California Labor & Employment Law

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Somers v. Digital Realty Trust, Inc., 850 F.3d 1045 (9th Cir. 2017)

Paul Somers, who was formerly employed as a vice president of Digital Realty, alleged that he was fired after he made several reports to senior management regarding possible securities law violations. Somers did not report his concerns to the SEC. Somers sued Digital Realty for violation of Section 21F of the Securities…

McLane Co. v. EEOC, 581 U.S. ___, 137 S. Ct. 1159 (2017)

Damiana Ochoa filed a charge with the EEOC alleging sex discrimination (based on pregnancy) in violation of Title VII, when, after s­­he tried to return to her job following maternity leave, her employer (McLane Co.) informed her that she could not come back to the position she had held for eight years…

Santillan v. USA Waste of Cal., 853 F.3d 1035 (9th Cir. 2017)

Gilberto Santillan, a 53-year-old garbage truck driver in Manhattan Beach, was employed for 32 years before his employment was terminated by a new route manager (Steve Kobzoff) after Santillan had four accidents in a 12-month period. Santillan disputed that he had four accidents and testified that he was one of five older…

Featherstone v. Southern Cal. Permanente Med. Grp., 2017 WL 1399709 (Cal. Ct. App. 2017)

Ruth Featherstone alleged that her former employer (SCPMG) discriminated against her based on a “temporary disability” that was caused by an adverse drug reaction, which resulted in an “altered mental state.” During this alleged altered mental state, Featherstone resigned orally from her job in a telephone conversation with her supervisor…

The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (“DFEH”) recently obtained a settlement on behalf of a custodian for a school district who was fired after an on-the-job injury.  As part of the settlement, the employer agreed to pay $290,000 and offer reinstatement with reasonable accommodations.

During an investigation by the DFEH, the district told the DFEH that it relies on a test of physical…

We invite you to review our newly-posted March 2017 California Employment Law Notes, a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law. The highlights include:

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Lynn v. Tatitlek Support Servs., Inc., 2017 WL 696008 (Cal. Ct. App. 2017)

The Lynns sued TSSI in this wrongful death action arising from an automobile accident involving TSSI’s temporary employee, Abdul Formoli. The Lynns contend that the “going and coming” rule, precluding employer vicarious liability, does not apply based upon the nature of Formoli’s employment – namely, that the remoteness of the job…

Syed v. M-I, LLC, 846 F.3d 1034 (9th Cir. 2017)

When Sarmad Syed applied for a job with M-I, he was given a “Pre-employment Disclosure Release,” which informed him that his credit history and other information could be collected and used as a basis for the employment decision; the document also stated that by signing it, Syed was waiving his right to sue M-I…

Vaquero v. Stoneledge Furniture LLC, 2017 WL 776635 (Cal. Ct. App. 2017)

Ricardo Bermudez Vaquero and Robert Schaefer, who were employed as sales associates for Stoneledge Furniture, filed a class action, alleging that Stoneledge’s commission pay plan violated California law because it did not provide separate compensation to employees for any non-selling time such as time spent in meetings, attending certain types of training…

Navarro v. Encino Motorcars, LLC, 845 F.3d 925 (9th Cir. 2017)

An amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) exempts from its overtime requirements “any salesman, partsman, or mechanic primarily engaged in selling or servicing automobiles, trucks, or farm implements.”  The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) subsequently issued an opinion letter and amended its Field Operations Handbook to state that service advisors also…