Eastern District of California Blog

Fresno Federal Class Action Suit Filed Over Pay Against Gerawan Farming

A federal class-action lawsuit was filed Monday against Gerawan Farming on behalf of current and former employees, who say the company has failed to pay minimum wage, overtime, and state-guaranteed paid rest breaks.

More than 20 employees gathered outside the federal courthouse in downtown Fresno Tuesday, including the two plaintiffs named in the lawsuit, Rafael Marquez Amaro and Jesus Alarcon Urzua.

Attorney Mario Martinez, who represents the workers, said the lawsuit was on behalf of thousands of Gerawan field workers who were paid by piece rate over the last four years. Workers said earnings vary since they are paid by piece rate, but it was often below minimum wage.

Fresno Bee, 2/4/14

McDonalds To Pay Muslim Employee $50,000 To Settle Religious Discrimination Suit

McDonald's Restaurants of California Inc. will pay $50,000 to a Muslim employee who was fired in 2005 after one of its Fresno restaurants refused his request to grow a beard for religious reasons.

The payment is part of an agreement announced Friday by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunities Commission to settle a religious-discrimination lawsuit against the restaurant chain.

Shaheed Khan, who worked at a McDonald's restaurant on West Shaw Avenue near Valentine Avenue, asked his managers in the summer of 2005 to accommodate his religious belief to wear a beard at work, according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court in Fresno.

The lawsuit alleged that Khan's request was denied and later terminated.

Fresno Bee, 12/20/13

California Sues DOL For Blocking Grants To Mass-Transit Agencies

As expected, the state filed suit in federal court against the Department of Labor for blocking federal grants to state mass-transit agencies after unions objected to a new state law intended to slow the rising costs of public-employee pensions.

In the complaint filed Friday, the state and the Sacramento Regional Transit District contend that the Labor Department and its secretary, Thomas Perez, wrongly concluded that collective bargaining agreements cover future state employees, contrary to "binding legal precedent" holding that state law governs public employees and their pension benefits. It also argues that the feds improperly concluded that the pension reform law rolled back the collective bargaining rights of transit workers.

LA Times, 10/4/13

EEOC Sues Madera Companies Over Retaliatory Firings

On Wednesday, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Madera-based Z Foods and Zoria Farms for firing workers in retailiation for reporting ongoing sexual harassment.  Fresno Bee, 9/25/13

Walmart Pays $40,000 To Estate Of Disabled Employee Who Died Of Heart Attack

The estate of a former employee at a Placerville Wal-Mart store, now dead from a heart attack, has received $40,000 in settlement of a lawsuit over the store manager's refusal to accommodate the employee's weak heart.

David Gallo suffered from atrial fibrillation, an ailment that causes an irregular heartbeat, shortness of breath, and loss of leg strength, stated the suit, filed in Sacramento federal court on Gallo's behalf by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The store manager stripped Gallo of his legal right to park near the store and fired him when he complained, the suit alleged. The manager's actions violated Gallo's rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act, it further alleged.

Sacramento Bee, 7/29/13; [updated story Sacramento Bee, 7/30/13].

Female Deputy's Suit Accuses Yolo Sheriff Of Sex Harassment

A veteran female sheriff's deputy in Yolo County is accusing longtime Sheriff Ed Prieto of subjecting her to protracted sexual harassment, culminating in his offer to trade an assignment for oral sex.

Robin Gonzalez claims in a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday that the blatant conduct has continued for almost her entire 11 years under Prieto's command.

Sacramento Bee, 7/11/13

Firefighter Files Suit Against Sacramento Metro Fire District

A firefighter at the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District has sued the district, claiming she was "involuntarily retired" without pay and, after being allowed to return to work, she was placed on light duty for no legitimate reason and subjected to retaliation when she sought help from federal officials.

After the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission launched an investigation into Shannon Baker's case, and after a change in the district's leadership, Baker returned to work Feb. 7, 2011.

However, she was told she could not resume her duties as a firefighter until she went five years without an epilepsy seizure, according to a lawsuit filed this week on her behalf in Sacramento federal court by attorney Stewart Katz.

Sacramento Bee, 12/6/12

EDCA Court Denies Plumas Unified School District's Motion To Dismiss Racial Discrimination Suit

A federal judge has ruled that a racial discrimination lawsuit filed against the Plumas Unified School District has sufficient grounds to proceed to a jury trial.

In his Oct. 31 ruling, U.S. District Court Judge John A. Mendez rejected the school district's efforts to dismiss the case filed by J.C. Eaglesmith, an American Indian teacher and coach in the district 150 miles northeast of Sacramento.

Sacramento Bee, 11/8/12

Female Correctional Officer At Yolo County Jail Alleges 14-Year Period Of Sexual Harrassment By Sheriff

A 24-year veteran of the Yolo County Sheriff's Department has filed a federal lawsuit claiming she was sexually harassed by Sheriff Ed Prieto over a 14-year period, and that her superiors failed to do anything about it.

Victoria Zetwick, a correctional sergeant at the Yolo County Jail, alleges that Prieto repeatedly subjected her to "unwelcome hugs and kisses" since his election in 1998, including a kiss on the mouth at a May 2003 employee awards ceremony, according to the lawsuit filed Oct. 3 in U.S. District Court in Sacramento.

Sacramento Bee, 10/30/12

EEOC Claims Security Firm Unfairly Treated Worker On Maternity Leave

A federal civil rights agency is accusing a West Sacramento security services company of unlawfully refusing to allow a security officer to return to work after maternity leave.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit Thursday in Sacramento federal court alleging that when security guard Tabitha Feeney contacted Quest Intelligence Group in 2008 to schedule her return to work after taking leave to have a baby, she was told there was no work for her and she would be called if work became available.

Sacramento Bee, 9/20/12