Orange County Employment Lawyer Blog

In Part I and Part II of "How to Successfully Litigate Your Sexual Harassment Claim in California Courts," we discussed all the mitigating factors that play a role in successfully litigating your sexual harassment claim and/or retaliation claim. The amount of calls we receive from prospective clients at Our Orange County Law Firm regarding Sexual Harassment is concerning. In deciding whether or not it is a case that our firm will take, we examine among other things, the mitigating factors involved in their claim.

Examples of conduct committed without consent that may give rise to a viable Sexual Harassment claim, include but are limited to, the following:

1. whether or not the conduct was specifically stated, meaning that it is an element of every offense whether the conduct was committed without consent of the employee

2. Examples of instances where their consent is lacking;
A. Forcible compulsion
B. Incapacity to consent

Forcible compulsion means to compel by:
A. Physical force ; or
B. A threat, expressed or implied, that places an employee in fear of their immediate well being or losing their future employment.

The following is a hypothetical story that mimics real life events:

Courtney goes to work on a beautiful sunny Tuesday morning. She arrives at the office at 8 a.m. Upon arriving at her office she runs into Andrew, her immediate supervisor. Her supervisor asks if they can have a meeting in his office at 10 a.m. Without hesitation she responds "yes". He has weekly meetings with her to discuss the work flow and the status of projects, so she isn't expecting anything different from this meeting. She steps into Andrew's office about 2 minutes before the meeting is scheduled too begin. He closes his office door. He gives her a hug and whispers in her ear, "thank you for taking the time to meet with me." She pushed him away from her, as she no longer felt comfortable at all. He responds to her in an aggravated tone, "don't you ever push me away when I hug you."

Continue reading "Part III: How to Successfully Litigate Your Sexual Harassment Claim in California Courts; what is conduct committed without consent?" »

In our previous blog, "How to Successfully litigate your Sexual Harassment Claim In California Court" we discussed a few factors that play a role in litigating your sexual harassment claim and/or your retaliation claim. It is unfortunate that retaliation is far more common than we can imagine. Our Orange County Law Firm receives an abundance of calls wherein people feel they were retaliated against by being wrongfully terminated for reporting to their employer an incident or incidents of sexual harassment.

Examples of conduct that may give rise to a Viable Retaliation claim include, but are not limited to, the following:
•reporting sexual harassment or other legally-recognized harassment or discrimination.
• filing a complaint with (or who otherwise discloses information to) a government or law enforcement agency (Example: Filing a complaint with the Labor Board or disclosing information to the Labor Board during the investigation of another employee's complaint).
•complaining internally about not receiving overtime pay, proper rest breaks or lunches, wages or generally any other wage and hour related matter.
• intendending to file a worker's compensation claim.

The above examples illustrate a few types of conduct which may give rise to claims for retaliation. Please note that these examples are not all-inclusive. There are other circumstances which may protect you from retaliation.

When an employee files a claim for retaliation generally gives rise to the following damages:

• compensatory damages
• emotional distress damages
• punitive damages
• In some cases, reimbursement of attorney fees and costs.

In sum, retaliation can be hard to prove if you do not have the proper legal representation. Every county and every courthouse handles cases differently. It is very imperative to have an experienced attorney who is familiar with employment law in California so that you may achieve the best outcome possible.

Continue reading "Part II: How to Successfully litigate your Sexual Harassment Claim in California Courts; what is retaliation ?" »

As you may already know from reading previous posts, In the state of California, it is unlawful to harass a person (an applicant or employee) because of that person's sex. It is unfortunate that when it comes to sexual harassment women and minorities are subjected to workplace harassment and discrimination.

Recently in the news two women (a current staffer and a former staffer) filed a lawsuit against a city parking authority claiming sexual harassment. Both plaintiffs claimed in their separate lawsuits that they were sexually harassed and suffered retaliation in connection with a lawsuit filed by another former employee. One of the plaintiffs alleged that the director of enforcement touched her breasts and buttocks, attempted to assault her in her home, and even suggested that the baby she gave birth to should have been his. Her suit contends that she was harassed by watching the defendant harass others. The case was settled for $300,000.

In order to have success in litigating a sexual harassment or retaliation case, one must establish that the conduct was committed without consent and the conduct was pervasive and offensive. Other contributing factors concern whether the offender was a co-worker or supervisor and whether the employer had reasonable notice of the conduct. Retaliation occurs when an employer, with notice of the offensive, fails to take action to prevent the conduct or responds unlawfully by terminating or disciplining the aggrieved party.

Continue reading "How To Successfully Litigate Your Sexual Harassment Claim in California Courts" »

It is an unfortunate fact that more and more female employees are subjects of sexual harassment at their place of employment. Recently, our Orange County Law Firm has consulted with several employees who have been the subject of workplace harassment and discrimination. Recently, a school bus company agreed to pay $150,000 to settle allegations that a male supervisor at its Los Angeles, California facility sexually harassed at least four women, including bus drivers and a human resources assistant, as reported by the Beverly Hills Courier.

According to the U.S.Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, four female employees of First Student were sexually harassed, retaliated against or forced to quit. First Student builds itself as North America's leading school bus transportation services company. According to an EEOC lawsuit alleging civil rights violations, the supervisor made constant explicit remarks about the employees' body parts and the sexual acts he wanted to perform on them.

The harassment turned physical when the supervisor exposed himself, grabbed the breasts of a bus driver and rubbed his private parts against her body, according to the EEOC. The harasser cut another bus driver's hours upon refusal of his advances and promised extra hours to female employees who might submit, according to the EEOC, which reported that three of the victims felt forced to resign as a result of the ongoing harassment.

According to the EEOC, aside from the monetary relief, the parties entered into a consent decree, valid through 2012, which requires First Student to hire an outside employment consultant to revamp the company's policies, complaint procedures, investigations and training of its employees on sex discrimination, harassment and retaliation.

Continue reading "Los Angeles School Bus Company To Pay $150,000 To Settle A Los Angeles California Sexual Harassment Lawsuit" »

On a previous blog we stated that when it comes to sexual harassment women and minorities are unfortunately subjected to workplace harassment and discrimination far too often. Our Orange County Law Firm constantly receives calls from prospective clients regarding this issue. However, it is unfortunate that many sexual harassment cases go unreported because the employee is afraid of retaliation or wrongful termination

Recently, the Beverly Hills Courier reported that a female Sargent was awarded $211,000 by a Los Angeles Superior Court Jury. The jury determined that she endured about three years of sexual harassment by her one-time mentor. The plaintiff's lawyer argued that the harassment against his client ranged from asking her out on dates to uninvited physical contact, including two forced kisses. The defense attorneys said criminal and internal investigations conducted into her complaints exonerated her one-time mentor.

Her mentor was in charge of her orientation and began tormenting her according to her lawyers, who said she initially tried handling the problem without telling her superiors. She eventually complained and was transferred to the another department and given a position tantamount to a receptionist and normally held by interns in the training unit, her lawyers said. White is currently in another inferior position in which she proofreads documents and cannot earn overtime, her lawyers said.

If your or anyone you know is the subject of sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation contact our Orange County Law Firm for a free consultation.

Our Orange County Law Firm receives a number of calls involving illegal workplace harassment. In the state of California, it is unlawful to harass a person (an applicant or employee) because of that person's sex. Harassment can include sexual harassment or unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature.

Harassment does not have to be of a sexual nature, however, and can include offensive remarks about a person's sex. For example, it is illegal to harass a woman by making offensive comments about women in general.

Both the victim and the harasser can be either a woman or a man, and the victim and harasser can be the same sex. Unfortunately when it comes to sexual harassment women and minorities are unfortunately subjected to workplace harassment and discrimination far too often.

Recently, Hewlett-Packard's board forced its former CEO to resign amid allegations of sexual harassment and expense-account abuses. The case stems from allegations by an independent contractor that the CEO sexually harassed her and falsified expense reports to cover up a relationship, the Los Angeles Times reported.

In the wake of the company's handling of the sexual harassment complaint, four members of the Hewlett-Packard Company are going to step down. Among the incoming board members is Meg Whitman, the former CEO of Ebay and losing candidate in last fall's Californias governor's race.

The Times also reports that court documents filed by HP show the company is planning its own independent probe into Hurd's departure, stemming from a shareholder suit over Hurd's severance package. The ouster of the board members is largely the result of the perception of rash decision making -- The CEO was forced to resign despite HP's determination that he did not violate the company's sexual harassment policy.

If you need to speak to an attorney about an issue with discrimination, sexual harassment, unpaid wages contact our Orange County Law Firm for a confidential consultation to discuss your rights as an employee.

Employees being fired after reporting sexual harassment seems to continue to grow unfettered everyday. My Orange County Law Firm has been receiving numerous calls regarding this issue. Most recently, a former employee of the Cheesecake Factory filed a lawsuit accusing the company of subjecting him to a barrage of sexual harassment from other male line chefs and punishing him when he complained.

The former employee's attorney has filed a federal lawsuit against the company seeking compensation for "mental anguish (and) loss of dignity. He says line chefs continually grabbed each others' buttocks and genitalia and simulated sexual intercourse in front of him. He contends he was mocked, punished and ultimately wrongfully terminated in September 2008 after he expressed his discomfort and complained.

According to the lawsuit filed by the employee's attorney, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued a letter stating the evidence showed the employee "was subjected to severe sexual harassment and that the sexually hostile environment was pervasive."

According to the lawsuit, someone put a sanitary pad on a serving of meatloaf that the employee was about to prepare for a customer, and when he showed it to the person in charge of quality assurance, that person smirked.

In November 2009, the Cheesecake Factory settled a different sexual harassment lawsuit for $345,000. In that case, six male employees said they were subject to sexual harassment.

Almost all California employees are "at will" employees, meaning they can be terminated for any reason, so long as it is not an unlawful reason. So, if most employees are at will employees, what separates a termination from a wrongful termination?

California employees can essentially be terminated for any reason, so long as the reason is not an unlawful reason. Here are some of the more common unlawful reasons that would make a termination a wrongful termination:

1. An employee may not be terminated for lawfully reporting sexual harassment to a supervisor or to Human Resources;
2. Similar to above, an employee cannot be terminated for participating in an investigation of someone else's claims of sexual harassment or unlawful discrimination;
3. For exposing certain unlawful wrongdoings by the company or by a higher ranking employee of the company, commonly known as whistle-blowing;
4. For submitting a worker's compensation claim from injuries suffered at work;
5. For complaining to management or Human Resources about not receiving proper wages, overtime compensation, lunch breaks or rest breaks;
6. For filing a complaint with a governmental or administrative agency such as the DFEH or the Labor Board; and
7. Lastly, an employee is not at will if that employee has an employment contract designating a specific period of time.

In one of the largest single employee verdicts in United States history, the Superior Court of California, County of Orange, entered judgment of approximately $8.4 million in favor of Joovy, LLC, against Baby Trend, Inc., and its founder Denny Tsai. The judgment in favor of Robert Gardner, founder and CEO of Joovy, for claims of wrongful termination, failure to reimburse, breach of contract, and fraud was in the amount of $6,909,991 jointly against Baby Trend and Denny Tsai, and for an additional $1,495,917 against just Baby Trend.

"Wrongful termination" is one of the most mis-used and mis-understood terms in California employment law. Many clients who have called my Orange County Law Firm have been terminated from employment feel they have been wrongfully terminated. However, what these people typically fail to realize is that California is an "at will" state. "At will" means that you can be terminated with or without cause, with or without any prior notice. Similarly, the employee may also resign from their employment with or without cause or without giving any prior notice. Simply put, you can be terminated for any reason, so long as it is not an unlawful reason (race, gender, or legally protected conduct, etc.).

Some forms of "legally protected conduct" include reporting sexual harassment, reporting or complaining about not receiving overtime, meal breaks, or proper wages. If you are terminated for reporting or complaining about any of these legally protected issues, you then have a claim for wrongful termination in violation of public policy.

Case information for Gardner vs. Baby Trend, Case No. 05CC11681