble was told that there were no lightduty positions available to accommodate her alleged disability when…

Lolley v. Campbell, 28 Cal. 4th 367 (2002)

Chris Lolley filed a claim with the California Labor Commissioner to recover unpaid overtime wages and penalties. The Labor Commissioner awarded the employee $27,216, and the employer appealed to the superior court. At Lolley’s request, the Labor Commissioner determined that Lolley could not afford counsel and agreed to represent him in the superior court action. After…

Grant-Burton v. Covenant Care, Inc., 99 Cal. App. 4th 1361 (2002)

Sharron Grant-Burton alleged that her employment was terminated in retaliation for having participated in a group discussion with other marketing directors about the company’s bonus structure. The company’s director of human relations testified at her deposition that Grant-Burton’s discussion of bonuses in a public forum was one of the reasons for the termination.…

Oki Semiconductor Co. v. Wells Fargo Bank, 298 F.3d 768 (9th Cir. 2002)

A gang of thieves stole $9 million worth of semiconductors from Oki Semiconductor Company and laundered the proceeds through a network of dummy corporations and sham bank accounts set up by Anne Tran, a Wells Fargo Bank branch teller. Oki sued Wells Fargo, alleging that it was vicariously liable for Tran’s…

Espresso Roma Corp. v. Bank of America, 100 Cal. App. 4th 525 (2002)

Espresso Roma Corporation suffered losses of more than $330,000 when its former bookkeeper stole blank company checks, forged signatures and used the checks to pay for personal purchases. The bookkeeper concealed his actions by removing the forged checks from the bank statements when he sorted the mail. The company did not…

Walker v. San Francisco Housing Authority, 100 Cal. App. 4th 685 (2002)

Thelma Walker was employed as a “journeyman painter” for the San Francisco Housing Authority (SFHA). In her lawsuit against the SFHA and her foreman, Walker alleged that she had been subjected to severe and pervasive sexual harassment, defamation, invasion of privacy, and interference with prospective economic advantage and assault, among other things.…