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:

Patel v. Chavez, 85 Cal. App. 5th 712 (2022)

Manuel Chavez was employed as an on-site hotel property manager by DTWO & E, Inc. and Stuart Union, LLC from 2002 to 2016. Chavez alleged he was paid less than the minimum wage and that the employers committed wage theft. In 2017, the Labor Commissioner issued two order, decision or awards (ODA’s) finding in favor

We invite you to review our newly-posted July 2022 California Employment Law Notes, a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law. The highlights include:

Ratha v. Phatthana Seafood Co., 35 F.4th 1159 (9th Cir. 2022)

Plaintiffs in this case (Cambodian villagers) alleged they had been trafficked into Thailand and subjected to forced labor at seafood processing factories in violation of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (18 U.S.C. § 1595) (“TVPRA”). The district court granted defendants’ summary judgment motion, which the Ninth Circuit affirmed in this case. The

Ranza v. Nike, Inc., 2015 WL 4282986 (9th Cir. 2015)

Loredana Ranza sued her former employer, Nike European Operations Netherlands, B.V. (“NEON”), and NEON’s parent company, Nike, Inc., which is headquartered in Oregon, in federal court in Oregon. All of the alleged discriminatory conduct (involving sex and age discrimination) occurred in the Netherlands. The district court dismissed Ranza’s lawsuit for lack of personal jurisdiction

Kim v. Konad USA Distribution, Inc., 226 Cal. App. 4th 1336 (2014)

Following a bench trial, Esther Kim was awarded $60,000 against her former employer (Konad) and her former boss (Dong Whang) for sexual harassment and wrongful termination. Curiously, defendants did not challenge the pleadings or file any pretrial motion to dispose of any part of the case prior to the commencement of trial,

In its recent per curiam opinion in Rea v. Michaels Stores, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit clarified rules and procedures relevant to defendants seeking to remove cases to federal court.

In Rea, the plaintiffs filed a class action alleging that Michaels improperly classified California store managers as exempt from overtime. Michaels removed the action to federal court under

On January 30, 2014, the California Court of Appeal for the Fifth Appellate District ruled that California State courts have concurrent jurisdiction over retaliation claims under the federal False Claims Act (FCA) in Driscoll v. Superior Court (Spencer). The following addresses the basis for that ruling and its implications.

Background

Radiologist Scott Driscoll worked for physician Todd Spencer and his medical practice, the Todd

Profit Concepts Mgmt., Inc. v. Griffith, 162 Cal. App. 4th 950 (2008)

Profit Concepts sued Greg Griffith, a former employee, for breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets in Orange County Superior Court. Griffith, who was an Oklahoma resident at the time, moved to quash service for lack of personal jurisdiction. (The contract contained a prevailing party attorney’s fees provision.) Profit Concepts filed

Williams v. United Airlines, Inc., 500 F.3d 1019 (9th Cir. 2007)

Anthony L. Williams, a maintenance worker, sued United Airlines and his former supervisor, alleging retaliatory discrimination under the Federal Airline Deregulation Act’s Whistleblower Protection Program (WPP) and related state law claims. Williams claimed that he was terminated in retaliation for a dispute related to an alleged safety violation. Although United did not challenge