California Employment Lawyers Blog

As Southern California Employment Attorneys, we have been following the recent Los Angeles, California lawsuit settlement between Candy Spelling, widow of television tycoon Aaron Spelling, and her ex-maid--who accused Spelling of wrongful termination, for being overworked and underpaid.

The lawsuit, filed by Lourdes Serrano in April of this year, alleged that Spelling, mother actress Tori Spelling, forced the employee to "clock out," so she would miss her paid 10-minute breaks that are required by California law. Serrano claimed that after coming forward with her complaint, she was fired for reporting the California wage and overtime violation.

According to the California Department of Industrial Relations, (DIR) permit nonexempt employees must take a rest period in the middle of each work period. Based on the total hours worked daily, the rest period must at least constitute ten consecutive minutes for each four-hour period worked.

As the rest period is counted as "time worked," the employer is required by law to pay for these periods. Because workers are paid for their rest periods, they can be required to physically stay within the employer's workplace during the breaks.

The Los Angeles, California employment lawsuit was settled last week in Los Angeles County Superior Court, and the settlement terms are reportedly confidential.

Continue reading "Spelling Settles California Wage Violation and Wrongful Termination Lawsuit " »

A California class action discrimination lawsuit was filed against Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. yesterday, by an ex-employee, alleging racial discrimination against African-American employees in over 140 stores across the western region of the United States.

Casey Stewart alleges that as a black employee, he was treated differently from white employees--by being denied payment increases, promotions, enduring hour cutbacks, and consistent harassment. Stewart was reportedly wrongfully terminated by the upscale men's clothing store in October, after he filed complaints of discrimination with the U.S. Equal Employment Commission (EEOC) and the California Department of Fair Housing and Employment (DFEH).

Stewart claimed he was not the only worker who experienced this kind of racial discrimination in the workplace. According to the class action lawsuit, the retailer's corporate headquarters in the U.S. western region has a policy in place that discriminates against highly qualified African American employees and applicants, prohibiting them from being given management positions. This policy allegedly gives African-Americans less desirable job assignments, fewer options for promotions, more criticism and discipline, and retaliation, for complaining about this treatment.

The lawsuit accuses the district's corporate management of being more interested in the image of the store, a so-called "white look," than hiring or advancing quality employees who are responsible, efficient, and hard working. Stewart claims that in the company's western region, there are no African Americans in the upper management.

According to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employee discrimination based on race, color, sex, national origin, or religion is against the law. Retaliating against an employee for filing a complaint of discrimination is also a direct violation of the law.

Continue reading "California Class Action Discrimination Lawsuit--Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Charged with Racial Bias" »

In recent California employment discrimination news, a baggage agent for SkyWest Airlines who married his male partner last year when the California Supreme Court legalized unions for same-sex couples, is accusing the airline of breaking the law by refusing to give his husband the same heterosexual spousal treatment--free airline fares.

The agent, Gilbert Caldwell, has been working for SkyWest since September of 2004 at the Palm Springs International Airport, and married his partner of 34 years in June of last year. They have also been registered domestic partners in California since 2002.

SkyWest airlines maintains a discriminatory employee benefits policy for gays and lesbians with travel, claiming that Caldwell's husband is not entitled to the same benefits that are given to heterosexual workers who are married. Under the airline program designated for friends, Caldwell's husband classifies as a "companion" and is not eligible to fly for free on the SkyWest-operated Delta connection flights. Caldwell is forced to pay a fare for his spouse, whereas spouses of heterosexual employees do not pay.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, this is one of the first cases to appear after 18,000 gay and lesbian couples were married when the state Supreme Court ruled in favor of gay marriage in May of last year. After the passing of Proposition 8 in November of 2008--the proposition that amended the state Constitution, and reclassified marriage as being only between a woman and a man--the rights to gays and lesbians were overturned, but the state court ruled that same-sex couples who exchanged pre-election vows could remain legally wed.

According to California state law, domestic partners and same-sex partners should receive the same treatment and have the same rights and duties as heterosexual married couples in housing, employment, insurance, and commerce.

Continue reading "Couple Sues SkyWest for Gay Bias Discrimination" »

As California Labor and Employment Attorneys we have been following the lawsuit filed last week by a former senior editor for the New York Post, against Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, the New York Post, and the paper's editor in chief Col Allan--alleging harassment, discrimination, wrongful termination, retaliation, as well as unlawful employment practices.

Sandra Guzman, a journalist known for covering Latin American affairs, was allegedly fired her position of editor in October for failure to attract more Hispanic readership to the monthly in-paper insert, Tempo. Guzman claims that she was wrongly terminated in retaliation for speaking out about the controversial cartoon that the paper published in February of this year.

In the lawsuit, Guzman alleges that multiple editors knew that the potentially racist cartoon--an illustration that compared Barack Obama's stimulus package to a chimpanzee shot dead by police--was offensive yet failed stop the cartoon from being published.

Guzman originally complained about the cartoon internally and claims that she was ignored--yet her email was leaked publicly. She alleges in the suit that after standing up for discrimination, she was retaliated against by Post management, and her job became increasingly difficult until she was wrongfully terminated.

Sandra Guzman describes the New York Post newsroom as a sexist, racist, offensive workplace environment, where she and staff members were regularly subjected misogynistic behavior. She alleges that hiring practices at the paper are not built on merit, rather driven by racial prejudices.

Continue reading "New York Post Harassment and Discrimination Lawsuit: Fired Editor Claims Hostile Work Environment" »

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, (EEOC) announced this week that California-based restaurant chain Cheesecake Factory will pay $345,000 to settle a federal lawsuit filed by the EEOC on behalf of male employees who were severely sexually harassed in the workplace by other male workers at the company's Chandler Mall location in Phoenix.

Cheesecake Factory, Inc. is a nationwide restaurant chain that boasts an environment where guests share can long lasting memories with friends and family. In this EEOC-filed lawsuit, the kitchen staffers claim a very different kind of environment, filled with abuse, hostility and fear.

According to the lawsuit, filed in July 2008 in U.S. District Court in Phoenix, the Chandler Cheesecake Factory managers tolerated repeated sexual assaults against six male employees, by a group of male kitchen workers. The EEOC claimed overwhelming evidence that the men suffered sexually abusive workplace behavior while managers overlooked the violating incidents. The six male employees were reportedly forced to endure groping of their genitals, sexual remarks, grinding of the kitchen workers' genitals against them, and forced simulations of rape. The managers allegedly watched while the male employees were dragged into the refrigerator kicking and screaming for repeated violation.

Sexual Harassment in the workplace is against the law--violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. According to the EEOC, the victims complained to nearly every manager at the restaurant, but efforts to stop the behavior were never put into place. The victims reportedly felt helpless, and finally resorted to calling to police out of fear, but the police department decided not to seek a criminal complaint.

Continue reading "Cheesecake Factory to Pay $345,000 in Severe Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Settlement" »

Our California Employment and Labor Lawyers recently read a report that Wal-mart, the largest retailer in the world, has agreed to settle a class action employment lawsuit and pay workers as much as $85 million. The settlement was approved last week and involves around 3.1 million hourly workers in 30 states--all suing for allegations of hour and wage claims violations.

Wal-mart workers alleged in the wage and hour lawsuit that the retail chain unlawfully prevented them from taking breaks, failed to compensate them overtime, and altered their time cards. This settlement covers over 30 federal court lawsuits brought by workers and combined for the judge.

U.S. District Judge Philip Pro approved the final settlement last week in Las Vegas, and awarded one-third of the recovery in fees to the worker's lawyers, which would be around $28 million depending on the total claims made.

Anyone who ever worked for Wal-mart was urged to fill out a claim form, and those who filed a long claim form are reported to possibly receive anywhere from $50 to 1,000 based on their length of employment and work experience answers.

Under the agreement, Pro stated that Wal-mart will strive to keep accurate records, to ensure that hourly employees are compensated for every hour of employment.

Continue reading "Wal-Mart Will Pay Up to $85 Million in Class Action Lawsuit Settlement" »

In this week's California employment and labor news, a former employee of the California Employment Development Department (EDD), Audrey Renee Bell, pleaded guilty of mail fraud by certifying false disability claims for friends and defrauding the state--an amount that totaled more than $110,000.

According to United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner, Bell entered the guilty plea on Monday after a trial that lasted two weeks. The guilty plea was entered before a Sacramento federal court judge--to ten counts of mail fraud violation.

Bell, 49, was employed as a disability insurance program representative (DIPR) in the Van Nuys, California office of the EDD. As a California state agency, the EDD pays disability insurance benefits to disabled California workers. Bell was in charge of reviewing and authorizing payments on disability claims.

The Fresno Bee reported that from mid-2003 until 2006, Bell approved false disability claims in Los Angeles County to friends, and entered false information into the EDD computer system-- defrauding the EDD of more than $110,000.

According to the state investigation, phone calls made to the EDD fraud hotline reported that an EDD employment agent had unlawfully given disability insurance benefits to friends who had full time jobs. These calls were traced back to Bell.

Continue reading "California Female Worker Pleads Guilty to Defrauding State in Disability Claims" »

In a recent post, our Anaheim-based Employment and Labor Lawyers wrote about the Los Angeles, California discrimination lawsuit filed by Carrie Prejean, Former Miss California USA, against California pageant officials--accusing the state organization of religious discrimination, slander, and libel.

According to CNN, the legal battle between pageant officials and the former beauty queen Prejean came to a quick end last week after an alleged "sex tape" involving Prejean was revealed--bringing a settlement of the two California employment lawsuits.

Pageant officials fired the 22-year old Miss California USA in June, for breach of contract issues and for missing scheduled appearances. Prejean sued the pageant, alleging that she endured religious discrimination after being fired over for her anti-gay marriage remarks made during the Miss USA pageant in April. Along with religious discrimination charges, Prejean accused pageant officials of publicly disclosing private facts about her breast enhancements, posting derogatory statements about her on the internet, and intentionally and negligently inflicting emotional distress.

In the settlement negotiations Prejean allegedly demanded more than a million dollars, claiming to have lost wages, and experienced public ridicule and humiliation since the loss of her crown. The suit also claimed that since June, she has suffered from depression, anxiety and loss of sleep.

Pageant officials filed a countersuit against Prejean last month, citing Prejean's lack of cooperation, and for not meeting her contractual obligations. The officials demanded that she repay the $5,200 spent on her breast enhancements--funded by the pageant. The countersuit also demanded the future proceeds from her new tell-all book, to be released in bookstores this week.

Continue reading "Former Miss California USA and California Pageant Officials Reach Settlement" »

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced the settlement of a Los Angeles, California sexual harassment lawsuit today against Regal Entertainment Group, the national movie theater chain who will pay $175,000 in damages.

According to the EEOC suit, a male worker at the Marina del Rey, California movie theater was harassed consistently by a female co-worker, and endured a sexually charged hostile workplace environment where the female co-worker consistently "grabbed his crotch." The male employee and his supervisor complained to the general manager at the time, and she not only failed to protect him against the harassment--but she retaliated against him for the complaint of the unlawful sexual conduct, as well as two other supervisors who defended him, who are also part of the EEOC lawsuit. The retaliation against the male worker and his colleagues included close examination of job performances, unwarranted discipline, and unfairly lowered job performance evaluations.

Sexual harassment and employee retaliation in the workplace is a direct violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. According to the EEOC, there has been an increase over the past decade of male sexual harassment charges filed with state/local agencies and the federal agency across the country. In the past ten years, the filing of male sexual harassment charges has increased from 12% to 16%.

In addition to the $175,000, Regal Entertainment Group must also provide training on anti-discrimination to its employees, and work to adhere to Title VII to prevent discrimination complaints and cases in the future. The company must provide annual employment practice reports to the EEOC as well.

Olophius Perry, EEOC Los Angeles District Director, claimed that this case serves as an entertainment industry model--as the need for voluntary industry compliance with federal discrimination laws in necessary.

If you, or someone you know has experienced sexual harassment or retaliation in the workplace, our team of experienced California Labor and Employment Attorneys can aggressively represent you and protect your employment rights. Contact Howard Nassiri, PC for a free consultation today.

Regal Entertainment Group to Pay $175,000 for Sex Harassment of Man by Female Co-Worker, November 9, 2009

Related Web Resources:

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity, (EEOC)

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, (EEOC)

As California Employment and Labor Attorneys, we have been following the Jennifer Strange wrongful death lawsuit verdict, announced last week, where a Sacramento jury awarded the Strange family $16,577,118 in compensation, after Strange died within hours of participating in the station's 2007 Radio Contest.

Jennifer Strange, 28, was a mother of three children from Rancho Cordova, and died from water intoxication, after trying to win the hard-to-get Nintendo Wii video game for her children in the "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" radio station contest--where contestants competed against each other by drinking large amounts of water without urinating or vomiting.

Strange was one out of 20 contestants in the KDND-FM "The End" (107.9 FM) morning radio show contest and made it into the final round for the Nintendo Wii prize, when after swallowing nearly two gallons of water, she lost to another contestant. After coming in second place, Strange and the winner of the contest reportedly raced to the bathroom to vomit. Strange then called in sick to work, complaining of a stomachache and a headache, and was found hours later dead in her home.

The tape of the program, called "Morning Rave" on KDND-FM revealed that during the contest, the station received warnings about the potential fatal effects of this stunt, and that during the program listeners expressed concerns that drinking large amounts of water was dangerous. One DJ reportedly mentioned the 2005 death of a college student, due to water intoxication during a Chico hazing ritual. The on-air hosts reportedly laughed about the contest stating that the participants had signed waivers releasing the station for liability with the contest.

The Sacramento County Superior Court jury found the radio station KDND-FM's owner, Entercom Sacramento negligent after ignoring multiple warnings that this contest could have fatal consequences. The jury also found that by holding this contest, the DJs and the station managers acted negligently within the scope and course of their employment, and that their employee negligence for public safety harmed Strange. The parent company Entercom Communications was not found responsible, as it was the responsibility of Entercom Sacramento employees to pre-approve the contest with the legal department of the parent company--which the employees neglected to do.

Continue reading "Family Awarded $16 Million for Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against California Radio Station" »

Our California Employment and Labor Lawyers have been following the settlement of a Southern California sex discrimination class action lawsuit announced Monday, by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), for $1,025,000 against Lawry's Restaurants, Inc., the California-based high-end steak restaurant chain. The lawsuit alleged that Lawry has maintained a decade-long policy of hiring only female workers for serving positions, violating the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on sex.

After investigating a charge of sexual discrimination, filed in 2003 by a busboy who claimed he was denied a server position because of his sex, the EEOC found that Lawry's policy of discriminating against hiring male servers had been in place since 1938, even after Title VII of the Civil Rights act of 1964 prohibited such a policy. Lawry's defended the Los Angeles, California sexual discrimination claim, stating that the female-only server policy was based on a company tradition that started when hiring females as servers was a rarity.

The EEOC responded that gender stereotypes have no place in the workplace, and that the longstanding company tradition of hiring only females has affected an entire class of working men, based on sex. This was an unusual case because the standard employment complaint against high-end restaurants is that women are more likely to be denied promotions to server positions than men.

The lawsuit was filed by the EEOC in 2006, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, after first attempting to reach a voluntary settlement out of court. Lawry's agreed, under the three year consent decree that resolved the case, to radically change the company's longstanding employment policies and hiring practices, by hiring and promoting men into the company's many server positions.

Continue reading "Lawry's Pays $1 Million in Male Sex Discrimination Suit Settlement" »