We invite you to review our newly-posted January 2023 California Employment Law Notes, a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law. The highlights include: Age/National Origin Case Was Properly Dismissed Despite “Direct Evidence” Of Discriminatory Animus Family Court May Order Employer To Provide Determination Of Arrearages Owed In Spousal … Continue Reading
Whitlach v. Premier Valley, Inc., 86 Cal. App. 5th 673 (2022) James Whitlach, a real estate agent, brought a PAGA suit against Premier Valley, Inc. dba Century 21 MM and Century 21 Real Estate, LLC (collectively, “Century 21”). Whitlach alleged that Century 21’s real estate agents were misclassified as independent contractors. The Court of Appeal … Continue Reading
We invite you to review our newly-posted November 2022 California Employment Law Notes, a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law. The highlights include: Equal Pay Act Claim Should Not Have Been Dismissed Whistleblower Claim Should Not Have Been Dismissed In Part School District Employee May Have Been Discriminated … Continue Reading
Miller v. Roseville Lodge No. 1293, 83 Cal. App. 5th 825 (2022) Roseville Lodge No. 1293, Loyal Order of Moose, Inc., hired Charlie Gelatini to move an ATM on its premises. Ricky Lee Miller, Jr., who worked for Gelatini and was the person who performed the work, was injured on the job when he fell … Continue Reading
We invite you to review our newly-posted May 2022 California Employment Law Notes, a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law. The highlights include: Former UCLA Physician Can Proceed With Whistleblower Claims Former Employee Adequately Alleged Disability Under The ADA California Resident May Rely Upon Labor Code § 925 … Continue Reading
Mejia v. Roussos Constr., Inc., 76 Cal. App. 5th 811 (2022) Plaintiffs, unlicensed flooring installers, installed floors on behalf of Roussos Construction, a general contractor. There were three individuals working between plaintiffs and Roussos whom plaintiffs called “supervisors” and Roussos called “subcontractors.” At trial, Roussos maintained that it used independent contractors (the three individuals) who … Continue Reading
On May 1, we reported on the California Supreme Court’s opinion in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court, in which the Supreme Court set forth the standard for determining if a worker may properly be classified as an employee or independent contractor. See Cal. Employment Law Blog (May 1, 2018). An issue that the Court … Continue Reading
Hirst v. City of Oceanside, 236 Cal. App. 4th 774 (2015) Kimberli Hirst, an employee of American Forensic Nurses, Inc., sued the City of Oceanside after she was allegedly sexually harassed by an Oceanside police officer while providing phlebotomist services on behalf of the Oceanside Police Department. A jury awarded Hirst $1.5 million, which the … Continue Reading
Noe v. Superior Court, 237 Cal. App. 4th 316 (2015) Several vendors who sold food and beverages at various entertainment venues in southern California sued for failure to pay minimum wage and willfully misclassifying them as independent contractors in violation of Cal. Lab. Code § 226.8. In this opinion, the Court of Appeal held that … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading
Ayala v. Antelope Valley Newspapers, Inc., 2012 WL 4098995 (Cal. Ct. App. 2012) Plaintiffs Maria Ayala, Rosa Duran and Osman Nuñez sought to certify a class of newspaper home delivery carriers in a lawsuit brought against Antelope Valley Newspapers, Inc. (“AVN”), alleging that AVN had improperly classified the carriers as independent contractors rather than employees … Continue Reading
Arnold v. Mutual of Omaha Ins. Co., 202 Cal. App. 4th 580 (2011) Kimbly Arnold filed a complaint against Mutual of Omaha on her behalf and on behalf of a putative class of similarly situated “licensed agents” and “sales representatives” of the company, alleging violations of the California Labor Code, including provisions governing expense reimbursement … Continue Reading
California Governor Jerry Brown has signed into law a number of bills addressing a wide array of issues that could significantly impact employers in the coming year. Read on for an overview of some of these new laws and their key provisions.… Continue Reading
Narayan v. EGL, Inc., 616 F.3d 895 (2010) Mohit Narayan and two other drivers for EGL (a global transportation, supply chain management and information services company headquartered in Texas) were California residents who provided services to EGL pursuant to independent contractor agreements that contained a Texas choice-of-law provision. Narayan and the other drivers filed a … Continue Reading
Bowman v. Wyatt, 186 Cal.App.4th 286 (2010) Plaintiff Barry A. Bowman filed this case after suffering devastating injuries when his motorcycle collided with a dump truck owned and operated by Tommie Wyatt, Jr. The collision occurred shortly after Wyatt had delivered a load of asphalt to a work site of the City of Los Angeles … Continue Reading
JustMed, Inc. v. Byce, 600 F.3d 1118 (9th Cir. 2010) Michael Byce developed the source code used in the software of a digital audio larynx device that JustMed owned. JustMed contended that Byce was its employee when he developed the code and that the code, therefore, belonged to JustMed under the work-for-hire doctrine of the … Continue Reading
Lara v. WCAB, 182 Cal.App.4th 393 (2010) The Metro Diner hired Luis Lara as a gardener twice during a 12-month period to prune the bushes around the diner. Lara fell off the roof of the diner while pruning the bushes and injured his head, back, neck and other parts of his body. After the fall, … Continue Reading
Cristler v. Express Messenger Systems, Inc., 171 Cal. App. 4th 72 (2009) James Cristler and others sued Express Messenger, a parcel delivery service, for violations of California law based upon Express’ allegedly illegal classification of its workers as independent contractors and not employees. Among other things, plaintiffs alleged violations of the California overtime requirements, as … Continue Reading
Varisco v. Gateway Science & Eng’g, Inc., 166 Cal. App. 4th 1099 (2008) Gateway engaged Al Varisco to provide construction inspection services on two projects it was doing for the Los Angeles Unified School District (“LAUSD”). Gateway retained Varisco pursuant to a letter agreement whereby he was to be paid $75 per hour for the … Continue Reading
Air Couriers Int’l v. Employment Dev. Dep’t, 150 Cal. App. 4th 923 (2007) Sonic Couriers of Arizona (Air Couriers’ predecessor) filed a complaint for refund against the Employment Development Department (EDD) to recover employment taxes it paid for its drivers, which Sonic contended were independent contractors and not employees. Among other things, the EDD established … Continue Reading
Patricia Adkins Ins. Agency, Inc. v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 146 Cal. App. 4th 526 (2007) The Court of Appeal granted declaratory and injunctive relief to independent contractor agents of State Farm who challenged certain trade secret and non-solicitation restrictions that State Farm sought to impose upon the agents’ employees. The agents challenged … Continue Reading
Pfohl v. Farmers Ins. Group, 2004 WL 554834 (C.D. Cal. Mar. 1, 2004) Thomas Pfohl filed this putative class action for unpaid overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) on behalf of himself and all other similarly situated individuals who worked for Farmers as temporary full-time insurance adjusters. In this proceeding, the District Court … Continue Reading
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