EdLawConnect Blog

On August 31, 2012, AALRR attorneys Irma Rodriguez Moisa and Sharon J. Ormond obtained a unanimous jury defense verdict in favor of The Regents of the University of California after a 14-day jury trial.  The Plaintiff, James Friedman, was laid off from his position at the University of California at Los Angeles in April 2010 after a reorganization of his unit resulted in his position being eliminated.  He filed suit in September 2010 against the Regents, alleging: age and religious creed discrimination in violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA); retaliation for protesting or opposing of age and gender discrimination in his department in violation of the FEHA; failure to take steps to prevent retaliation from occurring in violation of the FEHA; whistleblower retaliation under California Labor Code section 1102.5 for reporting alleged copyright violations; and wrongful termination in violation of public policy.  He further sued two management employees of the University, alleging defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.  (James Friedman v. The Regents of the University of California, et al., Los Angeles Superior Court, Case No. BC445059.)

Public colleges and universities across the country are frequently faced with issues involving free speech activities on their campuses. Some campuses permit students and non-students to engage in free speech activities (such as gathering signatures on petitions or speaking with students about religious, political or social issues of interest) anywhere on campus without restriction. More often, campuses set limitations that apply to everyone or at least to non-students, such as requiring that speakers engage in speech activities in a designated free speech area or zone and to give prior notice of their intent to use the area.

The California Assembly is considering a bill, Assembly Bill 2039, that would amend Section 12945.2 of the Government Code relating to family and medical leave. Currently, the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), like the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer to refuse to grant a request by an eligible employee to take up to 12 workweeks of unpaid ...

As has been widely reported in the media, earlier this month a Rutgers University student was convicted of bias crimes for homophobia-motivated webcam spying on his roommate, who committed suicide after learning of the spying. The case has focused attention on the phenomenon of bullying on college and university campuses.

As we reach the approximate midpoint of the academic year, we believe it is important for employers to look ahead to nonreelections and year-end performance evaluations of permanent employees.  We therefore remind our readers of important procedural considerations in the evaluation process, and also offer some substantive tips in preparing evaluation documents.

On December 2, 2011, the U.S. Departments of Education (ED) and Justice (DOJ) jointly issued guidelines on the voluntary use of race to achieve diversity in postsecondary education and to achieve diversity and avoid racial isolation in elementary and secondary schools within the framework of Titles IV and VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S ...