California Employment Law Notes

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McPhearson v. The Michaels Co., 96 Cal. App. 4th 843 (2002)

Plaintiff’s attorney in this discrimination case (John Riestenberg) had represented another employee of The Michaels Company (Kevin Harris) in a similar lawsuit against the company. As part of his settlement agreement, Harris agreed to keep the terms of the agreement confidential. When Riestenberg filed the current lawsuit against the employer, the company filed…

West v. Bechtel Corp., 96 Cal. App. 4th 966 (2002)

Plaintiff, a former engineer who worked for Bechtel Corp. for more than 30 years, sued the company for age discrimination and breach of contract. At trial, plaintiff received a jury verdict of $101,852.27 for lost salary and emotional distress damages. The Court of Appeal reversed the judgment on the age discrimination claim for lack…

Medix Ambulance Serv., Inc. v. Superior Court, 97 Cal. App. 4th 109 (2002)

Plaintiff alleged a claim for sexual harassment arising under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) as well as a common law cause of action for sexual harassment in violation of public policy. The trial court overruled the employer’s demurrer without holding a hearing. The Court of Appeal held that…

Hoffman Plastic Compounds, Inc. v. NLRB, 535 U.S. 137 (2002)

The employer in this case, Hoffman Plastic Compounds, Inc., was found to have violated Section 8(a)(3) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) when it selected four known union supporters for layoff. During a compliance hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), one of the four employees, Jose Castro, testified that he was born…

Bennett v. Medtronic, Inc., 285 F.3d 801 (9th Cir. 2002)

Medtronic, Inc. sued three of its former California employees and their new employer, NuVasive, in Tennessee following the employees’ resignation from Medtronic and acceptance of employment with NuVasive, one of Medtronic’s competitors in the business of designing and manufacturing spinal surgery devices. Among other things, Medtronic sought to enforce a non-competition agreement the employees…