California Employment Lawyers Blog

In this month's Costa Mesa, California employment lawyers newsletter, Howard Law attorney Vincent Howard reviewed key California and federal labor and employment law developments from 2011--hot topics that our Riverside, California employment lawyers blog covered over the course last year, including GINA's final regulations, the Supreme Court's ruling in the Walmart v. Dukes sex-discrimination lawsuit, and Charlie Sheen's wrongful termination lawsuit against Warner Brothers and Chuck Lorre, among others.

GINA's Final Regulations Take Effect
After the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) voted unanimously in late 2010, the final regulations that implement the employment provisions of GINA (Title II), the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, took effect in early 2011. Title II of GINA represents the first extension of the EEOC's jurisdiction since the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), and makes it illegal for employers to engage in genetic testing or discriminate against employees based on genetic make-up.

Third Party Retaliation Limits Case Decided by Supreme Court
In January of last year, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Thompson v. North American Stainless, a retaliation ban limits case, stating that under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a company can be sued for retaliation by terminating an employee's fiancée. The case arose after a former female engineer with North American Stainless, who was engaged to a metallurgic engineer at the company--claimed to have experienced gender-based discrimination and filed a complaint with the EEOC. The female engineer's fiancée was fired three weeks after her EEOC sex-discrimination complaint was revealed, whereupon the fiancée filed his own third-party retaliation claim. As Vincent Howard reported in our California employment attorney blog, the highest court decided that third-party victims of retaliation are covered by federal protections.

Charlie Sheen Sues for Millions
One of the highest-profile employment lawsuits from 2011 that garnered massive media attention was filed by Hollywood actor Charlie Sheen in March, who sued Warner Brothers Studio and Chuck Lorre, the executive producer of Two and a Half Men, in a $100 million dollars lawsuit--for wrongful termination, breach of contract, retaliation and other Los Angeles, California labor and employment charges. Sheen's contract was reportedly terminated for health issues that allegedly led to his inability to perform his duties for the television show, for public tirades against Lorre, and for alleged substance abuse and destructive behavior. Sheen and Warner Brothers reportedly finalized a multi-million dollar settlement in September.

Continue reading "2011 Labor and Employment Law in Review: GINA, Charlie Sheen, Walmart v. Dukes" »

In recent Los Angeles, California employment lawsuit news that our Costa Mesa attorney Vincent Howard has been following, a former employee of a California car dealership owned by John Elway, the well-known former quarterback of the Denver Broncos--is suing the dealership, claiming that minority employees were regularly subjected to racial discrimination, harassment and a hostile work environment.

According to the class action lawsuit filed earlier this week in Los Angeles Superior Court, Timothy Sandquist, a former sales manager at Elway's Toyota dealership in Manhattan Beach, claims the he and other minority employees were frequently denied employment opportunities and promotions based on their race.

The California racial discrimination lawsuit names John Elway and his two business partners, and claim that Sandquist who was an employee of the company for eleven years, was paid less than his white colleagues and was frequently passed over for promotions that he was entitled to after many successful years of employment with the company--because he is black.

The lawsuit also claims that the general manager of the dealership, Darrell Sperber, created a hostile work environment for minority employees by saying ethnic slurs against black, Middle Eastern, and Latino employees, along with allegedly encouraging employees to say demeaning comments about non-white customers who chose not to buy cars. The discrimination and harassment lawsuit also claims that Sperber, who was hired to be the general manager in 2007, engaged in retaliation against any employees who reported the alleged racial harassment or discrimination.

Continue reading "Employee Sues John Elway's Los Angeles Car Dealership in Class Action Racial Discrimination Lawsuit" »

Our Costa Mesa labor and employment attorney blog recently covered the topic of religious discrimination in the workplace, while discussing a religious discrimination lawsuit that involved a Muslim security guard--who sued his employer for pressuring him to shave facial hair while working for a security company. The employee claimed that his facial hair is part of his Islamic faith, and under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the security company engaged in discrimination and retaliation by firing the employee for not shaving his beard.

In related California religious and racial discrimination lawsuit news, a Muslim Employee at the Human Assistance Department for Sacramento County, has recently claimed in an employment lawsuit that he has consistently suffered from harassment and discrimination based on race and religion since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

According to the lawsuit, filed last year, Abdur-Rahim Wasi, an African American employee, claims that since the terrorist attacks, he has been called a variety of discriminatory names including, "Taliban," "Osama Bin Laden," and "Al-Qaida." Wasi claims that the county managers have failed to stop the racial and religious harassment, and have even gone as far as to mock his employment concern. The lawsuit states that after Wasi filed an harassment complaint, his program manager proceeded to wear a Muslim head covering at a Halloween party in jest.

In his complaint to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Wasi claims that six months after starting this job with the county in 2001, when the terrorist attacks occurred, his co-workers started questioning Muslims and harassing him by saying that he was a member of the Taliban. Wasi also reportedly endured other pranks and jokes over the years that were allegedly associated with his faith. When he reported the harassment and discrimination to his superiors, he claims that he was told that his colleagues were just joking.

Continue reading "California Muslim Alleges Religious Harassment and Racial Discrimination in the Workplace" »

Our Riverside employment attorneys have been following a recent California employment lawsuit against The Finish Line, after a former store manager reportedly secretly recorded female employees in a restroom with a hidden camera, as well as customers in a dressing room.

According to the Indianapolis Star, the athletic gear and shoe store is facing lawsuits in both California and Indiana, for failing to properly supervise David L. Meyer, who had been working as a manager in California for a few years, and installed a hidden video recorder in the store restroom.

Five female employees working in Milpitas, California reportedly filed an employment lawsuit in Northern California federal court, against Meyer and the Finish Line, accusing him of secretly recording them with a hidden camera in the bathroom and also dressing room--used by both employees and store customers between December of 2009 and April of 2010.

Meyer admitted in one of the federal employment lawsuits that he installed the recording device in the bathroom secretly, recording the personal and intimate moments of females in the restroom, to catch a person who repeatedly flushed items down the toilet that allegedly caused frequent plumbing problems.

Continue reading " Finish Line Female Employees Sue Over Hidden Camera in Bathroom" »

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently discussed a sexual harassment lawsuit settlement, involving a class of female greenhouse workers in an Oxnard, California Orchid Growing Company.

According to the EEOC lawsuit settlement, that our Anaheim employment attorneys have been following, Cyma Orchids, Inc., one of the country's largest orchid growers, will pay $200,000 to settle the sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation charges due to national origin bias and sex--filed by the EEOC on behalf of the female Hispanic workers. The Orchid Farm's owner will also pay $40,000 to resolve the lawsuit.

The California sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit claims that a class of female workers were continually sexually propositioned and inappropriately groped by Hispanic and Korean male managers, supervisors and company owners. The female workers were reportedly groped on their breasts and bottoms, forced to endure sexual propositions, and were frequently the subject of sexual jokes and lewd comments about their bodies and their national origin. The EEOC found that the female workers who complained or reported the sexual harassment were retaliated against. A male lead worker in the greenhouse who defended one of the victims was also reportedly retaliated against, by being fired for standing up for a female employee.

As Vincent Howard has discussed in a previous Howard Law employment lawyer blog, under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it is illegal to sexually harass, discriminate or retaliate against job applicants or employees based on gender or national origin in hiring, training, firing, benefits, wages, promotions and other employment terms and conditions. According to the EEOC, sexual harassment can include advances of a sexual nature that are unwelcome, requests for sexual favors, and other sexual harassment in a physical or verbal form. The EEOC also states that harassment can include remarks about a person's sex or gender that are offensive.

Continue reading "Orchid Growing Farm to Pay $240K for Sexual Harassment, National Origin Discrimination" »

According to a recent U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, (EEOC) press release that our Rosemead employment attorneys have been following, a Los Angeles-area Medical Center will reportedly pay former female employees $530,000, to settle an EEOC lawsuit alleging the sexual harassment of the female medical staff.

The EEOC investigation reportedly uncovered that from 2007 until 2009, several of the female employees of the Garfield Medical Center, located in Monterey Park, California, were targets of sexual harassment by a male emergency room representative, whose job was to admit patients.

The Garfield Medical Center was found by the EEOC to have allowed the male emergency room representative to sexually harass a group of female hospital employees by subjecting them to sexual propositions, unwanted inappropriate touching, obscene photos, discussions of sexual activities that were graphic, and sexual comments about the female anatomy, including those of patients who were underage.

After reporting the harassment, their complaints were reportedly ignored by the hospital management. One female employee was wrongfully terminated in retaliation for complaining about the harassment, while other employees were driven to quit in order to escape the hostile work environment. Even after repeated complaints to the hospital management, the male employee was not terminated from his job until 2009, over two years after the initial sexual harassment complaints were reported.

Continue reading "Los Angeles-area Medical Center Will Pay $530K in Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Settlement" »

Our Carson employment lawyer blog post recently discussed a class action wage and hour lawsuit involving exotic dancers in California and other states, who sued their employers for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by failing to pay them minimum wage for all hours worked.

In a related Los Angeles, California wage and hour lawsuit, 20 former dancers from a Los Angeles hostess dance club are suing the club for violations of the FLSA, and for subjecting them to illegal sexual harassment.

According to the lawsuit, Club 907 was one of seven hostess dancing clubs in downtown Los Angeles, where customers pay up to $30 to dance and talk with hostesses--but where nudity is prohibited. The club, which closed last year, is being sued by the former hostesses who allege that the club violated the FLSA by failing to pay minimum wage, overtime compensation, and for failing to provide meal and rest breaks, among other wage and hour benefits.

The hostesses are suing Goliath Incorporated, the company that owned Club 907, claiming in the lawsuit that they were compensated only for the time that they actually danced with the customers--even though they were required to work a minimum of 36 hours per week, and often over 40 hours in a work week, with no overtime compensation. One hostess claimed that she would work at the club for 30 hours per week, but only received $50 to $60 per paycheck.

Continue reading "LA Dance Club Hostesses Sue for FLSA Wage and Hour Violations, Harassment" »

In recent Los Angeles, California employment news, Jon Peters, the 66-year old Hollywood producer of films such as "Flashdance," "The Color Purple," and "Batman," has been ordered by a Los Angeles jury to pay his former assistant over $3 million in damages after being sued for sexual harassment.

According to the lawsuit, Shelly Morita accused Peters of failure to prevent sexual harassment, and creating a hostile work environment while she worked as an assistant for Peters and his company, J.P. Organization Inc., from February of 2005 for one year.

Morita claimed in the trial that she established her reputation of being a reliable assistant by being willing to perform just about any task for her employers. Morita was an experienced personal assistant before she started working for Peters in 2005, having been previously employed by celebrities like Marisa Tomei, Justine Bateman, Jennifer Aniston and Jennifer Connelly.

Peters reportedly hired Morita in 2005, demanding long hours and a six-day workweek--which required her to hire a babysitter to take care of her then 2-year-old daughter. Morita stated that Peters was happy with her work, even giving her $10,000 as a bonus in appreciation of her work.

Continue reading "Hollywood Producer to Pay Former Assistant Over $3M in Sexual Harassment Lawsuit" »

In recent news that our Costa Mesa labor and employment attorneys have been watching, a Los Angeles, a California judge has advised Nicollette Sheridan, the former star of the popular television show Desperate Housewives, to settle her wrongful termination lawsuit against ABC and the show's creator and executive producer Marc Cherry, that she filed last year.

This week, in Los Angeles Superior Court, Sheridan and her legal team were told by the judge that they were going to spend a lot of money on this wrongful termination case--urging them to settle.

The Superior Court Judge also limited the damages that Sheridan could receive if she would win at the trial--ruling that Sheridan can only ask for damages for one year of pay on the show, instead of the entire run of the series. The show will start its eighth season this fall, and it will be the show's last.

The wrongful termination lawsuit has also reportedly been pared down since last year, as the judge threw out Sheridan's harassment charges, and ruled this week that the television actress could not make reference to Cherry's alleged rude behavior in the trial.

Continue reading "'Desperate Housewives' Sued for Wrongful Termination by Hollywood Television Star" »

According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, (EEOC) religious discrimination is treating an individual employee or applicant in the workplace differently because of their religious beliefs.

As our Newport Beach labor and employment lawyers blog has discussed previously, Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it is illegal to discriminate against people in the workplace who belong to traditional and organized religions, and sincerely hold religious, moral or ethical beliefs in any aspect of employment, including hiring, job assignments, firing, work promotions, training, layoffs, and any other employment terms or conditions.

Under federal law, employers are required to give reasonable accommodation to an employee's religious beliefs and practices, by making reasonable adjustments to the work environment--allowing an employee to practice their religion, unless it would cause burden or hardship on the employee's business operations. Common religious accommodations include modifying workplace policies or practices, flexible scheduling, shift substitutions, or job reassignments. Employers must also give reasonable accommodation to an employee's appearance or grooming practices, including wearing head coverings like a Muslim headscarf or hijab, as we have discussed in a previous Santa Ana employment lawyers blog, or wearing certain hairstyles or facial hair.

A recent example of alleged religious discrimination in the workplace was in recent news after a Muslim security guard refused to shave his beard when he began working for American Patriot Security in 2009. When Abdulkadir Omar reportedly began working for the company, he was not told upon hiring that he would have to shave his beard in order to keep his job. Omar wears a beard as part of this Islamic faith, and six months after he was hired, a supervisor informed him that he would have to comply with company policy and shave. Omar continued to work for the company until he was allegedly wrongfully terminated from his employment for not shaving his beard.

Continue reading "Religious Discrimination in the Workplace and Reasonable Accommodation" »

According to a recent California sexual harassment lawsuit settlement that our Riverside employment attorneys have been following, Monterey Gourmet Foods, Inc. a maker of gourmet food items, has agreed to pay four Hispanic workers $535,000 to settle a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit.

The lawsuit, filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, (EEOC), claims that one male and three female workers were sexually harassed by a male supervisor-- who starting in 2006 used sexual comments, unwanted sexual touching, and obscene pictures to harass the workers.

The workers told the management about the harassment, but the company reportedly overlooked the harassment and neglected to take effective measures to correct the work environment. Two years later, in 2008, only a few weeks after the EEOC filed discrimination charges, the workers were reportedly dismissed for their employment duties in retaliation.

Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, sexual harassment is against the law, as well as retaliation for reporting harassment. Under the consent decree terms, Monterey Gourmet Foods will compensate the workers $535,000 and has agreed to strengthen the company's anti-harassment policy, to provide harassment prevention training to employees and managers, and inform the EEOC about any complaints of harassment or retaliation in the future.

Continue reading "California Gourmet Foods Company to Pay $535K in Sexual Harassment and Retaliation Lawsuit Settlement" »

In a recent news that our Riverside employment attorneys have been following, a nursing home employee has sued her former employer in a federal lawsuit, claiming that she was sexually harassed by the administrator of the home, who is also a woman.

According to the lawsuit, Mary Ann Janoski was fired as the activities director of the nursing home in 2009, because she refused what she claims were sexual advances by the home's female administrator, Sheila Layo.

Janoski claims that while employed at Timber Ridge nursing center, she was asked in a sexually suggestive way if she would like to go somewhere after a 10pm training session. After declining the invitation, Janoski claims that she suffered a pattern of harassment by Layo, which led to a poor performance review. When asked why her work review was negative, Layo reportedly refused to answer.

As our lawyers reported in a related Carson employment lawyers blog, sexual harassment is against the law, and can include unwelcome advances of a sexual nature, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal and physical harassment. Both victim or the person doing the harassing can be either a woman or a man, and the victim and harasser can be the same sex. Sexual harassment often creates a hostile work environment, or can result in negative employment decisions like demotion or firing.

Continue reading "Same-sex Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Filed by Former Nursing Home Employee" »

In recent employment news that our Fullerton labor and employment attorneys have been following, U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis recently announced the Department of Labor's renewed and full commitment to implementing equal employment opportunity policies for all applicants and employees.

In the announcement, Solis expressed her personal effort and commitment to make the U.S. Department of Labor a model workplace, that is free from unwanted harassment and discrimination--fostering a working environment where every employee is able to fully utilize their full employment capabilities. Solis stressed the importance for the DOL to achieve, maintain and reflect a high-quality and diverse workforce at all levels of organization in the department.

According to Solis, the department's policies ensure equal protections for all applicants and employees regardless of age, race, religion, color, sex, including pregnancy, national origin, gender identity, as well as mental and physical disabilities, genetic information, and sexual orientation. Solis' statement also includes signed and updated policies that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, pregnancy, and gender identity.

The U.S. Department of Labor is required every year to issue a written policy stating the secretary's commitment to equal employment opportunities and the department's commitment to a workplace that is free from discrimination and harassment.

Continue reading "Labor Secretary Solis Announces Continuing Commitment to Equal Employment in DOL" »

In a recent Newport Beach, California Employment Lawyer Blog, our attorneys discussed two California employment lawsuits against Dov Charney, the controversial CEO of the popular clothing store American Apparel--who is being sued for sexual harassment by four women who were all former employees of the company.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Charney was sued again last week by three of the former employees who brought one of the sexual harassment lawsuits in March--this time alleging defamation and invasion of privacy.

The lawsuit reportedly claims that after filing sexual harassment a sexual harassment lawsuit against Charney in March, former employees Irene Morales, Tesa Lubans-Dehaven, and Alyssa Ferguson noticed that fake blogs of a sexual nature started to appear on the internet that featured naked or scantily clad photos of them, and looked as if they were written by the women. Some of the blogs also made it seem that the women were admitting to an extortion scheme, which is against the law.

The ex-workers also claimed that after filing the lawsuit against American Apparel, the company released sexy photos of them to news outlets, including the Los Angeles Times. Kimbra Lo, who filed the second sexual harassment lawsuit in March, and is not part of this defamation lawsuit, also had racy photos anonymously turn up in the news outlets when her case reached the height of its publicity.

Continue reading "American Apparel CEO Dov Charney Gets Sued Again--This Time For Defamation and Fraud" »

In recent employment news that our Orange County, California labor and employment lawyers have been following, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced this week that it has filed its largest human trafficking case in the commission's agriculture history--filing discrimination lawsuits against Global Horizons, Inc., a farm labor contractor based in Los Angeles, California, along with eight farms.

The EEOC reportedly filed lawsuits alleging that the contractor engaged in discrimination, harassment, and retaliation based on race and national origin, by trafficking over 200 male victims from Thailand to farms in Washington and Hawaii, where they experienced severe abuse between 2003 and 2007.

According to the lawsuit, Global Horizons enticed male workers from Thailand with the promise of high-paying agriculture jobs that would allow them to work and live in the United States legally, with temporary visas. The promises were reported false, and came with high recruitment fees that trapped the workers--creating substantial debt they were unable to pay back.

After reaching Global Horizons in the U.S. locations, the workers' passports were reportedly taken, and deportation was threatened if they complained about the reported mistreatment, harassment, intimidation, physical abuse and unequal pay. The lawsuit claims that workers lived in rat and insect infested housing with overcrowded rooms and few beds, and were forced to stay on the premises with bodyguards stationed around the farms--where they endured screaming, severe threats and physical assault, and were kept separate from other farm workers who appeared to have working conditions that were tolerable.

Continue reading "California-based Global Horizons Sued for Human Trafficking and Race Discrimination" »