Employment Law Blog

A District Court erroneously granted summary judgment against an employee's disability discrimination claim under California law, because the employee created an issue of fact about whether his disability caused his termination by submitting his own declaration stating that his supervisor told him "if you're going to stick with being sick, it's not helping your situation. ...

A pregnant employee denied light duty could make a disparate treatment claim against an employer who provided light duty to employees who were work injured, disabled or lost their Department of Transportation certificates, unless the employer could offer a legitimate reason for denying her light duty that is not based simply on greater expense or...

A former employee terminated shortly after complaining to her supervisors about discrimination and accounting regularities made a prima facie case of retaliation, but failed to offer any "specific and substantial circumstantial evidence" showing any dispute over whether the company's legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons for her termination were a pretext for unlawful retaliation. Lui v. Hewlett-Packard Co.,...

The U.S. Department of Labor did not violate the Administrative Procedure Act by reversing its historical interpretation and concluding that mortgage loan officers did not qualify for the administrative exemption to the overtime pay requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Ass'n, 135 S.Ct. 1199 (March 9, 2015). The District Court...

The District Court erroneously granted summary judgment against an employee's retaliation claim under the Energy Reorganization Act, because the employee offered evidence showing that his subcontractor employer transferred him off a project because the general contractor was unhappy about him raising safety concerns. He had a constitutional right to jury trial for his claims seeking...

An employer was not liable for an employee's sexual assault of a customer, under California law.  The assault was due to propinquity and lust and its motivating emotions were not fairly attributable to work-related events or conditions. The employer was not liable for negligent supervision of the employee. There was no evidence that the employer...

Plaintiffs stated wage and hour claim by identifying tasks for which they were not paid and alleging that they regularly worked more than eight hours in a day and 40 hours in a week. Boon v. Canon Business Solutions, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 2449 (9th Cir. Feb. 18, 2015). District court properly granted summary judgment...

Retiree health insurance benefits do not vest for life, majority of Supreme Court holds, when collective bargaining agreement provides that retirees "would receive a full company contribution towards the cost of health care benefits", that the benefits would be provided for the duration of the agreement and that the agreement would be subject to renegotiation...

District court had jurisdiction over putative class action because the waiting time penalties sought  alone exceeded the $5 million threshold for removal.  Jones v. Bath & Body Works, LLC, 2014 U.S. App. 24508 (9th Cir. Dec. 29, 2015). Court issued detailed findings and conclusions regarding pattern and practice of discrimination, harassment and retaliation against Thai...