As 2025 winds down, many employers are focused on year-end reviews, budget planning, and compliance checklists for the year ahead. But before turning the page on another year in California employment law, two recent jury verdicts serve as a sobering reminder of the continuing trend of nuclear verdicts as we have previously reported here, here, here, and here. Consider this your
As 2024 came to a close, yet another California jury delivered a massive award to an individual plaintiff in an employment discrimination case. This time, it was an award of over $11 million by a San Diego jury to a medical screener at a plasma donation center (Roque v. Octapharma Plasma, Inc.). The 74-year-old plaintiff alleged that her employer failed to accommodate her
Wawrzenski v. United Airlines, Inc., 2024 WL 4750558 (Cal. Ct. App. 2024)
Alexa Wawrzenski was fired from her position as a United Airlines flight attendant for having a social media account featuring pictures of herself in uniform and wearing a bikini, with a link to an OnlyFans subscription-based account that she advertised as providing “exclusive private content you won’t see anywhere else.” Wawrzenski sued
Paleny v. Fireplace Products U.S., Inc., 103 Cal. App. 5th 199 (2024)
Erika Paleny alleged harassment, discrimination and retaliation after informing her manager that she would be undergoing oocyte retrieval procedures so she could donate and freeze her eggs for her potential use at some unknown time in the future. The trial court granted the employer’s motion for summary judgment on the ground that the
Vines v. O’Reilly Auto Enterprises, LLC, 2024 WL 1751760 (Cal. Ct. App. 2024)
Renee Vines filed an action against his former employer alleging discrimination and harassment under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) based on his race and age; that he was retaliated against when he was wrongfully terminated after he complained about the discrimination and harassment; and that his employer failed to prevent
Mattioda v. Nelson, 98 F.4th 1164 (9th Cir. 2024)
Dr. Andrew Mattioda, a NASA scientist, sued the agency for discrimination and hostile work environment that allegedly began after he informed his supervisors of a disability to his hips and spine and requested upgraded airline tickets for work-related travel. The district court dismissed on summary judgment both the discrimination and hostile work environment claims, but
Muldrow v. City of St. Louis, 601 U.S. ___, 144 S. Ct. 967 (2024)
Sergeant Jatonya Clayborn Muldrow worked as a plainclothes officer in the Intelligence Division of the St. Louis Police Department until she was reassigned to a uniformed job elsewhere in the Department and replaced with a male officer. Although Muldrow’s rank and pay remained the same, her responsibilities, perks and schedule
The Los Angeles Superior Court has bestowed some remarkable gifts upon plaintiffs this holiday season. Two juries have issued gigantic verdicts in favor of individual plaintiffs in separate employment lawsuits within the past month.
On November 16, 2023, in Sosa v. Comerica Bank, a jury delivered a verdict of $14.17 million consisting of $1.17 million in lost earnings (past and future) and $13 million in emotional
We invite you to review our newly-posted November 2023 California Employment Law Notes, a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law. The highlights include: