Arizona ex rel. Horne v. The Geo Group, 2016 WL 945634 (9th Cir. 2016) Alice Hancock was employed by Geo as a correctional officer at the Arizona State Prison. Geo contracts with the Arizona Department of Corrections to maintain and operate two facilities in the state. Hancock filed a charge of discrimination and harassment based … Continue Reading
United States ex rel. Mateski v. Raytheon, 816 F.3d 565 (9th Cir. 2016) Steven Mateski worked as an engineer at Raytheon. Mateski filed a complaint in federal court alleging that Raytheon had violated the False Claims Act (“FCA”) by failing to comply with numerous contractual requirements in developing a project for the government, fraudulently covering … Continue Reading
Mendoza v. The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Los Angeles, 2016 WL 1459214 (9th Cir. 2016) Alice Mendoza worked as a full-time bookkeeper for a small parish church. She took sick leave for 10 months, during which time the pastor of the church took over the bookkeeping duties himself and determined that Mendoza’s job could be … Continue Reading
Sanders v. Energy Northwest, 2016 WL 560809 (9th Cir. 2016) David W. Sanders, a maintenance manager for Energy Northwest (a nuclear power plant), claimed his employment was terminated in retaliation for his objection to the severity level designation of an internal “condition report” that was generated by other employees at the plant. Sanders filed a … Continue Reading
Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Ass’n v. Perez, 2016 WL 706678 (9th Cir. 2016) Pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 203(m) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), an employer may fulfill part of its hourly minimum wage obligation to a tipped employee with the employee’s tips. This practice is known as taking a “tip credit.” The … Continue Reading
Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez, 577 U.S. ___, 136 S. Ct. 663 (2016) In this putative class action involving an alleged violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (prohibiting using an automatic dialing system to send a text message to a cellular telephone, absent the recipient’s express consent), Campbell-Ewald proposed to settle Jose Gomez’s individual claim … Continue Reading
Rosenfield v. GlobalTranz Enters., Inc., 2015 WL 8599403 (9th Cir. 2015) Alla Rosenfield, who worked as the Director of Human Resources and Corporate Training for GlobalTranz, was fired after she lodged multiple oral and written internal complaints that the company was not in compliance with the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In … Continue Reading
In 2005, Congress passed the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA), which creates federal jurisdiction over class actions involving more than 100 class members and $5 million in controversy. Plaintiffs have long attempted to avoid CAFA’s invocation of federal jurisdiction by stipulating to no more than $5 million in classwide damages. In Standard Fire Ins. Co. … Continue Reading
Peabody v. Time Warner Cable, Inc., 2012 WL 3538753 (9th Cir. 2012) Susan J. Peabody was employed as a commissioned salesperson by Time Warner Cable (“TWC”) for approximately 10 months. Peabody’s commissions were based on the revenue generated by advertising that was aired every broadcast month, which lasted four or five weeks. Peabody also received … Continue Reading
Headley v. Church of Scientology Int’l, 687 F.3d 1173 (9th Cir. 2012) Marc and Claire Headley were ministers in the Sea Organization (“Sea Org”), which is an elite religious order of the Church of Scientology. The Sea Org demands much of its ministerial members, renders strict discipline, imposes stringent ethical and lifestyle constraints and goes … Continue Reading
In re Pac. Pictures Corp., 2012 WL 1640627 (9th Cir. 2012) Although this case did not arise in the employment context, it has implications in labor and employment litigation matters in which a government agency is involved. The question the Ninth Circuit decided is whether a party waives the attorney-client privilege forever by voluntarily disclosing … Continue Reading
United States v. Nosal, 676 F.3d 854 (2012) (en banc) In this criminal proceeding brought under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”), the United States government filed a 20-count indictment against David Nosal (a former employee of Korn/Ferry International) and his accomplices (also from Korn/Ferry) as a result of their obtaining information from their … Continue Reading
Sullivan v. Oracle Corp., 662 F.3d 1265 (2011) Three Oracle instructors (all non-residents of California) filed this class action to recover allegedly unpaid overtime under California law for work they performed while in California. Two of the instructors were residents of Colorado and one was a resident of Arizona; all of them worked in their … Continue Reading
Johnson v. Board of Trustees, 2011 WL 6091313 (9th Cir. 2011) Patricia Johnson, who had a history of depression and bipolar disorder, taught special education for a school district in Idaho for a decade. Before her teaching certificate expired in 2007, Johnson failed to take sufficient college courses to obtain a renewal of the certificate … Continue Reading
In re Roman Catholic Archbishop of Portland, 657 F.3d 1008 (2011) Documents that were produced in discovery and filed in the bankruptcy court contained allegations that Fathers “M” and “D” (two priests who were not parties to the Portland Archdiocese’s bankruptcy case) had sexually abused children. The bankruptcy court held that the discovery documents could … Continue Reading
Ellis v. Costco Wholesale Corp., 657 F.3d 970 (9th Cir. 2011) In this appeal, Costco challenged the district court’s order granting class certification in an action in which Costco’s promotional practices were alleged to have discriminated against female employees. The district court’s order granting class certification preceded the United States Supreme Court’s opinion in Wal-Mart … Continue Reading
In Ellis v. Costco Wholesale Corp., 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 19060 (9th Cir. Sept. 16, 2011), the Ninth Circuit reviewed the standards for class certification in an employment class action following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dukes v. Walmart. In Ellis,three named plaintiffs sought injunctive relief, compensatory damages, and backpay on behalf of a nationwide … Continue Reading
Bauman v. Daimler Chrysler Corp., 644 F.3d 909 (2011) In this case, 22 Argentinian residents (including a Chilean national) sued DaimlerChrysler Aktiengesellschaft (“DCAG”) in federal court in California, alleging that one of DCAG’s subsidiaries, Mercedes-Benz Argentina (“MBA”), collaborated with state security forces to kidnap, detain, torture and kill plaintiffs and their relatives during Argentina’s “Dirty … Continue Reading
U.S. v. Nosal, 642 F.3d 781 (2011) In this criminal proceeding brought under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”), the United States government filed a 20-count indictment against David Nosal (a former employee of Korn/Ferry International) and his accomplices (also from Korn/Ferry) as a result of their obtaining information from their employer’s computer system … Continue Reading
Zeinali v. Raytheon Co., 636 F.3d 544 (9th Cir. 2011) Hossein Zeinali, who is of Iranian descent, sued Raytheon for race and national origin discrimination under the Fair Employment and Housing Act when it terminated his employment after he was denied a security clearance by the Department of Defense. The district court granted summary judgment … Continue Reading
Sanders v. City of Newport, 657 F.3d 772 (2011) Diane Sanders, a utility billing clerk for the City of Newport, Oregon, began suffering health problems, which (according to her doctor) were due to “multiple chemical sensitivity” triggered by handling low-grade paper at work and poor air quality in her work area. Sanders took an FMLA … Continue Reading
DFEH v. Lucent Technologies, Inc., 642 F.3d 728 (2011) The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing and Steven Carauddo alleged Lucent violated the Fair Employment and Housing Act when it terminated Carauddo’s employment as an installer because he could not lift more than 30 pounds due to a back injury. The district court granted … Continue Reading
Christopher v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., 635 F.3d 383 (2011) Michael Christopher and Frank Buchanan were employed as pharmaceutical sales representatives (“PSRs”) of SmithKline d/b/a GlaxoSmithKline (“Glaxo”) and were classified as outside salesmen exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act. PSRs work outside of a Glaxo office and spend much of their time traveling to the … Continue Reading
Lopez v. Pacific Maritime Ass’n, 636 F.3d 1197 (2011) When Santiago Lopez first applied to be a longshoreman in 1997, his application was rejected because he tested positive for marijuana. The PMA, which represents the shipping lines, stevedore companies and terminal operators that run the ports along the west coast, follows a “one-strike rule,” which … Continue Reading
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