Publications from Liebert Cassidy Whitmore

A Local Agency May Not Enforce A Rule That Prohibits Both Non-Safety And Safety Employees From Being In The Same Bargaining Unit

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 PST

The County of Calaveras's employer-employee relations ordinance provides that peace officers must be represented in separate units composed solely of such peace officers. Notwithstanding this rule, the County has long recognized a bargain...

State Mediation And Conciliation Service Transferring To PERB

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 PST

The State Mediation and Conciliation Service (SMCS), a unit of the California Department of Industrial Relations, was established to assist in labor relations. SMCS provides mediators for labor disputes between employers and unions, in ad...

Non-Union Members Had The Right To Provide Input, But Not Vote, On Proposed Furlough Program

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 PST

Melanie Williams was a professor at California State University, Northridge (CSUN) but elected not to be a member of the faculty union. Instead, she paid an agency fee to the Union as a condition of employment. In 2009, CSUN was con...

City's Hard Bargaining Was Consistent With Its MMBA Duty To Meet And Confer In Good Faith

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 PST

The Glendale Employees Association filed an unfair practice charge that alleged that the City of Glendale violated its duty under the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (MMBA) to meet and confer in good faith. Specifically, the Association alleged t...

CalPERS Reduces Employer Impact By Phasing-In Change In Contribution Rates

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 PST

In March 14, 2012, CalPERS decided to lower the discount rate from 7.75 percent to 7.5 percent in the assumptions it uses to determine employer contribution rates. This decision will increase the cost of employer contribution rates. ...

Disabled Nurse's Termination Was Not Unlawful Because Regular Attendance Was An Essential Job Function

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 PST

Monika Samper was a nurse in the neo-natal intensive care unit (NICU). NICU nurses provide a high level of intensive care to premature infants and require special training. The Hospital's attendance policy allowed employees to take ...

Pakistani Employee Who Was Taunted And Intimidated By His Indian Colleagues Could Take His Hostile Work Environment Case To Trial

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 PST

Mustafa Rehmani, a Muslim born in Pakistan, worked as a System Test Engineer for Ericsson, Inc. In November of 2009, Ericsson terminated Rehmani after he admitted to sending prohibited emails from his co-worker's email account. A fe...

Employer That Defeated A FEHA Retaliation Lawsuit Was Not Entitled To Recover Expert Witness Fees Because The Case Was Not Frivolous

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 PST

Eric Baker worked as a security guard for Mulholland Security and Patrol, Inc. and was assigned to work at an independent school. The Company received a complaint that Baker made personal calls during work hours and had a rude attitude.&n...

Employee Who Retained An Attorney To Defend Against A Law Enforcement Investigation Was Not Entitled To A Defense Or Indemnification

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 PST

Cynthia Thornton served on the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board until 2005, when her term expired. Near the end of her term on the Board, the Board's executive director offered her a job as an administrative law judge (ALJ)...

U.S. EEOC Issues Guidance On The Use Of Arrest And Conviction Records in Hiring

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 PST

When was the last time your agency reviewed its policy regarding the use of arrest and conviction records in hiring? If the answer to this question does not readily come to mind, it may be a good time to audit your hiring policy and job a...

A Private Individual Temporarily Retained By The Government to Carry Out Its Work Is Entitled To Seek Qualified Immunity From Suit

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 PST

Nicholas Delia, a firefighter employed by the City of Rialto missed work after becoming ill on the job. Suspicious of Delia's extended absence, the City hired a private investigation firm to conduct surveillance on him. After Delia was se...

A District May Still Be Liable For Extra Work If Board Approves Change Orders After Completion or If Incorrect Plans and Specifications Are Provided At Bid; District May Be Held Liable To Contractor For Attorneys' Fees Under Performance Bond Provision

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 PST

Alhambra Unified School District (District) entered into two separate contracts with G. Voskanian Construction, Inc. (Voskanian). The first contract was a relocation contract involving the relocation of numerous portable buildings to the site of the Moor Field campus. Voskanian...

Title IX Claim That University Retaliated Against Student For Complaining Of Gender Discrimination Allowed To Go To Court

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 PST

Monica Emeldi sued the University of Oregon, alleging that the University prevented her from completing her Ph.D. in retaliation for having complained of a faculty member's gender discrimination and the University's gender-based institutional bias.

While pursuing her Ph.D., Emeldi ...

Private School Not Liable for Fatal Crash Involving Student Drivers Occurring Off Campus After School Hours

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 PST

Stefan Snyder-Plati was a 17-year old student at Marywood-Palm, who was killed in a car crash when he was the passenger in a vehicle driven by Tabitha Loftis, another Marywood-Palm student. Loftis had an Oregon drivers license (not a California license), and Stefan's parents filed a wrongfu...

Justice Department Settles with Athletic Association for Violation of Title III of ADA

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 PST

The Department of Justice entered into a Settlement Agreement with the Arizona Interscholastic Association, Inc. ("Association"), which was accused of violating Title III of the ADA, requiring covered entities to make reasonable modifications of their policies, practices, and procedures when such...

Private College Did Not Discriminate Under ADA When It Offered All Reasonable Accommodations to Student

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 PST

Christopher Reichert was accepted to Elizabethtown College in Spring of 2007, to begin classes in Fall 2007. Reichert suffers from ADHD, epilepsy, and other challenges in learning, including slow language processing. Reichert's disabilities caused him to appear disheveled, mutter to h...

Student Could Proceed With Claim Against School for Emotional Distress Suffered as a Result of Hazing Incident

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 PST

Jasmineann Vega was a student at Sacred Heart University, Inc. ("SHU") who participated in a "Greek Week" in the fall of 2009. She met the sisters of Delta Phi Kappa sorority and on October 2, 2009 was brought by one of the sisters to the sorority house, where she was led to a basement and ...

Pakistani Employee Who Was Taunted And Intimidated By His Indian Colleagues Could Take His Hostile Work Environment Case To Trial

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 PST

Private Academy Did Not Violate FMLA or Title VII When It Terminated Teacher Who Missed Classes Without Permission

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 PST

Plaintiff Sonia Ghawanmeh is a naturalized American citizen, originally from Jordan, who taught at the Islamic Saudi Academy. Teachers sign yearly contracts and are assigned to any one or more of the four schools (an elementary school for boys and one for girls and a high school for each as...

Employee Could Not Proceed With DFEH and ADA Claims When His Original Administrative Complaints Did Not Reference Disability Discrimination

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 PST

Kevin Simmons worked as an athletics coach at Sierra Ridge Academy, a group home for juvenile males operated by Defendant Rite of Passage Athletic Training Centers and Schools. Simmons' complaint alleged that he has suffered from a disability, arthritis, since 2004, and it was formally diag...