Discrimination

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Alch v. Superior Court, 165 Cal. App. 4th 1412 (2008)

In this ongoing putative class action filed by television writers alleging “industry-wide” age discrimination, the writers served subpoenas on the Writers Guild of America (“WGA”) and other third parties, seeking demographic information, including dates of birth, employment data such as writers’ employers, job titles, credits and dates of employment, and anecdotal evidence of age…

Westrec Marina Mgmt., Inc. v. Arrowood Indemn. Co., 163 Cal. App. 4th 1387 (2008)

Westrec sued its insurance carrier, Arrowood, after the carrier refused to provide a defense to an employment discrimination lawsuit on the ground that Westrec had failed to timely report the third-party claim as required under the terms of two successive directors and officers liability insurance policies issued by Arrowood. Bette…

Arteaga v. Brink’s, Inc., 163 Cal. App. 4th 327 (2008)

Brink’s employee Carlos Arteaga was the subject of an internal investigation into various shortages totaling $7,668 that occurred while he was acting in his capacity as an ATM messenger. The investigation was conducted after one of Arteaga’s managers noticed there had been 16 shortages in five months on runs in which Arteaga had been…

Diaz v. Eagle Produce, 521 F.3d 1201 (9th Cir. 2008)

Phoenix Agro Invest, Inc. and SAM Management, Inc. operate a commercial broccoli and melon farm in Arizona and usually lay-off workers during the winter months. Among others, the company laid off plaintiffs, four workers over the age of 50 years old, who challenged the lay off under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”).…

Harvey v. Sybase, Inc., 161 Cal. App. 4th 1547 (2008)

Marietta Harvey was hired and supervised by Nita White-Ivy in the human resources departments of two different companies, including Sybase. When Sybase terminated Harvey, she alleged discrimination on the basis of race or gender. The jury agreed and returned a verdict in Harvey’s favor in the amount of $1.3 million in compensatory damages and…

Federal Express Corp. v. Holowecki, 552 U.S. 389, 128 S. Ct. 1147 (2008)

Patricia Kennedy submitted a “Form 283” (an intake questionnaire) and an accompanying affidavit to the EEOC before filing suit against Federal Express, alleging age discrimination under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”). Federal Express moved to dismiss the lawsuit on the ground that Kennedy had not filed a “charge” with…

Villanueva v. City of Colton, 160 Cal. App. 4th 1188 (2008)

After Daniel Villanueva was demoted from Lead Operator to Operator II, he sued the city for discrimination based on race, national origin, ethnicity or skin color and for retaliation for his having complained about the alleged discrimination. The trial court granted summary judgment to the city after concluding Villanueva had made “unsupported charges…

Johnson v. Riverside Healthcare Sys., 516 F.3d 759 (9th Cir. 2008)

Christopher Lynn Johnson alleged he was discriminated against on the basis of his race and sexual orientation and asserted claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1981, the Unruh Civil Rights Act and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. The district court granted defendants’ motion to dismiss, and the Ninth Circuit affirmed, holding that…

Hicks v. KNTV Television, Inc., 160 Cal. App. 4th 994 (2008)

Bradford Hicks, a white man, was the 5:00 p.m. weeknight news anchor for KNTV. After KNTV chose not to renew Hicks’ contract, it selected an African-American man to fill the position Hicks had vacated. Hicks alleged race discrimination and wrongful termination, asserting that KNTV was under “pressure in the industry to hire minorities…

Ross v. Ragingwire Telecommunications, Inc., 42 Cal. 4th 920 (2008)

In accordance with the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 (Proposition 215), Gary Ross had a physician’s recommendation to use marijuana for his chronic back pain. Ragingwire offered Ross a job as a lead systems administrator subject to his passing a drug test, which he failed when he tested positive for THC (the active chemical…