Goldberg v. Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., 125 Cal. App. 4th 752 (2005)

Ilene Goldberg sued her former employer, Warner/Chappell Music, and her former supervisor for wrongful termination, discrimination, and retaliation for “whistle blowing,” among other things. Goldberg moved to disqualify Warner’s counsel, the law firm of Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP (MS&K), on the ground that six years earlier she had consulted with an MS&K

CalMat Co. v. United States Dep’t of Labor, 364 F.3d 1117 (9th Cir. 2004)

Robert Germann had worked at CalMat for nearly 20 years when he was elected to be the local union’s shop steward. After a fellow employee told Germann that three of the company’s drivers had worked more than 15 hours the previous day in violation of state and federal safety regulations,

Fashion 21 v. Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, 117 Cal. App. 4th 1138 (2004)

Fashion 21, a nationwide retailer of women’s clothing, purchased garments from manufacturers and sewing contractors that allegedly exploited their employees by refusing to properly pay them or provide them with clean and safe facilities in which to work. The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles

Kotla v. The Regents of the Univ. of Cal., 115 Cal. App. 4th 283 (2004)

Dee Kotla, a former computer support technician, sued the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory (the Lab) for retaliation under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) after she testified at a deposition in support of another employee’s claim of sexual harassment. The Lab contended that it had terminated Kotla’s employment as

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

Taylor v. Lockheed Martin Corp., 113 Cal. App. 4th 380 (2003)

Walter Taylor filed suit against Lockheed Martin Corporation alleging, among other things, wrongful termination in violation of Labor Code §§ 1102.5 and 6310 (prohibiting retaliation against an employee who has complained about unsafe working conditions in the workplace). Taylor, a member of the International Association of Machinists, also filed a grievance with the

Thompson v. Impaxx, Inc., 113 Cal. App. 4th 1425 (2003)

David Thompson’s employment was terminated after he refused to sign a customer non-solicitation agreement that his employer, Impaxx, required him to sign. The covenant in question stated that “[f]or a period of one year following the termination of employment, I will not call on, solicit, or take away any of [my employer’s] customers or

USS-Posco Indus. v. Edwards, 111 Cal. App. 4th 436 (2003)

Ezell Edwards was terminated from his employment as a mill worker at USS-Posco Industries’ (UPI’s) tin mill after he made generalized threats of violence against UPI, including a statement that “they’re going to have to change the company’s name from USS-Posco to USSColumbine.” The trial court issued a three-year injunction in the name of

Rivera v. National R.R. Passenger Corp., 331 F.3d 1074 (9th Cir. 2003)

After John Rivera, who worked for Amtrak as a night watchman, threatened to “blow people away” in Amtrak’s San Jose office, the local police went to his home and found drugs, drug paraphernalia and an unregistered assault rifle with ammunition. Rivera was terminated shortly thereafter for falsification of a timecard, violation of

Palmer v. Regents of the Univ. of Cal., 107 Cal. App. 4th 899 (2003)

Patricia Palmer, who worked as a clinical laboratory technologist at the UCLA Medical Center, sued the UC Regents for wrongful termination in violation of public policy following the restructuring of the department in which she had worked and the termination of her employment after 21 years. Palmer alleged that she