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Labor & Employment Law

[09/09] Byrum v. Office of Pers. Mgmt.
In deceased federal employee's daughter's claim to death benefits, which were assigned to the daughter after the employee's husband was found civilly liable for the employee's death, the Merit Systems Protection Board's affirmance of the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) denial of the claim on the ground that petitioner was not the spouse of the deceased is vacated and remanded where: 1) petitioner is seeking all available death benefits attributable to her mother's services, and specifically including both the lump sum and the annuity provided under section 8442(b); 2) pursuant to a Texas court's turnover order, the employee's husband assigned to petitioner all available death benefits to which he may have had a claim under FERS, including both the lump sum and the annuity in section 8442(b); and 3) by not deciding the claim for benefits as submitted, OPM failed to carry out its statutory duty to petitioner and her deceased mother and the Board compounded the problem by affirming the OPM's reconsideration decision on narrow grounds and declining to address the issues raised by petitioner.

[09/09] Lozano v. City of Hazleton
In plaintiffs' suit against the City of Hazleton to enjoin enforcement of ordinances that attempt to regulate employment of, and provision of rental housing to, certain aliens, district court's entry of permanent injunction against the city is affirmed in part, vacated in part and remanded where: 1) district court erred in reaching the merits of the challenge to the private cause of action provision because no plaintiff has standing to challenge that provision; 2) the employment provisions of the ordinances stand as an obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of IRCA's objective, and thus are preempted; and 3) the housing provisions of the city's ordinances are preempted regulations of immigration, and both field and conflict preempted by the INA.

[09/09] Delia v. City of Rialto
In an action by a firefighter against the City of Rialto and the Rialto Fire Department, alleging violations of his constitutional rights arising during a departmental internal affairs investigation, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed in part where plaintiff's constitutional right under the Fourth Amendment to be protected from a warrantless unreasonable compelled search of his home was violated, but this right, under these or similar facts, was not clearly established at the time of this constitutional violation. However, the order is reversed in part where one defendant was not entitled to qualified immunity as a private attorney.

[09/09] Kurns v. A.W. Chesterton Inc.

[09/08] McKissick v. Yuen
In an action against plaintiff's former company and two of its former officers, accusing them of perpetrating a fraud that rendered her stock options in the company worthless, summary judgment for defendant is affirmed where: 1) the parties' separation agreement unambiguously barred plaintiff's claims; and 2) although the separation agreement entitled defendant to recoup the attorney's fees it incurred in defending the suit, the agreement did not permit the company to recover the fees it incurred in prosecuting a counterclaim against plaintiff.

[09/08] Murphy v. Deloitte & Touche Grp. Ins. Plan
In an action concerning defendant's denial of disability benefits under an ERISA plan, summary judgment for defendant is vacated where: 1) the court's case law prohibited courts from considering materials outside the administrative record where the extra-record materials sought to be introduced related to a claimant's eligibility for benefits; and 2) neither a claimant nor an administrator should be allowed to use discovery to engage in unnecessarily broad discovery that slows the efficient resolution of an ERISA claim.

[09/08] Alvarado-Santos v. Dep't of Health of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
In plaintiff's suit against her former employer, claiming national origin and gender discrimination under Title VII, jury verdict in favor of the plaintiff is reversed as defendant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law because, based on the evidence presented at trial, no reasonable jury could find that the nonrenewal of plaintiff's contract was based on her gender and/or national origin.

[09/08] Brown v. Auto. Components Holdings, LLC
In plaintiff's suit against her former employer for interference with her rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), district court's entry of summary judgment in favor of the defendant is affirmed as defendant's termination of plaintiff's employment based on her noncompliance with its internal leave procedures did not violate the FMLA because the undisputed facts establish that plaintiff was absent without leave after failing to give proper FMLA notice for an extension of a previously requested leave period.

[09/08] Garcia v. Four Points Sheraton LAX
In hotel service workers' class action lawsuit against certain hotels near Los Angeles International Airport, for violation of a city ordinance that requires hotels with 50 or more rooms to pass along service charges to those hotel workers who render the services for which the charges are collected, and for violation of the unfair competition law, trial court's dismissal following its order sustaining the demurrers to the complaints is reversed where: 1) the Labor Code does not preempt the ordinance; 2) the ordinance is not unconstitutional, as the classifications in the ordinance are rationally based and do not violate the equal protection clause; 3) the ordinance does not violate due process and is not void for vagueness; and 4) the ordinance is not an unconstitutional taking.

[09/07] Payne v. Salazar
In an action alleging retaliation in violation of Title VII, dismissal of the action for failure to exhaust administrative remedies is affirmed in part where the district court properly held that plaintiff failed to exhaust one of her claims. However, the order is reversed in part where an employee's right to trial de novo -- whether her employer is the federal government or a private company -- means that she is entitled to a plenary trial of whatever claims she brings to court, and it does not mean that she must sue on claims she has no interest in pursuing.

[09/07] Equal Employment Opportunity Comm'n v. Kronos Inc.
In the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) suit seeking enforcement of a third-party administrative subpoena it issued against defendant pertaining to the EEOC's investigation into a charge of discrimination against a grocery store, district court's order narrowing the scope of the subpoena and directing the parties to negotiate a confidentiality order is affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded where: 1) district court's judgment is reversed insofar as it limited the scope of the EEOC's subpoena in terms of geography, time and job description; 2) to the extent that the district court's order limits the EEOC's access to validation efforts conducted solely on behalf of the store, documents relating to potential adverse impact on disabled individuals to those relating specifically and only to the store, and user's manuals and instructions for the assessment were actually provided to the store, the order is reversed; 3) district court's judgment is affirmed to the extent that it declines to enforce the portion of the EEOC's subpoena requesting information related to potential discrimination based on race; and 4) district court's confidentiality order is vacated and remanded to permit the district court to conduct a good cause balancing test.

[09/07] Kahn v. Dep't of Justice
In a DEA agent's suit under the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA), the Merit Systems Protection Board's final decision that plaintiff did not make protected disclosures under the WPA is affirmed where: 1) the administrative judge did not err in finding that plaintiff's communications with an agent were not protected disclosures because they were made as part of normal duties through normal channels; 2) plaintiff's report was not a disclosure because he did not reveal something that was hidden and not known to the DEA; and 3) because plaintiff's communications were not protected under the WPA, the question of whether the government could have shown by clear and convincing evidence that it would have transferred plaintiff on the absence of his communications need not be addressed.

[09/07] Sandell v. Taylor-Listug, Inc.
In plaintiff's suit against his former employer for disability and age discrimination, a grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendant is reversed and remanded where: 1) plaintiff presented evidence sufficient to establish a prima facie case of disability and age discrimination; and 2) plaintiff presented sufficient evidence to raise a triable issue of fact as to whether the motivation for his termination was discriminatory in response to defendant's proffer of legitimate nondiscriminatory reasons for terminating his employment.

[09/07] Alday v. Raytheon Co.
In an action alleging that defendant breached collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) with plaintiffs and violated the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA) and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), summary judgment for plaintiffs is affirmed where: 1) the language of the CBAs made clear that defendant's agreement to pay retiree medical insurance premiums continued beyond the term of the CBAs, even where its agreement to pay non-retired employee premiums did not; 2) defendant's leeway to amend its benefit plans did not allow it to alter the terms of the CBAs under which it agreed to provide company-paid health insurance to retirees; and 3) plaintiffs failed to allege sufficient facts supporting their claim for punitive and extra-contractual damages.

[09/07] Parker v. NutriSystem, Inc.
In plaintiff's suit against his employer for past overtime payments in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendant-employer is affirmed where: 1) the Department of Labor's factually distinguishable opinion letters and broad general guidance are not sufficiently thorough or consistent to warrant deference in this case; 2) the fact that defendant's plan is not calculated strictly as a percentage of sale price does not disqualify it from being a commission under section 7(i); and 3) when the flat-rate payments made to an employee based on that employee's sales are proportionally related to the charges passed on to the consumer, the payments can be considered a bona fide commission rate for the purposes of section 7(i).

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Legal News & Case Summaries

Case Summaries

Labor & Employment Law

[09/09] Byrum v. Office of Pers. Mgmt.
In deceased federal employee's daughter's claim to death benefits, which were assigned to the daughter after the employee's husband was found civilly liable for the employee's death, the Merit Systems Protection Board's affirmance of the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) denial of the claim on the ground that petitioner was not the spouse of the deceased is vacated and remanded where: 1) petitioner is seeking all available death benefits attributable to her mother's services, and specifically including both the lump sum and the annuity provided under section 8442(b); 2) pursuant to a Texas court's turnover order, the employee's husband assigned to petitioner all available death benefits to which he may have had a claim under FERS, including both the lump sum and the annuity in section 8442(b); and 3) by not deciding the claim for benefits as submitted, OPM failed to carry out its statutory duty to petitioner and her deceased mother and the Board compounded the problem by affirming the OPM's reconsideration decision on narrow grounds and declining to address the issues raised by petitioner.

[09/09] Lozano v. City of Hazleton
In plaintiffs' suit against the City of Hazleton to enjoin enforcement of ordinances that attempt to regulate employment of, and provision of rental housing to, certain aliens, district court's entry of permanent injunction against the city is affirmed in part, vacated in part and remanded where: 1) district court erred in reaching the merits of the challenge to the private cause of action provision because no plaintiff has standing to challenge that provision; 2) the employment provisions of the ordinances stand as an obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of IRCA's objective, and thus are preempted; and 3) the housing provisions of the city's ordinances are preempted regulations of immigration, and both field and conflict preempted by the INA.

[09/09] Delia v. City of Rialto
In an action by a firefighter against the City of Rialto and the Rialto Fire Department, alleging violations of his constitutional rights arising during a departmental internal affairs investigation, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed in part where plaintiff's constitutional right under the Fourth Amendment to be protected from a warrantless unreasonable compelled search of his home was violated, but this right, under these or similar facts, was not clearly established at the time of this constitutional violation. However, the order is reversed in part where one defendant was not entitled to qualified immunity as a private attorney.

[09/09] Kurns v. A.W. Chesterton Inc.

[09/08] McKissick v. Yuen
In an action against plaintiff's former company and two of its former officers, accusing them of perpetrating a fraud that rendered her stock options in the company worthless, summary judgment for defendant is affirmed where: 1) the parties' separation agreement unambiguously barred plaintiff's claims; and 2) although the separation agreement entitled defendant to recoup the attorney's fees it incurred in defending the suit, the agreement did not permit the company to recover the fees it incurred in prosecuting a counterclaim against plaintiff.

[09/08] Murphy v. Deloitte & Touche Grp. Ins. Plan
In an action concerning defendant's denial of disability benefits under an ERISA plan, summary judgment for defendant is vacated where: 1) the court's case law prohibited courts from considering materials outside the administrative record where the extra-record materials sought to be introduced related to a claimant's eligibility for benefits; and 2) neither a claimant nor an administrator should be allowed to use discovery to engage in unnecessarily broad discovery that slows the efficient resolution of an ERISA claim.

[09/08] Alvarado-Santos v. Dep't of Health of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
In plaintiff's suit against her former employer, claiming national origin and gender discrimination under Title VII, jury verdict in favor of the plaintiff is reversed as defendant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law because, based on the evidence presented at trial, no reasonable jury could find that the nonrenewal of plaintiff's contract was based on her gender and/or national origin.

[09/08] Brown v. Auto. Components Holdings, LLC
In plaintiff's suit against her former employer for interference with her rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), district court's entry of summary judgment in favor of the defendant is affirmed as defendant's termination of plaintiff's employment based on her noncompliance with its internal leave procedures did not violate the FMLA because the undisputed facts establish that plaintiff was absent without leave after failing to give proper FMLA notice for an extension of a previously requested leave period.

[09/08] Garcia v. Four Points Sheraton LAX
In hotel service workers' class action lawsuit against certain hotels near Los Angeles International Airport, for violation of a city ordinance that requires hotels with 50 or more rooms to pass along service charges to those hotel workers who render the services for which the charges are collected, and for violation of the unfair competition law, trial court's dismissal following its order sustaining the demurrers to the complaints is reversed where: 1) the Labor Code does not preempt the ordinance; 2) the ordinance is not unconstitutional, as the classifications in the ordinance are rationally based and do not violate the equal protection clause; 3) the ordinance does not violate due process and is not void for vagueness; and 4) the ordinance is not an unconstitutional taking.

[09/07] Payne v. Salazar
In an action alleging retaliation in violation of Title VII, dismissal of the action for failure to exhaust administrative remedies is affirmed in part where the district court properly held that plaintiff failed to exhaust one of her claims. However, the order is reversed in part where an employee's right to trial de novo -- whether her employer is the federal government or a private company -- means that she is entitled to a plenary trial of whatever claims she brings to court, and it does not mean that she must sue on claims she has no interest in pursuing.

[09/07] Equal Employment Opportunity Comm'n v. Kronos Inc.
In the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) suit seeking enforcement of a third-party administrative subpoena it issued against defendant pertaining to the EEOC's investigation into a charge of discrimination against a grocery store, district court's order narrowing the scope of the subpoena and directing the parties to negotiate a confidentiality order is affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded where: 1) district court's judgment is reversed insofar as it limited the scope of the EEOC's subpoena in terms of geography, time and job description; 2) to the extent that the district court's order limits the EEOC's access to validation efforts conducted solely on behalf of the store, documents relating to potential adverse impact on disabled individuals to those relating specifically and only to the store, and user's manuals and instructions for the assessment were actually provided to the store, the order is reversed; 3) district court's judgment is affirmed to the extent that it declines to enforce the portion of the EEOC's subpoena requesting information related to potential discrimination based on race; and 4) district court's confidentiality order is vacated and remanded to permit the district court to conduct a good cause balancing test.

[09/07] Kahn v. Dep't of Justice
In a DEA agent's suit under the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA), the Merit Systems Protection Board's final decision that plaintiff did not make protected disclosures under the WPA is affirmed where: 1) the administrative judge did not err in finding that plaintiff's communications with an agent were not protected disclosures because they were made as part of normal duties through normal channels; 2) plaintiff's report was not a disclosure because he did not reveal something that was hidden and not known to the DEA; and 3) because plaintiff's communications were not protected under the WPA, the question of whether the government could have shown by clear and convincing evidence that it would have transferred plaintiff on the absence of his communications need not be addressed.

[09/07] Sandell v. Taylor-Listug, Inc.
In plaintiff's suit against his former employer for disability and age discrimination, a grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendant is reversed and remanded where: 1) plaintiff presented evidence sufficient to establish a prima facie case of disability and age discrimination; and 2) plaintiff presented sufficient evidence to raise a triable issue of fact as to whether the motivation for his termination was discriminatory in response to defendant's proffer of legitimate nondiscriminatory reasons for terminating his employment.

[09/07] Alday v. Raytheon Co.
In an action alleging that defendant breached collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) with plaintiffs and violated the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA) and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), summary judgment for plaintiffs is affirmed where: 1) the language of the CBAs made clear that defendant's agreement to pay retiree medical insurance premiums continued beyond the term of the CBAs, even where its agreement to pay non-retired employee premiums did not; 2) defendant's leeway to amend its benefit plans did not allow it to alter the terms of the CBAs under which it agreed to provide company-paid health insurance to retirees; and 3) plaintiffs failed to allege sufficient facts supporting their claim for punitive and extra-contractual damages.

[09/07] Parker v. NutriSystem, Inc.
In plaintiff's suit against his employer for past overtime payments in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendant-employer is affirmed where: 1) the Department of Labor's factually distinguishable opinion letters and broad general guidance are not sufficiently thorough or consistent to warrant deference in this case; 2) the fact that defendant's plan is not calculated strictly as a percentage of sale price does not disqualify it from being a commission under section 7(i); and 3) when the flat-rate payments made to an employee based on that employee's sales are proportionally related to the charges passed on to the consumer, the payments can be considered a bona fide commission rate for the purposes of section 7(i).

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