EEOC v. McLane Co., 2015 WL 6457965 (9th Cir. 2015)

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 as a

This law amends Labor Code § 1197.5 (SB 358):

Broader Prohibition of Gender Wage Differentials Enacted

Currently, Section 1197.5 prohibits an employer from paying an employee at wage rates less than the rates paid to employees of the opposite sex in the same establishment for equal work. The amendment revises this prohibition, instead prohibiting an employer from paying an employee at wage rates less than

The latest legislative session has just ended, and, true to form, the California Legislature has added more than a dozen new laws affecting employers doing business in the nation’s largest state.  These statutes are in addition to the other six new laws that we reported on in September:

  • Signed legislation:
    • Sick Leave: Accrual And Limitations Language Clarified (AB 304)
    • Employers Prohibited From Using E-Verify

France v. Johnson, 2015 WL 4604730 (9th Cir. 2015)

John France, a border patrol agent assigned to the Tucson Sector Border Patrol, applied for a promotion to Assistant Chief Patrol Agent (GS-15 pay grade). Of the 24 eligible candidates, France was the oldest (age 54). Although France was among the top 12 candidates invited for interviews in Washington, DC, he was not among the

Horne v. District Council 16 Int’l Union of Painters & Allied Trades, 2015 WL 681433 (Cal. Ct. App. 2015)

Raymond E. Horne was a glazier and a member of the glazier’s union. He also served as an officer and a member of the council and of the executive board of the union. Horne, who is African American, twice applied for an organizer position with

Swanson v. Morongo Unified School Dist., 2014 WL 7399317 (Cal. Ct. App. 2014)

Lauralyn Swanson was a teacher for the Yucca Valley Elementary School who was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy. After the district’s board of education voted not to renew Swanson’s contract, Swanson sued for discrimination based on medical condition, denial of reasonable accommodation and refusal to engage in the

Kao v. The University of San Francisco, 229 Cal. App. 4th 437 (2014)

Dr. John S. Kao was a tenured professor at USF who submitted a 485-page complaint (plus a 41-page addendum) to the university alleging race-based discrimination and harassment at the school. Kao was not satisfied with the university’s two-page response, which he said did not offer any remedies for the problems he

On September 9, 2014, California Governor Jerry Brown signed A.B. 1443, which extends the state’s anti-harassment and anti-discrimination protections to unpaid interns.

Employers are now prohibited from discrimination based on protected characteristics in the “selection, termination, training or other terms” of unpaid interns. A.B. 1443 also prohibits harassment of unpaid interns based on protected characteristics, and it makes employers liable for sexual harassment of

Kim v. Konad USA Distribution, Inc., 226 Cal. App. 4th 1336 (2014)

Following a bench trial, Esther Kim was awarded $60,000 against her former employer (Konad) and her former boss (Dong Whang) for sexual harassment and wrongful termination. Curiously, defendants did not challenge the pleadings or file any pretrial motion to dispose of any part of the case prior to the commencement of trial,