civil litigation blog

Former Desperate Housewives star Nicolette Sherridan will have her day in court after a court ruled that her wrongful termination lawsuit against ABC and the creator of the hit TV show could go to trial.  However, the judge threw out her sexual harassment and assault claims. 

The case arises out of an incident that allegedly occurred in September 2008.  According to Sherridan, the creator of the show, Marc Cherry, had an argument with her on the set.  Soon after, she alleges, her character in the show was killed off in an accident, and she was fired.  She also alleged sexual harassment and assault. 

According to attorneys for ABC and Cherry, the decision to terminate Sherridan's character in the show was related to budgetary concerns, and was one that had been made long before the argument between Sheridan and Cherry took place.  Sherridan disputes those arguments, because her character was killed off midseason, when she was still owed hundreds of thousands of dollars on her contract.

Now, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Allen White has held that her wrongful termination claim has enough merit to go to trial.  However, the sexual harassment and assault claims have been rejected.  Sherridan will now be seeking damages for wrongful termination, battery and unlawful retaliation claims.  She may even be eligible for punitive damages.  The trial will begin on June 8th.

Employer-employee relationships in California are “at will” which means that the employer can terminate the services of the employee for any reason as long as these are not illegal or discriminatory.  This can pose a challenge to a wrongful termination claim.  There are some things that an employee can do to help ensure a successful wrongful termination claim.  For instance, it would help your California wrongful termination attorney if you retain copies of any correspondence involving your employment, including employment letters, employee handbooks, performance evaluations and other documentation involving your job.

Allegations of age discrimination in the hospitality and casino industry are not new to California employment discrimination lawyers.  These industries thrive on an image that values looks and youth.  Popular Fresno Casino Club One is facing allegations of age and race discrimination by a group of senior and Asian American employees.

The employees are being represented by the Southern California-based Asian Pacific American Legal Center, which is now asking former employees of the club to join the class-action lawsuit.  The class-action complaint has been filed against Club One Casino and its owner Kirk Kirkland.  Two separate complaints have been filed.  In these, 16 workers allege national origin and race discrimination, while six workers allege age discrimination.  The lawsuit seeks several hundred thousand dollars in compensation.  The plaintiffs allege that when they spoke out about the discrimination, they were fired.

The plaintiffs held a conference this week talking about their experiences at the company.  According to the older employees, they were fired because of their age, and younger, less experienced employees were hired in their place.  Some of these employees have dozens of years of service to their credit, including one employee who had worked for the former operator of Club One for 22 years. 

In 2008, Kirk Kirkland bought the Club One Casino from its former owner.  Right from the beginning, he made it clear that he wanted to turn the casino into a Las Vegas-style facility, and part of that image makeover was hiring young, good-looking women.  Many of the older employees were told they were no longer welcome. 

There are also allegations based on age discrimination at the company.  Approximately 30% of Club One casino dealers are of South East Asian descent, but they complain that none of them were chosen as front and center dealers at three celebrity poker events that were hosted by the casino.  Some of them were fired when Kirkland took over the casino.  According to them, the casino informed them that they did not know how to deal probably, and could not speak proper English.

After an investigation conducted by the San Francisco District Office of the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division found that Levi Strauss & Co. had violated federal record keeping and overtime provisions, the company has agreed to pay more than $1 million in overtime back wages. 

The investigation which California employment attorneys had followed closely, found that Levi Strauss & Co., misclassified several groups of workers as exempt from overtime.  In all, 596 employees nationwide were shown as exempt.  These included assistant store managers at newly-acquired stores. 

There were also several recordkeeping violations.  The company failed to properly record all of the employees in the payroll system.  Instead, the company misclassified assistant store managers requiring them to work off the clock during early-morning openings, late-night closings and staffing shortages.  Besides, the company also misclassified several administrative employees as being exempt from the provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

The San Francisco-based company has agreed to pay back wages, totaling $1,011,413.  The company has also upgraded its time and attendance system, and has agreed to comply with FLSA provisions in the future.

Employees covered under the Fair Labor Standards Act must be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 for all hours worked, plus time and half of the regular pay, if the employee works more than 40 hours a week.  Employers are required to keep accurate and precise records for all employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act.  There are some exceptions to the law.  For instance, administrative, professional and external sales employees may be exempt from these provisions.

California employment lawyers and employers alike have noticed an increase in the number of employment lawsuits related to disability and leaves of absence.  While this spike has been visible for the past few years, these cases have multiplied substantially since the recession. 

However, the recession is unlikely the sole reason for the spike in disability claims and cases related to leaves of absence.  It is very likely that employees are becoming more aware of their rights under California employment law, and now don't hesitate to bring forward a claim when they recognize disability discrimination.  Besides, employers too are now more alert to the fact that they may be exposed to potential liability.  In 2006, a jury handed a $19 million verdict in the Roby v. McKesson Corporation case for an employee who suffered from panic attacks.

 Although that verdict was later reduced to $4 million, the damage to employers was done.  It became clear that failing to modify policies, and taking the wrong approach to addressing employee concerns about leaves and disability, could have serious financial consequences.  Since then, California employment lawyers have also noticed employees who feel more confident about their rights.  An employee on maternity leave could be shocked to find out that she has been laid off while on a medical leave of absence.   But, this happens all the time, and while the consequences for employers weren't as devastating earlier, the situation has changed dramatically now. 

There's also been a change in the kind of medical conditions that are eligible for claims.  California employment lawyers, for instance, now file claims for employees with medical leaves of absence for stress and anxiety.  That's a change from earlier, when most claims were filed for a serious physical problem, like cancer.

A Ukrainian woman has been awarded $125,000 in a sexual harassment lawsuit against her former employer who also happened to be a former romantic interest. In 2005, the woman Alla Sazonova, met Clifford Crane on a dating website. She moved from the Ukraine to the United States on a work visa, and began working for Crane’s companies, including Security Marketing Concepts and Apollo Security Sales. The two then began an on-again off-again relationship.

In April 2009, they stayed at a hotel where Crane pressured Sazonova to have sex with him. She refused. A few days later, Crane sent a letter to US officials informing them that Sazonova’s employment had been terminated, and recommending that her work visa canceled.

Sazonova filed a wrongful termination lawsuit alleging that the termination was a direct result of her refusal to sleep with Crane. Lawyers for Crane alleged that the reason for the termination had nothing to do with their romantic relationship, but with the economic situation of the company. A jury has now found in favor of Sazonova, and has awarded her $125,000 for her losses.

Often, California sexual harassment lawyers come across cases where the harassment is not in physical in nature. Sexual harassment in the workplace does not have to include groping, patting or leering. If you have been in a situation where you're constantly being asked out by your employer or superior at work, or are being subjected to sexually inappropriate comments, you may have grounds for a sexual harassment claim. In fact, bawdy jokes can constitute harassment if these make you feel uncomfortable and unable to concentrate on your work. Besides, if you're been in a situation where other persons in the workplace have been spreading rumors about your sexual life or you have been threatened with dire consequences unless you have sex with co-workers or superiors, this could constitute harassment too.

The year 2010 saw not just an increase in the number of workplace discrimination lawsuits being filed, but also an increase in the monetary value of settlements. Overall, the financial value of settlements of the top 10 private plaintiff employment lawsuits totaled $346.4 million, an increase of four times over the previous year.

The Velez et al. v. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation accounted for a major share of that total. The lawsuit filed by 5,600 former and current employees of Novartis, ended in a settlement of $175 million. California employment lawyers also witnessed some differences in 2010 as far as employment litigation was concerned. Last year saw a drop in the total amount of settlements from wage and hour lawsuits. Last year, the top 10 private wage and hour settlements totaled $336.5 million. That is a decline of 7.4% from the previous year. However, wage and hour settlements were the most frequently filed lawsuits in 2010. There were more numbers of wage and hour class-action lawsuits and collective action decisions by both federal and state court judges than any other kind of workplace discrimination litigation.

Overall, 2010 saw much action in the employment litigation area, especially in age bias complaints. The number of age discrimination lawsuits being filed last year saw a continuance of a trend that began in 2008. As more and more companies began laying off employees, elderly workers found themselves on the receiving end, sparking off an increase in the number of age bias claims filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Silicon Valley was the scene of much of age bias litigation last year. Many technology companies, including Google, were the focus of age bias complaints.

There’s something extremely disconcerting to California employment discrimination lawyers about gender or race discrimination at educational institutions. Two prominent educational institutions are battling allegations of workplace discrimination, and one of them is even the subject of a complaint by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

According to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint, Kaplan Higher Education Corporation engaged in unlawful discrimination by refusing to hire black job applicants around the country. The complaint claims that since at least 2008, Kaplan Higher Education has also rejected applicants based on credit history. This leads to further discrimination based on race. The EEOC complaint seeks lost wages, benefits and injunctive relief as well as offers of employment for people who were denied jobs at Kaplan Higher Education institutions because of their poor credit history.

There are other more serious allegations leveled at Chicago's DePaul University, where accusations about racial and other forms of discrimination are beginning to mount. Earlier this month, several staff members and students at the University protested the university's decision to deny tenure to two minority professors. More than 40 professors applied for tenure this year, and six were denied. All six conveniently happened to belong to minority groups.

The allegations of race discrimination couldn't come at a worse time for DePaul University. The University is embarking on an aggressive fundraising effort with a target of more than $250 million. There is a bond sales plan scheduled for January, and the University will soon unveil its “Vision twenty12” plan. There are fears among US officials that all this bad publicity about discrimination against minority groups on campus, could put off potential donors, especially women and minorities.

It is disconcerting to come across race discrimination at educational institutions, because these are the institutions we expect to instill ideas of diversity and tolerance.

It’s the second lawsuit accusing Sempra of improper spending, including paying bribes to Mexican officials that California employment lawyers have come across. The lawsuit filed by a former Sempra employee, alleges that he was fired because he asked questions about bribe payments and other unsavory business practices.

The former employee, Rodolfo Michelon was terminated in March after working five years for Sempra Global in Mexico. According to Michelon, during his time at the company, he was required to bribe government officials, approve unethical spending and engage in other unethical business practices. Michelon was a certified public accountant.

The lawsuit, which has been filed in San Diego County Superior Court, says that Sempra frequently transferred funds for alleged illegal purposes. Basically, these funds were meant to be bribes for Mexican government officials. When Michelon questioned these practices, and brought these to the attention of higher-ups at the company, his services were terminated.

There's another lawsuit that corroborates Michelon’s allegations. That lawsuit was filed by Sanchez Ritchie, a man who claims that Sempra conspired to evict him from his own property after he refused to sell his land in 2001. The land was for the company’s LNG plant. Sempra insists it is the rightful owner of the property, and calls Ritchie a squatter. Sempra says it legally evicted Richie from the property.

Sempra also denies Michelon’s allegations. According to the company, Michelon is just another disgruntled employee trying to cash in after being laid off during routine reorganization. The company is also denying there are any similarities between Michelon’s wrongful termination lawsuit and the lawsuit that Ritchie has filed.

The California city of Concord has agreed to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit for $750,000. The lawsuit was filed by a former police officer, Liza Capocci. Capocci had accused a supervisor of making sexual overtures to her. When Capocci filed a complaint, the supervisor and his colleagues retaliated against her by making her the subject of an internal affairs investigation. She was forced to quit her job in July. She filed a lawsuit against the city of Concord. The supervisor was later disciplined.

Capocci has now settled her lawsuit with the city for $250,000. Further, the city will also pay her attorney $500,000.

Under California's laws, sexual harassment in the workplace can be defined as unwanted sexual conduct. There can be two types of harassment:

• Harassment may occur when an employer bases employment on the condition that the victim submits to sexual overtures.
• Harassment may also occur when there's unwelcome sexual conduct which creates a hostile or abusive environment for the employee.

Under this definition, therefore, sexual harassment may not necessarily have to involve physical contact. Harassment may be present in a vast range of inappropriate behaviors. For instance, if you have been asked for sexual favors, been the subject of unwelcome sexual advances or overtures, been the subject of sexual propositions, slurs, and derogatory comments, you may have been the victim of harassment.

In fact, California's employment laws take the problem of sexual harassment very seriously. The harassment may not necessarily be verbal or physical. It can even be visual. For instance, a Los Angeles sexual harassment lawyer may even file lawsuit when a victim is subjected to leering looks or has been the subject of offensive drawings or cartoons in the workplace.

Women were some of the biggest victims of the Wall Street collapse of 2008 and still continue to face gender discrimination in pay.  According to Bloomberg, the number of women who lost jobs in the three years after 2007 was five times higher than the men who lost their jobs during those financially turbulent years.  Further, between 2000 and 2007, pay for full-time female managers actually deteriorated compared to male managers. 

According to the Government Accountability Office, in 2000, female managers in the finance industry, earned just 63.9 cents for every dollar earned by a male manager.  That scenario actually got worse as the years passed.  In 2007, which is the last year for which confirmed figures are available, female finance managers were paid 58.8 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts.  That is a gap of $.41, and it is the biggest gap in almost any industry in the country.

California employment lawyers understand why there is such a wide gap in pay in the finance industry based on gender.  This is an industry that is largely dominated by men, and compensation is extremely high.  In situations like this, it's common to find wide differences of pay.  That does not mean however, that the situation is fair to women, and women are fighting back.  Last month, three former female employees of Goldman Sachs filed a lawsuit against the company, alleging lower pay as well as fewer opportunities for promotion at the firm for women compared to men.  One of the women who filed the lawsuit, alleges sexual harassment at Goldman Sachs too.

Women do face challenges as they ease into to business leadership roles in any industry, but in the finance industry or on the trading floor, the situation can be vastly different, and even hostile.  There may be more women working in the finance industry but the atmosphere on the trading floor hasn't changed.  It is still testosterone driven, and the discrimination that female employees face is not just severe, but also blatantly open.