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An Orange County jury has ordered Vons Cos. to pay $5.2million in punitive and compensatory damages to a female manager for sex discrimination. Lynne Rayburn, a 25-year employee, was demoted from her district manager position and replaced with a male worker. Vons asserted the demotion was due to poor performance. But Rayburn claims she was […]
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has voted unanimously to enact a new law banning discrimination in employment and housing on the basis of weight and height. Mayor Willie Brown is expected to sign the law, which will then take effect in 30 days. Under the new rules, businesses that contract with the city and […]
A new lawsuit highlights the dilemma for employers when domestic violence spills over into the workplace. Tammie Heleniak claims she was fired from her temporary administrative assistant position at Hewlett Packard in Roseville after informing her supervisors that her estranged husband had threatened her. And now she’s filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against Hewlett Packard […]
In what could be the first case under California’s new law barring discipline for off-duty conduct, a former employee of the Los Angeles Police Relief Association says she was fired after disclosing her plans to marry a prison inmate. Cipriana Ortiz claims that when she informed the association that she was engaged to a prisoner, […]
Most employers are on the lookout for sexual harassment that occurs in the workplace. But it may come as a surprise that you can be sued for sexual misconduct that occurs on an incentive trip offered to top performers. In a recent case that highlights this problem, a Los Angeles employer has shelled out $130,000 […]
The California Industrial Welfare Commission has scheduled two important meetings in May that could lead to significant overtime changes this summer. First, the IWC will meet at the state office building in Van Nuys on May 5 to discuss how the new overtime rules impact meal periods, exempt employees’ duties, pharmacists and theski industry. […]
David Balcorta complained that Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation in Los Angeles violated the California Labor Code on 11 occasions by not paying him promptly after his discharge from short-term jobs with the studio. Fox contended that it had paid Balcorta according to the terms of its collective bargaining agreement. But the Ninth Circuit Court […]
A federal court in California has thrown out a lawsuit we mentioned in the August 1999 issue of California Employer Advisor, which was filed by long-term temps contending that, even though they were paid by employee-leasing agencies, they should be considered regular Atlantic Richfield Co. employees entitled to receive benefits. The temps sought retirement benefits, […]
The California Supreme Court recently ruled that an agricultural employer has to compensate farm workers for their travel time to and from work. The workers were required to report to a company parking lot each morning to take their employer’s buses to their worksite. The court noted that employers may provide free transportation to employees without […]
Most public and private employers know it’s illegal to take action against employees because of their political activities. But a recent case highlights an important exception to this rule for public employees who qualify as “policymakers.” A terminated deputy sued a newly elected sheriff, alleging she was forced out of her job because she had […]