California Employment Legal News Articles & Interviews

Spokane, WA A jury has awarded a former United Parcel Service (UPS) worker over $237 million in a racial discrimination lawsuit last month in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Washington at Yakima. One attorney for the plaintiff said it is likely the biggest of its kind and the biggest ever in the state.

Oakland, CA A California federal judge certified a Southwest Airlines class action lawsuit filed by flight attendants accusing the airline of systemic interference with employees’ federally protected family and medical leave rights. The California labor complaint accuses Southwest Airlines of penalizing employees who took legally entitled leave, leading to denied disciplinary point reductions, and in some cases, wrongful terminations.

Oakland, CA On July 31, Megan Garland filed a class action lawsuit in the Northern District of California alleging that BigLaw firm Duane Morris discriminated against attorneys of color and female attorneys in violation of the California labor code. Garland v. Duane Morris alleges that the firm promoted women and people of color primarily to salaried partnerships rather than equity partnerships. There is a big difference.

San Francisco, CA On September 3, Tamenang Choh and Grace Kirk, one a former and the other a current student-athlete at Brown University, withdrew their objection to a $2.78 billion settlement proposed by a consortium of Ivy League colleges to end athletes’ “name, image and likeness” (NIL) lawsuit.  

Santa Clara, CA A California federal judge has given the greenlight to a background actor’s class action lawsuit against Amazon Studios for wage law violations. U.S. District Judge Consuelo B. Marshall determined that federal labor law doesn't preempt the claims, which involved hourly rate payments that didn't fall under collective bargaining agreements with the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA).  

Las Vegas, NV Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and parent company TKO Group Holdings Inc. will duke it out during a trial with mixed martial arts fighters who accused the promoter of supressing their wages. Nevada federal Judge B Richard F. Boulware II rejected a $335 settlement because he wanted to see “life-changing” money for the fighters who filed multiple lawsuits a decade ago. 

Santa Clara, CA A racial discrimination class action lawsuit against Tesla filed in 2017 will go to trial in September 2025, said Alameda County Superior Court Judge Noël Wise during a case management conference in August. Noting that the plaintiff filed his California labor complaint in 2017, Judge Wise said that, "everybody, the plaintiffs and the defense, needs to have closure on these issues." It was the third racial discrimination lawsuit filed against Tesla that year and the first to seek class action status.

Santa Clara, CA A California federal judge has been urged to certify a proposed age discrimination collective action against X Corp, formerly Twitter, on behalf of older workers who were fired during Elon Musk’s massive layoffs in 2022.

Oakland, CA On August 8, the California Court of Appeal denied Tesla’s motion to dismiss a Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) lawsuit brought by former Tesla employees. At its simplest, Sharonda Taylor v. Tesla, Inc. is about the workers’ struggle to access their own wage and hour records.

San Francisco, CA On August 15, 2024, the Supreme Court of California in Stone v. Alameda Health Systems held that: