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Bernstein & Friedland, P.C. – Los Angeles Employment Counsel – Legal Blog

A Resource for Los Angeles Area Employees and Employers Interested in Wrongful Termination, Discrimination, Harassment, Retaliation, and Unpaid Wage and Overtime News

California Appellate Court Approves Nearly $2.25 Million Jury Verdict in Sexual Harassment Case

In an unpublished opinion, Moran v. Qwest Communs. Int’l, 2012 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 6269 (Aug. 27, 2012), the California Court of Appeal approved a nearly $2.25 million jury verdict in favor of the plaintiff, finding the defendants—plaintiff’s employer, Qwest Corporation, and plaintiff’s supervisor, Dennis Sherwood—liable for sexual harassment and finding defendant Qwest liable for failure to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment and for terminating

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October 17, 2012

California Court Shuts Courtroom Door on Employee Suing Her Employer for Firing Her in Retaliation for Filing a Workers’ Compensation Claim

The California Court of Appeal in Dutra v. Mercy Medical Center Mt. Shasta, 2012 Cal. App. LEXIS 1013 (Cal. App. 3d Dist. Sept. 26, 2012), has closed the courtroom door to plaintiffs seeking to sue their employers for firing them in retaliation for filing a workers’ compensation claim, holding that such claims can be brought only before the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board and not in court. In Dutra,

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September 28, 2012

Employers Must Be Careful When Conducting Criminal Background Checks on California Employees

The Los Angeles Daily Journal published an article today written by Bernstein & Friedland, P.C. discussing the legal traps unwary employers can fall into when they run criminal background checks on their current and prospective employees.  Employers who do so without complying with the many federal and state laws that regulate conducting criminal background checks on California employees can be subject to substantial liability, not

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August 20, 2012

California Supreme Court Addresses Work Product Protection Applicable to Witness Identities and Recorded Interviews

In Coito v. Superior Ct., 54 Cal. 4th 480 (2012), the California Supreme Court addressed whether, and to what extent, the following items of evidence were entitled to attorney work product protection:  (1) recordings of witness interviews conducted by investigators employed by counsel, and (2) information concerning the identity of witnesses from whom counsel obtained statements. As to the interview recordings, the Court held that they

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July 3, 2012

United States Supreme Court Holds Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives Are Not Entitled to Overtime Pay

In Christopher v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., 132 S. Ct. 2156 (2012), the United States Supreme Court concluded that under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the plaintiffs, pharmaceutical sales representatives (PSR) who spent much of their time meeting with physicians and encouraging them to prescribe the defendant’s pharmaceutical products to their patients, were not entitled to overtime pay. Under the FLSA, employers are not required

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June 25, 2012

Ninth Circuit Dismisses Nurse’s Disability Discrimination Claim, Finding That Where Regular Attendance is an Essential Function of the Job Position, Employee’s Disability-Induced Irregular Attendance was Fatal to Her Claim

In Samper v. Providence St. Vincent Med. Ctr., 675 F.3d 1233 (9th Cir. 2012), the Ninth Circuit stated: “This case tests the limits of an employer’s attendance policy.  Just how essential is showing up for work on a predictable basis?  In the case of a neo-natal intensive care nurse, we conclude that attendance really is essential.” In this case, the plaintiff worked for the defendant for eleven years

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May 1, 2012

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