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Ali v. L.A. Focus Publication10/31/2003
CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION
Najee Ali appeals the judgment entered after the trial court granted summary judgment in favor of defendant L.A. Focus Publication (L.A. Focus) and Jheryl Busby in Ali's action for wrongful termination and related employment claims. Because triable issues of fact exist as to whether Ali was an employee of L.A. Focus and whether his employment was terminated for engaging in protected political speech outside the workplace, we reverse the judgment with respect to Ali's claim for wrongful termination in violation of public policy against L.A. Focus. In all other respects, we affirm.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
1. The Parties and the Complaint
L.A. Focus is a monthly newspaper published in Los Angeles; Busby is part owner of L.A. Focus. Ali, the founder and director of a non-profit organization called Project Islamic Hope, was hired by L.A. Focus's publisher, Lisa Collins, in January 2000 to be the newspaper's community affairs editor. Later he was given the title community affairs columnist.
On June 2, 2001, while a guest on a local radio show, Ali voiced his personal support for Antonio Villaraigosa, a candidate in the June 2001 Los Angeles mayoral election, and criticized United States Representative Maxine Waters for supporting Villaraigosa's opponent (and current Los Angeles mayor) James Hahn. According to Ali, Waters was upset at Ali's public criticism of her on the radio show and successfully prevailed on Busby, her friend of 10 years, to terminate Ali's employment. Busby told Ali that, to appease Waters, he had "no choice" but to fire Ali. Ali was terminated less than one week after his appearance on the radio show. Ali sued L.A. Focus and Busby, asserting against L.A. Focus causes of action for wrongful termination in violation of public policy, breach of implied contract and breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing.
2. The Summary Judgment Motion of L.A. Focus
L.A. Focus moved for summary judgment/summary adjudication on the ground that Ali was a freelance writer/independent contractor without standing to assert any employment-related claims. L.A. Focus included evidence that there was no written employment agreement or policy manual given to Ali and that his continued involvement with the newspaper could be terminated at either his or the paper's request. L.A. Focus paid Ali $75 for each article it accepted for publication and only after Ali submitted an invoice. Ali never requested or received a W-2 form from L.A. Focus and no social security or state or federal income taxes were withheld. For the year 2000 Ali was paid a total of $750 and was issued an Internal Revenue Service Form 1099. Ali was not issued a 1099 form in 2001 because he earned less than $600 for that year. During his tenure with L.A. Focus, Ali was the director of Project Islamic Hope and received a monthly salary from that organization.
According to Collins, Ali's articles for L.A. Focus were not written under the direction or supervision of anyone connected to L.A. Focus nor was Ali prohibited from submitting freelance articles to other publications. Ali began his involvement with L.A. Focus as a freelance writer and retained that status throughout his tenure with the newspaper. The newspaper identified Ali on its masthead as "community affairs editor," then later as "community affairs columnist," but those titles were gratuitous as Ali assumed no additional responsibility other than to submit his freelance articles for publication. No evidence was submitted with the moving papers as to L.A. Focus's reasons for terminating Ali's involvement with the newspaper.
Ali opposed
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