An employer cannot misclassify employees as “independent contractors” in order to avoid having to pay minimum wage and overtime. On February 1, 2023, Suzanne Hawk, a former dog trainer (also known as a Behaviorist), filed a class action lawsuit against Dog Sciences and Mary Davies alleging that Defendants improperly designated her as an “independent […]
Chico’s Pizza, which does business as Acro Inc., hired Ms. Boyd in 2016. As time wore on its manager and owner, Mitchel Zornes, subjected her to sexual harassment. A copy of Ms. Boyd’s complaint detailing Mr. Zornes’ harassing acts is available here. After Ms. Boyd files suit Mr. Zornes was deposed. A deposition is a […]
Newport Hospital & Health Services hired Laura Hamilton to serve as its Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO). Shortly after arriving she discovered that certain hospital leadership were likely violating HIPAA. As her employment with NHHS wore on Ms. Hamilton came to believe that a senior hospital manager was discriminating on national origin and conducting an […]
Maria McSwain worked at World Fuel Services as a Senior Human Resources Generalist. She was also a member of the U.S. Air Force Reserves. Throughout her employment at WFS she experienced discrimination when called to go on military reserve duty and retaliation when she complained that some of her fellow HR professionals were discriminating against […]
Valentine Fertitta is an FBI agent and an officer in the US Marine Corps Reserves. He is also a veteran of the Iraq war. While serving in Iraq he was injured by an explosion. In late-2020 Mr. Fertitta’s service-related medical conditions began to manifest. This caused him to miss work in order to go on […]
The USDA employed Ms. Horn for over 12 years. Up until early-2020, Ms. Horn had satisfactory (or better) performance reviews. That all changed when Ms. Horn got a new second level supervisor took. Whenever Ms. Horn would raise an issue relating to one of her many disabilities that supervisor would discipline her. Ultimately, the USDA […]
Rampart Aviation, LLC is a federal government contractor. Rampart employed Eric Schwartz, an officer in the US Navy Reserves. In late-September/early-October 2020 Mr. Schwartz complained to company management that the company’s delaying of his promotion and training on account of his military service violated USERRA. Days after making that complaint Rampart grounded Mr. Schwartz from […]
Waste Connections employed Justin Carlile beginning in May 2019. It promoted Mr. Carlile in February 2020. From May 2019 through June 2021 Mr. Carlile had no documented performance problems. That all changed in mid-June 2021 when Mr. Carlile, for the first time, took leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Mr. Carlile’s FMLA ran from June […]
Mr. Cancilla began working for Sandia in 2010. In 2013 the U.S. Navy Reserves called Mr. Cancilla to active duty. In late-2016 Mr. Cancilla contacted Sandia and requested to return to work as his military leave was coming to an end. Although USERRA regulations require an employer to re-employ a returning veteran promptly, Sandia did […]
Dr. Charles Graham worked for HNI as a Physician and Medical Director beginning in early-2020. In mid-2020 Dr. Graham requested workplace leave to address a disability. Upon returning from medical leave Dr. Graham asked that management limit his shift work because that is what his disability accommodation required. HNI’s management denied Dr. Graham’s requests, and […]
Demarco Adderley worked as a prison guard for Spokane County. He is black. Travis Titchenal worked as a prison guard for Spokane County. He is white. Both individuals left the employment of the Spokane County Detention Services to work elsewhere. Both returned to Spokane County Detention Services, did so within one week of each other, […]
Mr. Tsui, an Army Reservist, sued Walmart for failing to pay short term military leave given the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Right’s Act’s (USERRA) requirement that companies pay short term military leave in the event the company pays for comparable short term leaves like jury duty, sick leave, and/or bereavement leave. Mr. Tsui brought a […]
From May 2009 through mid-2017 Christie Jimenez worked for Holbrook Plastic Pipe. In mid-2017 she told her boss that she was joining the Army. From May 2017 through May 2020 Ms. Jimenez served in the Army. Following her honorable discharge she asked to return to work at Holbrook Plastic Pipe but her request for re-employment […]
From 2014 through 2018 Ed Mier enjoyed a fruitful career at Mutual of Enumclaw (MoE). He was timely promoted, received pay increases, and obtained good (if not great) performance reviews. But that all changed once he opposed his boss’s repeated desires to discipline fellow co-workers who took leave under the Family Medical Leave Act. Mr. […]
Justin Baker works for UPS. On March 16, 2021, he filed class action USERRA complaint against his employer for failing to pay short term military leave given USERRA’s requirement that companies pay short term military leave in the event the company pays for comparable short term leaves like jury duty, sick leave, and/or bereavement leave. A […]
Patrick Fleetwood was a WSU student and member of the school’s Army Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program. During the late – 2018 timeframe he had a consensual intimate relationship with another WSU student. That student subsequently accused him of sexual harassment which, in turn, led to WSU disciplining him and ROTC kicking him out […]
This case involves allegations that Core Values Road Side Service wrongfully classified its roadside assistants as “independent contractors” in order to avoid having to pay overtime and minimum wages. A copy of the lawsuit is available here. One June 8, 2020 the trial court conditionally certified the lawsuit as a collective action, meaning that […]
Doug Kuykendall worked at Les Schwab for 20 years. In September 2019 management told Mr. Kuykendall that his store was being closed. As part of the closing process Mr. Kuykendall’s manager allowed Mr. Kuykendall to take a never used air compressor home as there was no policy against doing so and that practice had been […]
Dave Shepler worked as a mechanic for Terrys Truck Center for over ten years. He badly injured his knee and work and made and L&I claim. And while he (and others) had made workers compensation claims before, this claim was by far the biggest on record. Throughout his time at TTC he and others heard […]
Fred Gentry served as a U.S. Air Force survival instructor for over 20 years, retiring as a Master Sergeant. Following his honorable discharge from the military he worked as both a contractor for the Air Force and then, from 2011 until his termination in 2018, as an employee of the Air Force’s Joint Personnel Recovery Agency. In […]
Kim Douglas and her partner, Brent Babb, are deaf, poor, and have two young children. To make money the family collects and sells scrap metal. On the early morning of February 2, 2017, the family parked their old car on East Sprague to be present first thing in the morning when the scrap metal buyer […]
Washington State University hired Dr. Kathryn Anderson as a post doctoral research assistant. Shortly after starting work she exercised her right to ask for a workplace accommodation regarding her disability. Dr. Anderson’s supervisor initially granted the accommodation but, months later, revoked it and, in revoking the accommodation said, in a snarky tone, “who requests an […]
Mark Peterson, the owner of H&H Furniture, exercised his 1st Amendment right to oppose the City of Yakima’s plan to construct a plaza area in downtown Yakima, Washington. On the morning of November 5, 2013, Mr. Peterson made his objection known to Tony O’Rourke, the City Manager. Later that day the City’s fire code inspector […]
James Scanlan, a pilot for American Airlines and also a Major General in the U.S. Air Force Reserves, filed suit on behalf of himself and his fellow military reserve pilots for American Airlines alleging that the company violated USERRA’s employee benefit statute, 38 USC 4316, by not paying military reservists their wages for short term […]
The Everett Police Department (EPD) hired Mr. Gailey as a patrol officer. Immediately after hiring him Mr. Gailey got deployed to Iraq with the Army National Guard. Upon his return from Iraq the EPD did not properly re-employ him by denying him service credit for his year long deployment in Iraq. When the EPD refused […]
Chris Blackman worked as the Principal of Omak School District. During her employment with Omak School District she exercised her legal rights to oppose the District’s non-payment of overtime wages as well as the District’s misuse of ASB funds. Shortly after Ms. Blackman opposed Omak School District’s misdeeds the District’s Superintendent fired her. A copy […]
The U.S. Air Force employed Mr. Wirts for over 30 years in a civilian capacity. By then end of his career Mr. Wirts had reached the rank of GG-15 and served in a high level position with the Air Force’s Joint Personnel Recovery Agency (JPRA). In late 2016 the JPRA’s military commander ordered Mr. Wirts […]
This is a class action lawsuit involving Alaska Airlines and Horizon Airlines’ violations of USERRA’s re-employment and benefit provisions. Specifically, this case alleges that Horizon Airlines utilized a virtual credit policy that violated USERRA’s re-employment statute insofar as the virtual credit policy made it so reservists who served on military duty were returned to work […]
This is a case brought under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). Kelly O’Kell worked for the U.S. Department of the Interior at the Agency’s Ephrata, Washington office as a Realty Specialist. She applied for a GS-12 Project Manager position. At the time of her application she was 56 years old. Ms. O’Kell did not get […]
Shannon McMinimee, an attorney, served as Yakima School District’s Associate Superintendent of Human Resources from March 2017 to June 2018. Ms. McMinimee claims, among other things, that the Yakima School District violated the federal Equal Pay Act by paying her less than her similarly-situated male peer and that it also violated various state and federal laws by […]
Linda Heinen worked for Kohl’s for nearly nine years as one of the company’s 80+ District Managers. During that time her district routinely ranked in the top 25% of all other districts. But in mid-2016 she took six weeks of workplace medical leave. After returning from leave the work environment changed. Her supervisor asked about her retirement plans […]
Vicki LeBret worked at Wellpinit School District for 17 years. During that time she received glowing performance reviews. But in mid-2016 Wellpinit School District revised the contract for Ms. LeBret and some of her co-workers. The revised contract removed some of the due process protections that Ms. LeBret and her co-workers previously enjoyed. Ms. LeBret tried […]
This is a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit involving Burton Dezihan who investigated and filed a whistleblower complaint regarding a state government employee’s misuse of government resources. Mr. Dezihan filed his complaint with the Washington State Auditor’s Office. The State Auditor’s Office improperly disclosed that Mr. Dezihan was the whistleblower which, in turn, resulted in Mr. Dezihan’s non-selection […]
This is a Family Medical Leave Act, disability discrimination, and retaliation case in which Ms. Stapleton injured her knee and then took medical leave to undergo surgery needed to fix her injured knee. When Ms. Stapleton told her boss that her surgeon extended the workplace accommodations associated with her disability the supervisor proceeded question whether Ms. […]
This is a Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act (USERRA) case that is venued in South Dakota. The case involves Caleb Giddings, a member of the U.S. Air Force Reserves, taking military leave from his employer to attend basic training. While Mr. Giddings was going through basic training, Media Lodge’s CEO, Jeff Siegel allegedly told one of […]
Blaine Lambert worked for United Parcel Service as an ESC Clerk in its Sarasota, Florida facility. In 2008 Mr. Lambert decided to join the U.S. Army. He told his UPS supervisor of his desire to serve, left work, and began his tour of duty. Near the end of his tour of duty Mr. Lambert’s supervisor […]
This case involves a class action lawsuit against Southwest Airlines alleging that Southwest violated certain pension and employee benefit provisions of the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act (USERRA). Specifically, the complaint alleges that Southwest did not count short term military leave for pension calculation purposes and that Southwest did not allow pilots on […]
This case involves Robert Webber’s Title VII Civil Right’s Act retaliation claim against his former employer, the Sagle Fire District. As the Sagle Fire District’s Fire Chief Mr. Webber received and investigated an employee’s (Katie Loper) allegation of workplace sexual harassment. The investigation substantiated the employee’s sexual harassment claim which, in turn, led to Mr. […]
These cases involve Washington Army and Air National Guard servicemembers, Washington based reservists, USERRA, and the Washington Law Against Discrimination. Chris Cooper v. Prince Telecom, involves a Washington Army National Guard enlisted Soldier who asked his employer whether he could apply for a promotion but was told, via text message, that “with all your guard stuff […]
These are two separate cases brought by two former City of Yakima employees. Ryan Anderson’s case is a Family Medical Leave Act retaliation and Washington Law Against Discrimination disability failure to accommodate lawsuit. A copy of Mr. Anderson’s amended complaint is available here. The City of Yakima settled Mr. Anderson’s lawsuit for $225,000.00 in August […]
This case involves Derek Richter, a patrol officer with the Commerce City, Colorado Police Department, and Captain in the Colorado Army National Guard. The Colorado Army National Guard mobilized Mr. Richter for military duty, during those mobilizations a promotional opportunity opened within the police department, but the police department refused to let Mr. Richter compete for that […]
These cases involve Jin Zhu, a Chinese-American citizen who taught math and science at Waterville Secondary School from 2006 to 2012. During his employment at Waterville School District Mr. Zhu experienced racial discrimination, reported that discrimination, and was placed on administrative leave after he reported the discrimination he was experiencing. Ultimately Mr. Zhu filed a federal lawsuit […]
The case involves former employees Nancy Zandt, Heather Holick, Stacy Strong, and Kelli O’Connor asserting Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act (COBRA), Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Stored Communications Act (SCA), Minimum Wage Act (MWA), disability discrimination, and failure to accommodate claims against Horizon Hospice in Spokane County Superior Court. A copy […]
The case involves U.S. Navy Reserve F/A 18 pilot Joshu Osmanski asserting USERRA employment discrimination, retaliation, and benefits claims against his former employer, Cathay Pacific Airways. The case is venued in the Northern District of California. A copy of the complaint is available here. Cathay Pacific produced documents in the case which revealed that Cathay used Mr. Osmanski’s […]
The case involves plaintiff Vanessa Munoz claiming that joint employers, InGenesis, Inc., STGi International, Inc., and, InGenesis STGI Partners, LLC violated USERRA when they fired Ms. Munoz the day she returned to work from her U.S. Navy Reserve duty because of “attendance issues” associated with her military reserve obligations and failed to properly re-employ her, as required under USERRA 38 […]
The case involves plaintiff Michael Allman claiming that American Airline’s pension plan violates USERRA’s and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) pension provisions. The firm represents Mr. Allman along with attorneys Thomas Jarrard and the Cohen Milstein law firm. A copy of the complaint is available here. On April 8, 2016, the Court granted […]
The case involved the representation of five former employees of Auto Credit, an auto dealership, in a lawsuit alleging violations of Washington’s anti-disability discrimination statute, Family Medical Leave Act, Minimum Wage Act, and Wage Rebate Act. The plaintiffs’ wage claims arose out of the company’s practice of deducting, from certain manager’s wages, business loss caused […]
The case involved Tom Tabbert, a 19 year employee of Stryker Orthopedics, alleging that his supervisor and his supervisor’s supervisor, both members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS), discriminated against him by favoring other LDS employees over him when it came to assigning physician-customers and annual sales quotas. Mr. Tabbert also alleged that […]
The case involves representation of a former employee of the United States Department of Agriculture in a disability discrimination, failure to accommodate, and Privacy Act lawsuit. A copy of the complaint is available here. The Court allowed Ms. Stuart to amend her complaint to include a Back Pay Act claim. A copy of the Amended Complaint is […]
The case involves representation of a Sergeant in the Washington Army National Guard (and Iraq war veteran) who Les Schwab fired days after his return from military training. A copy of the complaint is available here.
The case involves representation of a putative class of former and current Washington State Patrol employees in a USERRA and 42 U.S.C. 1983 lawsuit against the State of Washington regarding the Washington State Patrol’s repeated and decade’s long failure to give its qualified veteran employees initial entry and promotion preference as required under state law, RCW […]
An employer cannot misclassify employees as "independent contractors" in order to avoid having to pa...
Read moreChico's Pizza, which does business as Acro Inc., hired Ms. Boyd in 2016. As time wore on its manager...
Read moreNewport Hospital & Health Services hired Laura Hamilton to serve as its Chief Human Resources Of...
Read more
Maria McSwain worked at World Fuel Services as a Senior Human Resources Ge...
Read more
Valentine Fertitta is an FBI agent and an officer in the US Marine Corps R...
Read more
The USDA employed Ms. Horn for over 12 years. Up until early-2020, Ms. Hor...
Read more
Rampart Aviation, LLC is a federal government contractor. Rampart employed ...
Read moreWaste Connections employed Justin Carlile beginning in May 2019. It promoted Mr. Carlile in Februa...
Read moreMr. Cancilla began working for Sandia in 2010. In 2013 the U.S. Navy Reserves called Mr. Cancilla to...
Read moreDr. Charles Graham worked for HNI as a Physician and Medical Director beginning in early-2020. In mi...
Read more