| Case # | Name | Category | Court | Judge | Published | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 
 G057836 
 | 
Uribe v. Crown Building Maintenance Co.
 The trial court erred in approving a settlement that included Private Attorneys General Act claims that plaintiff had not filed notice of.  | 
Employment Law | 
 | 
T. Goethals | Oct. 27, 2021 | 
| 
 B312411 
 | 
Patterson v. Superior Court (Charter Communications)
 In a Fair Employment and House Act claim, an arbitration agreement cannot award attorney fees to a defendant without a showing that the claim was frivolous.  | 
Employment Law | 
 | 
D. Perluss | Oct. 20, 2021 | 
| 
 B306652 
 | 
Morales v. Factor Surfaces LLC 
 A trial court did not err by allowing commission payments to be included when calculating an employee's hourly rate of pay because the employer failed to produce evidence to the contrary.  | 
Employment Law | 
 | 
B. Currey | Oct. 19, 2021 | 
| 
 E072892 
 | 
Carrasco v. State Personnel Board (Dept. of Corrections and Rehabilitation)
 A probationary government employee may be rejected for a single substantiated reason.  | 
Employment Law | 
 | 
A. McKinster | Oct. 11, 2021 | 
| 
 B304701 
 | 
Turrieta v. Lyft, Inc.
 Because the state is the real party in interest in Private Attorneys General Act claims, named plaintiffs do not have standing to object to related PAGA settlements.  | 
Employment Law | 
 | 
A. Collins | Oct. 4, 2021 | 
| 
 F074680 
 | 
Becerra v. The McClatchy Co.
 Trial courts should not use Employment Development Department regulations to analyze whether newspaper carriers are employers or independent contractors.  | 
Employment Law | 
 | 
J. Detjen | Oct. 4, 2021 | 
| 
 G058371 
 | 
Amaro v. Anaheim Arena Management
 A class-action settlement was overbroad because it went beyond the factual allegations in the complaint and covered all claims relating to the legal theories of the complaint.  | 
Employment Law | 
 | 
E. Moore | Sep. 30, 2021 | 
| 
 B298901 
 | 
Dept. of Fair Employment and Housing v. M&N Financing Corporation
 Employees who were coerced by their employer to engage in discriminatory conduct were aggrieved parties under the Fair Employment and Housing Act.  | 
Employment Law | 
 | 
D. Kim | Sep. 29, 2021 | 
| 
 B303655 
 | 
Guzman v. NBA Automotive, Inc. 
 Employee's Department of Fair Employment and Housing complaint was valid, even though it incorrectly identified employer's legal name, because other complaint information could easily identify employer.  | 
Employment Law | 
 | 
J. Segal | Sep. 20, 2021 | 
| 
 G058820 
 | 
Medina v. Equilon Enterprises, LLC
 An entity can be a joint employer if enough control is exercised over an intermediary entity to indirectly dictate the wages, hours, or working conditions of the employee.  | 
Employment Law | 
 | 
D. Thompson | Sep. 14, 2021 | 
| 
 19-16960 
 | 
Warmenhoven v. NetApp, Inc.
 Promises made in Powerpoint presentations did not create an ERISA plan and violation of plan administrator's duties under Section 1104(a)(1) does not require a showing of intentional deceit.  | 
Employment Law | 
 | 
G. Feinerman | Sep. 14, 2021 | 
| 
 B302988 
 | 
Wesson v. Staples the Office Superstore, LLC
 Trial courts have inherent authority to ensure that PAGA claims will be manageable at trial and may strike unmanageable claims.  | 
Employment Law | 
 | 
N. Manella | Sep. 13, 2021 | 
| 
 S250149 
 | 
Skidgel v. California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board
 In-Home Supportive Services caregivers who provide services to family members are not eligible for unemployment insurance benefits.  | 
Employment Law | 
 | 
M. Jenkins | Aug. 20, 2021 | 
| 
 B306127 
 | 
Hollingsworth v. Heavy Transport, Inc. 
 Jurisdictional questions regarding workers' compensation coverage are properly decided by court, not jury.  | 
Employment Law | 
 | 
A. Collins | Jul. 29, 2021 | 
| 
 S262699 
 | 
Pollock v. Tri-Modal Distribution Services, Inc.
 Actionable quid pro quo sexual harassment occurs when employees have actual or constructive knowledge of employer's decision to not promote due to harassment.  | 
Employment Law | 
 | 
G. Liu | Jul. 27, 2021 | 
| 
 S259172 
 | 
Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel, LLC
 Like regular rate of pay, regular rate of compensation includes all nondiscretionary payments, not just hourly wages.  | 
Employment Law | 
 | 
G. Liu | Jul. 16, 2021 | 
| 
 D072265 
 | 
Certified Tire & Service Centers Wage & Hour Cases
 Where employer pays according to its contract and at least statutory minimum wage, its legal obligation is fulfilled even if pay increases fluctuate based on productivity.  | 
Employment Law | 
 | 
J. Irion | Jul. 7, 2021 | 
| 
 G058480 
 | 
Levanoff v. Dragas
 Employer did not violate California law by using rate-in-effect method for calculating regular rate of pay for purposes of establishing overtime rate of pay for dual rate employees.  | 
Employment Law | 
 | 
R. Fybel | Jun. 30, 2021 | 
| 
 D078211 
 | 
General Atomics v. Superior Court (Green)
 Defendant's petition for writ of mandate was granted because its wage statements showed the applicable hourly rates and the total number of hours worked at each.  | 
Employment Law | 
 | 
P. Guerrero | Jun. 2, 2021 | 
| 
 B305689 
 | 
Bruni v. The Edward Thomas Hospitality Corporation
 Earlier period of employment that ended in voluntary resignation could not be aggregated with later period of employment that ended in layoff to meet six-month minimum period of employment under City's Ordinance.  | 
Employment Law | 
 | 
G. Salter | May 19, 2021 | 
| 
 B300778 
 | 
Salazar v. See's Candy Shops
 Individual issues would predominate in determining whether employer consistently applied practice of denying second meal breaks.  | 
Employment Law | 
 | 
E. Lui | May 12, 2021 | 
| 
 B305546 
 | 
Rosales v. Uber Technologies, Inc. 
 A plaintiff cannot be compelled to arbitrate disputes in a PAGA claim because the State was not a party to the arbitration agreement.  | 
Employment Law | 
 | 
E. Grimes | May 4, 2021 | 
| 
 D077181 
 | 
Gomez v. The Regents of the University of California
 Wage Order No. 4 does not apply to Regents of the University of California because it is neither a political subdivision nor a listed entity, but a public trust.  | 
Employment Law | 
 | 
R. Huffman | Apr. 26, 2021 | 
| 
 D076079 
 | 
Vendor Surveillance Corporation v. Henning
 'Dynamex' 'ABC' test applies in alleged wage order violations and 'Borello' provides applicable standard in assessing unemployment insurance taxes.  | 
Employment Law | 
 | 
W. Dato | Mar. 22, 2021 | 
| 
 B294240 
 | 
Brown v. Los Angeles Unified School Dist. 
 Plaintiff adequately pled cause of action for failure to provide reasonable accommodation for her disability.  | 
Employment Law | 
 | 
M. Stratton | Feb. 22, 2021 | 
| 
 H045194 
 | 
Choochagi v. Barracuda Networks, Inc. 
 Trial court did not err in its application of 'McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green' test to plaintiff's California Family Rights Act claim.  | 
Employment Law | 
 | 
M. Greenwood | Feb. 3, 2021 | 
| 
 A157886 
 | 
Kao v. Joy Holiday
 Trial court properly ruled that appellants, as alter egos of travel tour company that they owned and operated, were personally liable for respondent's unpaid wages.  | 
Employment Law | 
 | 
I. Petrou | Dec. 9, 2020 | 
| 
 A160701 
 | 
Modification: People v. Uber Technologies, Inc.
 Because drivers performed services for defendant rideshare companies in usual course of defendants' businesses, there was reasonable probability of prevailing on drivers' claim that defendants misclassified drivers.  | 
Employment Law | 
 | 
J. Streeter | Nov. 25, 2020 | 
| 
 B304240 
 | 
People v. Superior Court (Cal Cartage Transportation Express, LLC)
 Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 does not preempt application of 'ABC' test under 'Dynamex Operations W. v. Superior Court.'  | 
Employment Law | 
 | 
B. Currey | Nov. 23, 2020 | 
| 
 B293850 
 | 
Lares v. Los Angeles County Metropolitan
 Trial court properly granted summary judgment in favor of defendant because defendant did not violate California Family Rights Act.  | 
Employment Law | 
 | 
T. Willhite | Oct. 27, 2020 | 
