Yesterday, a three-judge Ninth Circuit panel revisited its own 2021 order and finally struck down California’s anti-mandatory employment arbitration law, Assembly Bill 51 (“AB 51”). In an opinion drafted by the former dissenting judge, Judge Sandra Ikuta, the new majority declared AB 51 was preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”). The statute in question, … Continue Reading
Godfrey v. Oakland Port Servs. Corp., 2014 WL 5439289 (Cal. Ct. App. 2014) Plantiffs Lavon Godfrey and Gary Gilbert initiated this class action against AB Trucking, alleging that AB did not pay its drivers for all hours worked, misclassified some drivers as non-employee trainees whom it did not pay at all, and failed to provide … Continue Reading
People v. Pac Anchor Transp., Inc., 2014 WL 3702674 (Cal. S. Ct. 2014) The People on behalf of the State of California filed this unfair competition law (“UCL”) action against Pac Anchor Transportation, Inc., for misclassifying drivers as independent contractors and for other alleged violations of California labor and unemployment insurance laws. In response, Pac … Continue Reading
Salas v. Sierra Chem. Co., 2014 WL 2883878 (Cal. S. Ct. 2014) Vicente Salas worked on Sierra Chemical’s production line, filling containers with various chemicals. At the time of his hire, Salas provided Sierra with a resident alien card and a Social Security card and signed an Employment Eligibility Verification Form (I-9 Form). After allegedly … Continue Reading
The plaintiff in Iskanian v. CLS Transp. Los Angeles, LLC, brought a putative class action and a representative action under California’s Private Attorney General Act (PAGA) for various wage and hour violations. During his employment, Iskanian agreed that he would not assert class action or representative action claims against his employer and, instead, agreed to submit … Continue Reading
Quinn v. U.S. Bank, N.A., 196 Cal. App. 4th 168 (2011) Robert Quinn, a former senior vice president of U.S. Bank, alleged he was denied accommodation, harassed and terminated because of a physical disability in violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act. U.S. Bank obtained summary judgment from the trial court on the ground … Continue Reading
Chamber of Commerce v. Whiting, 563 U.S. ___, 131 S. Ct. 1968 (2011) In 1996, Congress created E-Verify, which is “an internet-based system that allows an employer to verify an employee’s work-authorization status.” In 2007, Arizona enacted the Legal Arizona Workers Act, which allows Arizona to suspend or revoke the licenses necessary to do business … Continue Reading
On November 3, 2010, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals refused to hear an appeal brought by a Harrah’s Las Vegas casino dealer challenging the District Court’s ruling that her proposed state wage-and-hour class action was preempted by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In so doing, the Ninth Circuit chose not to revisit the … Continue Reading
Naranjo v. Spectrum Sec. Services, 172 Cal. App. 4th 654 (2009) Gustavo Naranjo worked as a detention officer for Spectrum, which provides security services in holding facilities and detention centers throughout Los Angeles County under a contract with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”). The terms of Spectrum’s contract with ICE rely on wage and … Continue Reading
Golden Gate Restaurant Ass’n v. City and County of San Francisco, 535 F. Supp. 2d 968 (N.D. Cal. 2007) In 2006, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed and the Mayor signed into law the San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance which, among other things, would have required employers with more than 20 employees to … Continue Reading
Ramanathan v. Bank of America, 155 Cal. App. 4th 1017 (2007) Padmanabhan Ramanathan alleged he was discriminated against and harassed as a result of his religion (Hindu), race (Asian) and national origin. In its summary judgment motion, the Bank asserted that Ramanathan was a “Vice President” who served “at the pleasure” of the board of … Continue Reading
Burnside v. Kiewit Pac. Corp., 2007 WL 1760747 (9th Cir. 2007) The employees in this class action case were required to report to a designated site before being transported in company vans or pickup trucks to their jobsites. The employees were told that the reason for this arrangement was that there was a “shortage of … Continue Reading
Ward v. Circus Circus Casinos, 473 F.3d 994 (9th Cir. 2007) During a meeting to distribute leaflets and inform other union members of the progress on contract negotiations, one employee, Al Williams, stood on a chair and spoke about union members’ defending their employment rights, which resulted in other participants’ chanting and shouting phrases such … Continue Reading
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. v. Dabit, 547 U.S. 547 U.S. 71, 126 S. Ct. 1503 (2006) Shadi Dabit, a former Merrill Lynch broker, filed this class action on behalf of himself and all other former or current brokers who, while employed by Merrill Lynch, owned and continued to own securities. Dabit alleged … Continue Reading
Chamber of Commerce of the U.S. v. Lockyer, 364 F.3d 1154 (9th Cir. 2004) In 2000, California enacted Assembly Bill No. 1889 (Government Code §§ 16645-16649) which, among other things, prohibits private employers “receiving state funds in excess of $10,000 in any calendar year” from using such funds to “assist, promote, or deter union organizing.” … Continue Reading
Ishikawa v. Delta Airlines, Inc., 343 F.3d 1129 (9th Cir. 2003) Yasuko Ishikawa, a Delta Airlines flight attendant, was terminated for failing a drug-detection urine test. Because the test had been performed negligently and had no validity, Delta rehired Ishikawa and paid her her lost income. Ishikawa also sued LabOne, the urine-testing laboratory, for negligence, … Continue Reading
Adams v. Pacific Bell Directory, 111 Cal. App. 4th 93 (2003) Forty-two employees of Pacific Bell Directory (all of whom were members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) filed a lawsuit alleging that the company’s practice of debiting employees’ commissions was unlawful under Labor Code Section 221 and Business and Professions Code Section 17200. The … Continue Reading
Smith v. IBEW, Local 11, 109 Cal. App. 4th 1637 (2003) Donald Smith was terminated from his job as a union organizer for Local 11 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). Smith alleged that his employment was terminated in violation of the public policy against age and disability discrimination and in violation of the … Continue Reading
Levy v. Skywalker Sound, 108 Cal. App. 4th 753 (2003) Robert M. Levy worked as an audio recording engineer for Skywalker Sound in Marin County beginning in 1995. When Levy was hired, he was told that the scoring stage was a “non-union room” and that his position at Skywalker Sound would not be a union … Continue Reading
Winterrowd v. American General Annuity Ins. Co., 321 F.3d 933 (9th Cir. 2003) Three commissioned sales employees were laid off after their employer’s parent company was acquired by American General Corporation. As commissioned salespeople, the employees were not eligible for severance benefits under the employer’s Job Security Plan. However, the employees were offered and did … Continue Reading
Gregory v. SCIE, LLC, 317 F.3d 1050 (9th Cir. 2003) Rodney Gregory, a member of Local 44 of the IATSE union, filed an action in state court alleging a violation of the California Labor Code and Wage Orders for SCIE’s failure to pay him premium wage rates for overtime work he had performed. SCIE removed … Continue Reading
Bui v. AT&T, 310 F.3d 1143 (9th Cir. 2002) Nga Bui brought this action on behalf of her deceased husband’s estate against various parties, including his former employers, AT&T and Lucent Technologies. Bui’s husband, Hung M. Duong, died at Erfan Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, after undergoing two unsuccessful operations and suffering two myocardial infarctions. … Continue Reading
Humble v. Boeing Co., 305 F.3d 1004 (9th Cir. 2002) Su Humble, a union member who was employed as a fabrication bench mechanic for Boeing, suffered an on-the-job injury to her shoulder. After taking a series of medical leaves of absence over the course of approximately 15 months, Humble was told that there were no … Continue Reading
Stewart v. U.S. Bancorp, 297 F.3d 953 (9th Cir. 2002) The employees in this case sued their employer for breach of contract and violation of the Oregon wage law when they were given eight weeks’ severance pay instead of the 12 months’ severance that was provided to “middle management.” The employer removed the case to … Continue Reading
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