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Contracts Keyed to Dawson
Goonewardene v. ADP, LLC
Citation:
6 Cal. 5th 817, 434 P.3d 124, 243 Cal. Rptr. 3d 299 (2019)Facts
Sharmalee Goonewardene was employed by Altour International Inc. from 2005 until her termination in 2009. After her termination, she filed suit against Altour and later added ADP, the payroll company that processed Altour’s payroll, as a defendant. Goonewardene alleged that ADP had failed to properly calculate her wages, maintain proper records of her work hours, and provide adequate documentation. She claimed she was a third-party beneficiary of the contract between Altour and ADP, and asserted causes of action for breach of contract, negligence, negligent misrepresentation, and statutory violations of the Labor Code. ADP demurred, arguing that it had no contractual relationship with Goonewardene and owed her no duty of care. The case proceeded through multiple levels of review, with courts considering whether an employee could maintain such claims against a payroll company.
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