Opinion ID: 1120784
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Age Discrimination Claims Under State Law

Text: Plaintiffs Botelho and Moore assert claims of unlawful age discrimination under California state law. (Plaintiff Wertz's claim of age discrimination was summarily adjudicated in Wells Fargo's favor by the trial court. Wertz did not seek appellate review of that ruling, and her discrimination claim is not before us.) Plaintiffs' primary argument in this court is that section 24 does not preempt state law causes of action for age discrimination or other violations of state statutes. In light of our holding that Wells Fargo is not entitled to a preemption defense under section 24 because the bank's board of directors failed to approve or ratify plaintiffs' discharge as officers, we need not and do not decide this important and difficult question. (See Aalgaard v. Merchants Nat. Bank, Inc. (1990) 224 Cal. App.3d 674, 686-695 [274 Cal. Rptr. 81] [state age discrimination law preempted by section 24 discharge].)