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
Ververka v. Department of Veterans Affairs, 102 Cal. App. 5th 162 (2024)
Donald Ververka alleged that his employer, the California Department of Veterans Affairs (“CalVet”), had terminated him in violation of the whistleblower statute, Cal. Lab. Code § 1102.6. A jury determined that although Ververka had made protected disclosures that were “contributing factors” in CalVet’s decision to fire him, CalVet was not liable because
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
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:
Plaintiff Natalie Operstein was a professor of linguistics at California State University, Fullerton, and plaintiff Craig Ross is her husband. In 2014, the university hired a law firm to investigate multiple accusations Operstein raised to her superiors about three of Operstein’s colleagues. Defendant Colleen Regan, then a partner at the law firm, led
Plaintiff Robert LaCour, a former “loss prevention specialist” for Marshalls, appealed from a judgment in favor of his former employer and certain affiliated entities. Marshalls filed a demurrer arguing that because LaCour’s employment with Marshalls ended in May 2019, he had only a year and 65 days to bring a PAGA