Driver’s Beef With OCTA One of Labor Law’s Wackiest

The Orange County Transportation Authority bus driver fired for refusing to hand out free-hamburger coupons is parked high on a National Law Journal Top 10 list of wacky employment cases.

Bruce Anderson became a national folk hero to vegetarians last year--and No. 3 on the Law Journal’s recent list--by asserting his right not to partake in OCTA’s joint promotion with the Carl’s Jr. burger chain.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled he had been unlawfully fired. Anderson wound up settling his wrongful dismissal lawsuit for $50,000 and moving to Northern California. OCTA admitted no wrongdoing.

The case topping the Law Journal’s list involved two Pittsburgh waitresses who filed a sexual discrimination suit contending that co-workers skewered and deep-fried a Barbie doll as part of a Satanic ritual against them.

No. 2 was a former Playboy centerfold who was told not to reveal her past when she was hired as an office manager, then was fired after publication of a retrospective book featuring her wearing a gold chain, boots and a smile. The company’s explanation, according to her lawyer: It feared she would be subject to sexual harassment, resulting in costly litigation.

Other cases on the list included an armored truck driver fired for leaving his vehicle in violation of company policy--to try to rescue a woman from a knife-wielding bank robbery suspect.

E. Scott Reckard covers workplace issues for The Times. He can be reached at (714) 966-7407 and at scott.reckard@latimes.com