Ghazaryan v. Diva Limousine, Ltd., 169 Cal. App. 4th 1524 (2009)

Sarkis Ghazaryan filed this class action lawsuit alleging that Diva Limousine had failed to pay wages, overtime compensation, and to provide meal periods and rest breaks in violation of California law. Diva followed a policy of paying its drivers an hourly rate of pay for assigned trips but it failed to pay them…

Pineda v. Bank of Am., N.A., 170 Cal. App. 4th 388 (2009)

Jorge Pineda filed this class action against Bank of America for unpaid wages and for “waiting-time” penalties under Labor Code § 203. Although Pineda gave the bank two weeks’ advance notice of his resignation, the bank failed to pay him his final pay until four days after his employment had ended. Pineda…

Nigg v. United States Postal Serv., 555 F.3d 781 (2009)

Robert Nigg, a postal inspector currently employed by the United States Postal Service (“USPS”), and Keith Lewis, a retired postal inspector, sued the USPS alleging postal inspectors are entitled to overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The district court granted summary judgment to the USPS after concluding that another federal statute…

Boston v. Penny Lane Centers, Inc., 170 Cal. App. 4th 936 (2009)

LaToya Boston worked as a therapist and treatment coordinator for Penny Lane, a social services agency that operates group homes for juveniles and offers therapy for children and families. When Boston was first hired, Penny Lane maintained staffing ratios of one staff member for every three clients, but in time the number…

Dible v. Haight Ashbury Free Clinics, Inc., 170 Cal. App. 4th 843 (2009)

Leah Dible, who was employed by the Haight Ashbury Free Clinics as a psychiatric counselor, was terminated after a jail inmate as to whom she had some level of responsibility committed suicide. Dible alleged that when she was terminated, she was told that her negligence had resulted in the inmate’s suicide…

C.R. v. Tenet Healthcare Corp., 169 Cal. App. 4th 1094 (2009)

In this class action, C.R. sued Tenet Healthcare for sexual harassment in violation of Civil Code § 51.9 (prohibiting sexual harassment by a health care provider), negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress based upon nursing assistant Ramon Eduardo Gaspar’s alleged sexual touching of her and other patients while they were in a…

Wilson v. County of Orange, 169 Cal. App. 4th 1185 (2009)

Julie Ann Wilson worked as a radio dispatcher for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s emergency communications system. Wilson sued the County for disability discrimination under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) on the ground that it allegedly had failed to make reasonable accommodation for her medical condition (antiphospholipid antibody syndrome or “thick…

Rohr v. Salt River Project Agric. Improvement & Power Dist., 2009 WL 349798 (9th Cir. 2009)

Larry Rohr, an insulin-dependent type 2 diabetic, brought suit for employment discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). The district court granted the employer’s motion for summary judgment on the grounds that he failed to raise a material issue of fact concerning whether he had a disability…

Crawford v. Metropolitan Gov’t of Nashville & Davidson County, 555 U.S. 271 (2009)

Vicky Crawford was interviewed during the course of an investigation into “rumors of sexual harassment” involving the Metro School District’s employee relations director, Gene Hughes. Crawford described several instances of sexually harassing behavior that Hughes allegedly directed at her; two other employees also reported being sexually harassed by Hughes. Although Metro…

In an opinion letter issued on November 25, 2008, the DLSE determined that an employer may make deductions from wages to reflect predictable and expected wage overpayments made in the immediately prior paycheck so long as the employer has obtained the employee’s voluntary, written authorization to do so. See http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/OpinionLetters-byDate.htm.