Off-the-Clock Issues

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Bradley v. Networkers Int’l, LLC, 2012 WL 6182473 (Cal. Ct. App. 2012)

The three named plaintiffs in this case were among approximately 140 skilled workers retained by Networkers to provide repair and installation services at cell sites. Each worker was required to sign a standard contract, which stated that he or she was an independent contractor rather than an employee. The purported independent contractor…

Brinker Rest. Corp. v. Superior Court, 53 Cal. 4th 1004 (2012)

In this long-awaited opinion, the California Supreme Court determined several important issues of law regarding meal and rest breaks. First and foremost, the Supreme Court determined that “an employer’s obligation is to relieve its employee of all duty, with the employee thereafter at liberty to use the meal period for whatever purpose he…

Kasten v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp., 563 U.S. ___, 131 S. Ct. 1325 (2011)

Kevin Kasten alleged that his former employer, Saint-Gobain, terminated his employment because he orally complained to Saint-Gobain about the location of its time clocks, which prevented workers from receiving credit for the time they spent putting on and taking off their work clothes (in violation of the Fair Labor Standards…

Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court, 165 Cal. App. 4th 25 (2008)

In this case, the Court of Appeal decided a number important issues concerning employee class action claims for alleged rest break violations, meal period and “early lunching” violations and off-the-clock/“time shaving” violations. The Court of Appeal determined the claims were not amenable to class treatment because individual issues predominated and, accordingly, granted…

deVillers v. County of San Diego, 156 Cal. App. 4th 238 (2007)

Kristin Rossum, who was employed as a toxicologist for the County of San Diego, took toxic materials from the Office of Medical Examiner (“OME”) and used them to murder her husband, Greg deVillers. After Rossum was convicted of murdering deVillers, his survivors sued the County for negligently hiring Rossum and for breaching…

Mason v. Lake Dolores Group, LLC, 117 Cal. App. 4th 822 (2004)

James Mason was rendered a paraplegic after he rode down the “Doo Wop Super Drop” water slide and crashed into a dam at the end of the slide that was owned and operated by his employer, Lake Dolores Group (LDG). Shortly before the accident, Mason reported to work but did not clock…

Roe v. City of San Diego, 356 F.3d 1108 (9th Cir. 2004)

While working as a San Diego police officer, John Roe videotaped himself stripping off a generic police officer’s uniform and engaging in acts of masturbation. Roe sold the videos on the adults-only section of eBay – under the username “Code3stud@aol.com.” After one of Roe’s supervisors discovered the videos online and recognized Roe,…

Ali v. L.A. Focus Publication, 112 Cal. App. 4th 1477 (2003)

Najee Ali, who worked as the community affairs columnist for L.A. Focus Publication, was terminated after he expressed support while a guest on a local radio program for Antonio Villaraigosa, a candidate for mayor of Los Angeles, and criticized United States Representative Maxine Waters for supporting another candidate, James Hahn, in the upcoming…

Barbee v. Household Auto. Fin. Corp., 113 Cal. App. 4th 525 (2003)

Household Automotive Finance Corporation (HAFC) terminated the employment of its national sales manager, Robert Barbee, after learning that Barbee had a “special relationship” with one of his subordinate employees and after giving Barbee the choice of either ending the relationship or effecting his or the subordinate employee’s resignation. Barbee sued HAFC for…

Hoblitzell v. City of Ione, 110 Cal. App. 4th 675 (2003)

Timothy Hoblitzell, a construction contractor, sued three employees of the City of Ione and the city itself after the employees identified themselves to one of Hoblitzell’s customers (a property owner) as building inspectors, told the customer that Hoblitzell had been performing the construction without permits and made disparaging remarks about the quality of…