Publications from Liebert Cassidy Whitmore

Environmental Impact Reports Must Consider Feasible Alternatives

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:00 AM PST

The City of Santa Cruz (City) prepared an Environment Impact Report (EIR) to expand its sphere of influence to permit it to provide water and sewer services to ...

Case tests the bounds of public employee free speech

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:00 AM PST

David Urban published "Case tests the bounds of public employee free speech" in the May 23, 2013 issue of the Daily Journal. This article first appeared as a blog post on the firm's California Public Agency Labor and E...

CalPERS Releases Circular Addressing Affordable Care Act

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:00 AM PST

On May 2, 2013, CalPERS released a new employer bulletin addressing "Employer Shared Responsibility Regarding Health Coverage." CalPERS Circular Letter #600-016-13 (www.calpers.ca.gov/eip-docs/employer/cir-lt...

Employee of Japanese Ancestry Was Not Entitled to Introduce Evidence that Supervisor Allegedly Discriminated Against Non-Asian or Non-Japanese Employees

Fri, 10 May 2013 12:00 AM PST

Kenneth Hatai, an employee of Japanese ancestry, worked as a Senior Traffic Engineer for the CalTrans Office of Traffic Investigations (OTI). Hatai reported to Sameer Haddadeen. In June, 2007, Hatai and six other employees sent a letter to the District Director, asserting that Haddade...

Internal Workers' Compensation Investigation Is An Exception to One-Year Statute of Limitations Under The Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act

Fri, 10 May 2013 12:00 AM PST

In 2008, Moises Moya, a corrections sergeant at Centinella State Prison, filed a workers' compensation claim after he allegedly injured his wrist at work and was unable to work. Moya was subsequently seen working out at a gym and riding his motorcycle in violation of his work restrictions.&...

Ethical Wall is No Longer a Sufficient Safeguard to Allow Attorneys from the Same Firm to Act as Advisor and Advocate in Contested Administrative Matter

Fri, 10 May 2013 12:00 AM PST

The Court of Appeal decision in Sabey v. City of Pomona will change the way public agencies and their law firms handle advisory arbitration cases. Prior to the Sabey decision, the case of Howitt v. Superior Court (1992) 3 Cal.App.4th 1575, was understood to allow two attorney...

Co-Worker's Sexual Comments Did Not Create Hostile Work Environment, But Employee's Termination Following Her Complaints May Constitute Unlawful Retaliation

Fri, 10 May 2013 12:00 AM PST

In February, 2008, Jennifer Westendorf began working for West Coast Contractors as a project manager assistant. She reported to Project Manager Dan Joslyn. Once, Mr. Joslyn called Westendorf's duties "girly work" and then quickly apologized. Westendorf did not report the comment...

California Court of Appeal Affirms Summary Judgment in Housing Authority's Favor

Fri, 10 May 2013 12:00 AM PST

In a case, handled by Suzanne Solomon and Grace Chan of our San Francisco office, the California Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of a Housing Authority that was sued for harassment. The Housing Authority employed the individual cla...

Ninth Circuit Holds that Plaintiff Failed to Demonstrate Retaliation

Fri, 10 May 2013 12:00 AM PST

In a case handled by Joung Yim of our Los Angeles office, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed a jury's finding that an employee failed to demonstrate that her employer, a City, retaliated against her.

The employee sued the City for allegedly retaliat...

Warehouse Workers Required to Wait 25 Minutes for Security Clearance Stated Plausible FLSA Violation

Fri, 10 May 2013 12:00 AM PST

Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc., a company that provides warehouse space and staffing to clients such as Amazon.com, employed Jesse Busk and Laurie Castro. Busk and Castro worked as hourly employees at warehouses in Nevada, filling orders placed by Amazon.com customers.

In...

Probation Officer's Psychiatric Injury Potentially Barred By Personnel Action Defense Because Injuries Were Substantially Caused By an Internal Affairs Investigation

Fri, 10 May 2013 12:00 AM PST

In 2007, Michael Brooks began working at the County of Sacramento's juvenile hall as a supervising probation officer. Brooks supervised the Security Emergency Response Team (SERT). Brooks felt that the officers in the SERT team resisted and undermined his authority. In November ...

District Failed to Bargain Over Effects of Installation of Surveillance Cameras on Discipline and Evaluations of Employees

Fri, 10 May 2013 12:00 AM PST

In mid-April 2009, the Rio Hondo Community College District (District) informed the California School Employees Association (CSEA) of its intent to install security surveillance cameras in its new Learning Resource Center and accompanying parking lots. In early June 2009, CSEA sent a letter...

Union Failed to Present Sufficient Request to Bargain Over Effects of County's Decision to Terminate Home Vehicle Retention Assignment

Fri, 10 May 2013 12:00 AM PST

Beginning in 1995, the County of Sacramento allowed sewer district supervisors to take their County-issued vehicles home at night in order to facilitate the supervisors' response to emergencies. In October 2010, the County notified Ken Akins, the supervisors' union representative, that it i...

Attorney General Grants Union Leave to Sue Charter City to Determine Whether City Met Its Collective Bargaining Obligations Before Proposing Charter Amendment

Fri, 10 May 2013 12:00 AM PST

Voters of the City of San Jose recently passed Measure B, an initiative measure that amended the City's charter to add a new article entitled "The Sustainable Retirement Benefits and Compensation Act." Measure B, among other things, lowered pension benefits and increased retirement contribu...

Attorney General Denies Union Leave to Sue Charter City to Determine Whether City Council Violated Charter By Creating Human Resources Position With Duties That "Intrude Upon" Responsibilities of Personnel Director

Fri, 10 May 2013 12:00 AM PST

In 1964, a section was added to the Napa City Charter, which created the Department of Personnel, to be made up of a Civil Service Commission and a Personnel Director.

In 2010, the City Council reorganized the City's personnel functions, and established a Human Resources (HR) Department,...

Employers Must Provide Notice of Exchange to Employees by October 1, 2013

Fri, 10 May 2013 12:00 AM PST

On May 8, 2013, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued guidance setting an October 1, 2013 deadline for employers to provide notice of the exchange (now called the Health Insurance Marketplace) to all employees. The notice to employees must:

Inform employees of the exist...

Hearing Officer Upholds Termination of Police Officer Who Stole Evidence

Fri, 10 May 2013 12:00 AM PST

In a case handled by Suzanne Solomon of our San Francisco office, a hearing officer recently upheld the termination of a police officer who was terminated from his employment for stealing evidence.

The officer was part of a team conducting a narcotics search of a residence p...

Court Grants Writ of Mandate Denying Unions' Attempt to Arbitrate on Classwide Basis not Agreed to in Memoranda of Understanding

Fri, 10 May 2013 12:00 AM PST

In a case handled by Geoff Sheldon, Brian Walter, Oliver Yee, and Paul Knothe of our Los Angeles office, the Los Angeles Superior Court recently granted the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's petition for a writ of mandate to invalidate an order requiring classw...

June 1, 2013 Deadline Approaching: Large Employers Should Prepare Now For the Affordable Care Act's Penalties

Thu, 02 May 2013 12:00 AM PST

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) will require large employers (i.e. those with over 50 full time equivalent employees) to offer "substantially all" of their full-time employees (and their dependents) the opportunity to enroll in affordable health coverage. A full-time employee is one wh...

Ethical Wall is No Longer a Sufficient Safeguard to Allow Attorneys from the Same Firm to Act as Advisor and Advocate in Contested Administrative Matter

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 12:00 AM PST

The Court of Appeal decision in Sabey v. City of Pomona, issued Tuesday, April 16, 2013, will change the way public agencies and their law firms, handle advisory arbitration cases. Prior to the Sabey decision, the...