Employment Law Case Notes

• Citation: Vol. 31 No. 4
• Publication year: 2017
• Author: By Anthony J. Oncidi

Employment Law Case Notes

By Anthony J. Oncidi

Anthony J. Oncidi is a partner in and the Chair of the Labor and Employment Department of Proskauer Rose LLP in Los Angeles, where he exclusively represents employers and management in all areas of employment and labor law. His telephone number is (310) 284-5690 and his email address is aoncidi@ proskauer.com. (Tony has authored this column without interruption for every issue of this publication since 1990.)

Employee Who Suffered From "Altered Mental State" Need Not Be Allowed to Rescind Her Resignation

Featherstone v. Southern Cal. Permanente Med. Grp., 10 Cal. App. 5th 1150 (2017)

Ruth Featherstone alleged that her former employer (SCPMG) discriminated against her based on a "temporary disability" that was caused by an adverse drug reaction, which resulted in an "altered mental state." During this alleged altered mental state, Featherstone resigned from her job in a telephone conversation with her supervisor so that she could "do God's work" and then, a few days later, confirmed her resignation in writing. When Featherstone emerged from the altered mental state (which caused her to take off all of her clothes and walk around naked in front of others, swear at family members, and take showers for no reason), she sought to rescind her resignation, which SCPMG declined to permit her to do. Featherstone alleged that SCPMG acted with discriminatory animus by refusing to allow her to rescind her resignation. Although Featherstone was eligible for rehire, she never reapplied for her position. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of SCPMG, and the court of appeal affirmed, holding that the refusal to allow a former employee to rescind a resignation is not an adverse employment action under the Fair Employment and Housing Act. The court further held that SCPMG was not contractually obligated to permit the rescission of an at-will employee's resignation and affirmed summary adjudication of the remainder of Featherstone's related claims, including failure to prevent discrimination, failure to accommodate a disability, failure to engage in the interactive process, and wrongful termination in violation of public policy.

Garbage Truck Employee Who Failed to Provide Proof of Right to Work Could Proceed With Age Discrimination Claim

Santillan v. USA Waste of Cal., 853 F.3d 1035 (9th Cir. 2017)

Gilberto Santillan, a 53-year-old garbage truck driver in Manhattan Beach, was employed for 32 years before his employment was terminated by a new route manager (Steve Kobzoff) after Santillan had four accidents in a 12-month period. Santillan disputed that he had four accidents and testified that he was one of five older Spanish-speaking employees who were fired or suspended after Kobzoff became the route manager. Following what the court described as a "public outcry" over Santillan's termination (the son of one of the homeowners on his route dressed up as Santillan for Halloween because he considered Santillan to be a "hero"), USA Waste agreed to reinstate Santillan if he passed a drug test and physical examination, a criminal background check, and "e-Verify" to prove his right to work in the United States. When Santillan failed to provide sufficient information for the employer to complete an e-Verify check, he was fired again because he did not provide "proof of [his] legal right to work in the United States within three days of hire as required by the Immigration Control and Reform Act of 1986." The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the employer, but the Ninth Circuit reversed, holding that Santillan had...