Stephan Math | Westlake Village Employment Lawyer

NOTABLE CASES

Notable Cases The results described below depend on the specific facts and legal circumstances of each case. Past results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future matter. Mundy v. United States, 983 F.2d 950 (9th Cir. 1993) The U.S. government asserted that an exception to its waiver of sovereign immunity applied, and the federal district court agreed, dismissing the case. On appeal, the Ninth Circuit agreed with our argument that the case centered on alleged negligence by the government — a claim covered by the government’s waiver of immunity under the Federal Tort Claims Act — rather than falling within the exception the government had argued. The Court of Appeals reversed the district court’s decision, after which Mr. Mundy was able to settle his case on terms acceptable to him. Hample v. Civil Service Commission of Santa Barbara County (Cal. Ct. App. 2022) Mr. Hample, a seventeen-year public employee serving as a Probation Officer for the County of Santa Barbara, was terminated for alleged insubordination despite a clean, lengthy employment record. He appealed his termination to the Santa Barbara County Civil Service Commission, which upheld the termination. Our firm became involved after that decision and filed a Petition for a Writ of Mandate with the Superior Court, which reversed the Civil Service Commission and ruled in Mr. Hample’s favor — agreeing with our argument that he had been wrongfully terminated for exercising his rights under the Peace Officer Bill of Rights to record an interrogation, and that this conduct did not constitute insubordination. After two appeals, a mediation, and continued negotiation, we achieved a substantial settlement for Mr. Hample, including back pay for his lost income, attorney’s fees, and restoration of his pension to the level it would have reached had he not been terminated. "Stephan Math believed in my case when others couldn't see past their retainer agreement. Attorney Math won my case in Superior Court and then won before the Appellate Court. He is a winner! I would describe Stephan as part pit bull part intellectual." — Robert H., May 28, 2021 Bragg v. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, MSPB Docket No. SF-0752-15-0015-I-1 (Merit Systems Protection Board, Western Regional Office) Ms. Bragg was a 24-year federal employee — the only female African American clerk and most senior employee of that group at the Census Bureau’s Los Angeles Regional Office — when she was terminated for alleged falsification of survey records. Our firm challenged the removal on the grounds that the duties at issue were outside her job classification, that she had received no training for those duties despite repeated requests, that the proposing official was the same individual who had ignored her complaint of a physical threat by a co-worker, and that none of the factors required by federal civil service law before removing a long-term employee had been considered. The agency rescinded the termination after it acknowledged that the deciding official had relied on ex parte information without providing Ms. Bragg an opportunity to respond — a fundamental due process violation. The result was full reinstatement to her position, payment of all back pay, credit for all earned vacation time that had accrued during her separation, and complete expungement of any reference to adverse employment action from her official personnel records. Traga v. County of Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara County Superior Court) Ms. Traga, a Jewish woman from Uzbekistan employed as a Team Supervisor by the County of Santa Barbara, was subjected to a sustained pattern of discrimination based on her race, religion, national origin, and ancestry. She was referred to as a “foreigner,” denied clinical supervision, passed over for promotion, excluded from workplace activities, and had her supervisory authority undermined by both staff and management. When she reported the discrimination and harassment through internal channels and to the EEOC, the County failed to act and instead retaliated against her — stripping her of supervisory responsibilities, issuing negative performance reviews, and ultimately forcing her constructive termination. Following the filing of a complaint with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing and receipt of a Right to Sue notice, we filed suit against the County and multiple individual defendants under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. The matter was resolved by a six-figure settlement. Teacher Credentialing Defense, California Commission on Teacher Credentialing / Office of Administrative Hearings Our client, a teacher applicant, faced probable denial of a Clear Single Subject Teaching Credential by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing based on a lengthy record of criminal convictions spanning multiple years, including a felony, prior disciplinary action by the Commission, and a finding that he had failed to fully disclose certain convictions on a prior application. The Committee of Credentials found a close relationship between the misconduct and fitness to teach and recommended denial. We represented the applicant through the response and hearing process before the California Office of Administrative Hearings. The accusation was dismissed and the applicant was granted his teaching credential. Huynh v. Coherus BioSciences, Inc. (Ventura County Superior Court) Ms. Huynh, a Vietnamese American woman employed as an Associate Director at Coherus BioSciences, had been promoted for performance that her employer described as having surpassed even the high expectations set when she joined the company. After a newly hired Vice President made repeated disparaging comments about her English accent — cutting her off in meetings and directing her to submit her contributions in writing rather than speak — she reported the incidents to management. No action was taken. She also made repeated complaints about serious laboratory safety violations, including flammable solvents left on benches overnight and the careless handling of acid by an untrained analyst. Shortly after raising these concerns, she was asked by HR whether she wished to leave to pursue a PhD — a thinly veiled invitation to resign. Two weeks later she received a negative performance review solicited exclusively from colleagues she had previously criticized, with none of her own direct reports asked to contribute. She was terminated on May 12, 2015. We filed suit in Ventura County Superior Court alleging national origin and race discrimination, retaliation, failure to prevent discrimination, wrongful termination in violation of public policy, and retaliation for workplace safety complaints under California Labor Code Section 6310. The matter was resolved to the client’s satisfaction. If you are facing an employment, education, licensing, or administrative matter and would like to discuss whether the Law Offices of Stephan Math can help, please call (805) 300-2097 or send a message through the contact page. Initial consultations are free and confidential.