Nicholas M. Grether

Police Officers v. City (2024) – Convinced a Civil Service Commission to terminate several police officers who were involved in texting homophobic, sexist, and racist messages.

Police Officer v. City (2024) – Persuaded the US District Court to dismiss police officer’s 42 USC section 1983 case against a city and three individual defendants with prejudice.  Police officer alleged he was fired in retaliation for attending a political rally, but the court found the officer was fired for his social media conduct, the individual defendants had qualified immunity, and that leave to amend was not warranted.

Firefighter v. City (2024) – Won several motions to strike and demurrers, and ultimately received a dismissal without leave to amend on firefighter’s FEHA age and disability discrimination complaint.  Although the firefighter claimed his removal from a paramedic assignment was discriminatory, the firefighter:  did not allege specific evidence of discrimination; missed the deadline to file an administrative complaint; and violated the sham pleading doctrine.

Candidate v. Transit Agency (2023) – Won a dismissal of a rejected candidate’s claims that the candidate was not hired because of discrimination.

Sanders, et al  v. County of Ventura, 87 F.4th 434 (9^th Cir. 2023) – Ventura County firefighters and law enforcement officers sued the County for failing to include a portion of their flex benefits in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) “regular rate” of pay.  The amount at issue was the “opt-out” fee, which applied only to those who received their health insurance through a non-County source, was never provided to the employees in cash, but was instead contributed back into the County health plans on behalf of the County employees who used the plans.  The LCW team won a motion for summary judgment in the U.S. District Court, and convinced the Ninth Circuit to affirm that the opt-out fee was properly excluded from the regular rate under the FLSA at 29 U.S.C. Section 207(e)(4), which excludes “contributions irrevocably made by an employer to a trustee or third person pursuant to a bona fide plan for providing … health insurance ….for employees.”