Our client, a southern California restaurant group, faced a lawsuit from a disgruntled former employee who was fired for threatening a co-worker to provide false testimony in the sexual harassment case brought by his wife (also a former employee). After his wife abandoned her lawsuit over less than flattering text messages found in discovery, the husband’s lawsuit went forward.
We successfully moved the lawsuit to arbitration based on the mandatory arbitration agreement signed by all employees. Discovery lasted for the better part of a year, and was focused on the sexual harassment allegations formerly raised by the wife. Following a four-day arbitration and three rounds of post-arbitration briefing, Todd R. Wulffson, Esq. and Denisha P. McKenzie, Esq. obtained a complete defense verdict (with an award of costs) on nine separate claims for associational discrimination in violation of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”), retaliation in violation of FEHA and Labor Code section 1102.5, failure to prevent discrimination, wrongful termination in violation of public policy, unlawful business practices, unpaid meal periods and rest breaks, and failure to pay wages upon termination of employment. Prior to the commencement of the arbitration hearing, the defendants successfully eliminated all of the plaintiff’s alleged disability discrimination and harassment causes of action after filing a request for summary adjudication of those claims.
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Todd Wulffson
Todd R. Wulffson has focused his practice on counseling and defending businesses in labor and employment matters for over 30 years. In addition to private practice, from 2006-2010, Wulffson served as General Counsel and SVP of…
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Denisha McKenzie
Denisha P. McKenzie defends employers in all areas of labor and employment law in state and federal court, as well as before various administrative agencies, including the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC),…
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