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FW: Employment Law - Section 1981 - Punitive Damages -Discrimination - Retaliation - USERRA

CT
Chuck Thompson
Wed, Oct 11, 2017 8:44 PM

In a case of first impression, the 9th Circuit today upheld a significant jury award of damages against a California City and several police chiefs in a suit brought by three Latino officers.  The damages were a bit over $3.3 million in compensatory and punitives and the attorney's fees were a bit over $3.2 million.  Much of the case involves questions of whether the facts were sufficient to sustain the award, but on the issue of whether Section 1981 extends to employees whose positions are regulated by statute and not contract, the Court concluded that although on its face Section 1981 only applies to contracts and while California labels its employees as statutory rather than contractual that a decision by the California Supreme Court concluding that the "contract clause" applies to this statutory employment sufficiently enables the 9th Circuit to find the officers' employment protected by Section 1981.  As to the other major non-factual issue, the Court concluded that the suit alleging violations of both Section 1981 and a California Employment law did not result in duplicated damages as there was sufficient evidence to support verdicts under both.  There was also a USERRA claim in this case and the 9th Circuit upheld the jury instruction that resulted in damages under that Act. There were a host of other issues too. If anyone is reading these blurbs and has some opinion on whether there's a good petition argument on the question of whether Section 1981 applies to a statutory employee, please post your views.  I know the City was well represented on the appeal by Tim Coates who often speaks at IMLA and has handled a number of cases at the Supreme Court.  So BOLO  and let us hear from you.  Chuck
FLORES V. CITY OF WESTMINSTER http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2017/10/11/14-56832.pdf

Charles W. Thompson, Jr.
Executive Director and General Counsel
International Municipal Lawyers Association, Inc.
51 Monroe Street
Suite 404
Rockville, Maryland  20850
202-466-5424  x7110
Direct: 202-742-1016
Cell: 240-876-6790
Plan ahead:
IMLA's Annual Conference October 14- October 18, 2017 - Niagara, Ontario, Canada (Passport required)
To register, go to: http://imla.org/events/conferences#registration
IMLA's Annual Seminar and Section 1983 Defense Conference - April 20- April 23, 2018 Washington, DC

In a case of first impression, the 9th Circuit today upheld a significant jury award of damages against a California City and several police chiefs in a suit brought by three Latino officers. The damages were a bit over $3.3 million in compensatory and punitives and the attorney's fees were a bit over $3.2 million. Much of the case involves questions of whether the facts were sufficient to sustain the award, but on the issue of whether Section 1981 extends to employees whose positions are regulated by statute and not contract, the Court concluded that although on its face Section 1981 only applies to contracts and while California labels its employees as statutory rather than contractual that a decision by the California Supreme Court concluding that the "contract clause" applies to this statutory employment sufficiently enables the 9th Circuit to find the officers' employment protected by Section 1981. As to the other major non-factual issue, the Court concluded that the suit alleging violations of both Section 1981 and a California Employment law did not result in duplicated damages as there was sufficient evidence to support verdicts under both. There was also a USERRA claim in this case and the 9th Circuit upheld the jury instruction that resulted in damages under that Act. There were a host of other issues too. If anyone is reading these blurbs and has some opinion on whether there's a good petition argument on the question of whether Section 1981 applies to a statutory employee, please post your views. I know the City was well represented on the appeal by Tim Coates who often speaks at IMLA and has handled a number of cases at the Supreme Court. So BOLO and let us hear from you. Chuck FLORES V. CITY OF WESTMINSTER http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2017/10/11/14-56832.pdf Charles W. Thompson, Jr. Executive Director and General Counsel International Municipal Lawyers Association, Inc. 51 Monroe Street Suite 404 Rockville, Maryland 20850 202-466-5424 x7110 Direct: 202-742-1016 Cell: 240-876-6790 Plan ahead: IMLA's Annual Conference October 14- October 18, 2017 - Niagara, Ontario, Canada (Passport required) To register, go to: http://imla.org/events/conferences#registration IMLA's Annual Seminar and Section 1983 Defense Conference - April 20- April 23, 2018 Washington, DC