Wrongful Termination

November 11, 2010 | Article

Court Upholds Arbitrator’s Decision to Reinstate City Employee Accused of Sexual Harassment; City’s Failure to Abide by Time Limits in Collective Bargaining Agreement Proves Critical to Outcome

When a collective bargaining agreement contains a clause setting forth time limits for disciplinary action, courts will apply it, even if it means reinstating an employee who has been terminated...

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August 17, 2010 | Article

Covenants Not To Compete May Snag Subsequent Employers: If A Company Terminates an Employee Because the Person Signed an Invalid Non-Compete Agreement with a Prior Employer, It May Create Liability as a Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy

Covenants not to compete are invalid in California, except in very specific circumstances recognized in sections 16600-16602.5 of the Business & Professions Code.  The exceptions include...

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May 25, 2010 | Article

Employee Free Speech: Ninth Circuit Discusses Whether Employee’s Speech is Within Official Duties; Factual Analysis Required to Assess Chain of Command Issues

Nelson Anthoine, a low-level employee of the North Central Counties Consortium, jumped the chain of command to report directly to the consortium’s chairman that his immediate...

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February 1, 2010 | Article

Whistleblower Protection Applies to Statements Made In Good Faith

David Ohton, strength and conditioning coach at San Diego State University, was fired after he informed his superiors that the school’s football coach was drunk in public. He contended that when...

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December 7, 2009 | Article

Good Faith But Erroneous Employee Claims of Wrongdoing Cannot Form Basis for Employment Termination

If an employee wrongly claims he is entitled to overtime compensation, can the employer fire him? The short answer is no. The California Court of Appeal held in...

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