Disability

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Jenkins v. County of Riverside, 138 Cal. App. 4th 593 (2006)

Evelyn Jenkins worked as a full-time “Office Assistant II” for the County for six years before her employment was terminated. During the entire six years, Jenkins was classified as a “temporary employee.” After taking a workers’ compensation leave of absence and having surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome, Jenkins informed the County that she…

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…

Leonel v. American Airlines, Inc., 400 F.3d 702 (9th Cir. 2005)

Walber Leonel and two other individuals applied for flight attendant positions with American Airlines. Plaintiffs were interviewed in Dallas and received conditional offers of employment, contingent upon their passing background checks and medical examinations. Although none of the applicants disclosed his HIV-positive status or related medications, American conducted tests on the blood samples…

Coleman v. Standard Life Ins. Co., 288 F. Supp. 2d 1116 (E.D. Cal. 2003)

Floyd Coleman, who was employed as a probation officer for the County of Sacramento, sued Standard Life Insurance Company after it denied him long-term disability benefits for his knee condition and chronic back pain. Coleman sued for a violation of ERISA and under state law for breach of contract and…

Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers’ Ass’n v. County of Los Angeles, 115 Cal. App. 4th 866 (2004)

William Kupper and Bennie Layne worked as investigators for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office before becoming temporarily disabled after being injured on the job. Kupper and Layne both retired after their disabilities became permanent. Under the applicable County ordinances, DA investigators could accumulate up…

Crown Appliance v. WCAB, 115 Cal. App. 4th 620 (2004)

Crown Appliance petitioned the Court of Appeal for a writ of review, following a determination by the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) that Crown had discriminated against its employee, Morton Wong, for filing a workers’ compensation claim. Wong sustained an industrial injury to his left elbow and back while employed as a delivery driver…

Pacific Gas & Elec. Co. v. WCAB, 114 Cal. App. 4th 1174 (2004)

Clifford Bryan filed a workers’ compensation claim against Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) after he was forced to leave work in October 2001 due to the stress of his job in interacting with customers who did not like the company and due to the financial problems affecting PG&E during that…

Smith v. IBEW, Local 11, 109 Cal. App. 4th 1637 (2003)

Donald Smith was terminated from his job as a union organizer for Local 11 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). Smith alleged that his employment was terminated in violation of the public policy against age and disability discrimination and in violation of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. The Court…

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…

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…