California's Unruh Act And Disabled Persons Act Do Not Incorporate Title I Of ADA And Cannot Be Used To Enforce ADA's Employment Protections
Posted by Kendra D. Miller
Bass v. The County of Butte, 2006 DJDAR 10757 (9th Cir. Aug. 15, 2006)
The Ninth Circuit upheld the Eastern District of California’s dismissal at summary judgment of Plaintiffs’ claims under California’s Unruh Act and Disabled Persons Act (“DPA”) on the grounds that those statutes do not incorporate Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act and cannot be used to enforce the Americans with Disabilities Act’s employment protections.
Plaintiffs Allison Bass and two other County of Butte employees asserted employment discrimination claims under the Unruh Act and the DPA based on the county’s alleged failure to accommodate work-related injuries. The plaintiffs claimed that the Unruh Act and DPA incorporated Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act and could be used to enforce the ADA’s employment protections. A district court held in favor of the county, ruling that neither state statute provided a cause of action for employment discrimination.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed. Title I of the ADA prohibits employment discrimination against qualified persons with disabilities by public and private employers. The Unruh Act and DPA focus on ensuring that people with disabilities have equal access to public businesses, facilities, and other accommodations. California courts have historically been reluctant to expand the scope of the Unruh Act or DPA to include employment claims. Amendments to the Unruh Act and DPA (e.g., that a violation of the right of any individual under the ADA shall also constitute a violation of the Unruh Act) do not change matters because the plain meaning of the amendments does not require incorporation of the ADA, in its entirety, into the Unruh Act and DPA. Such a reading would broaden the reach of the state statutes from public accommodations to employment discrimination, which is “incompatible with the state’s statutory scheme as a whole and is unsupported by the legislative history of the amendments” to the Unruh Act and DPA. Expanding the scope of these statutes (which do not have an administrative scheme requiring exhaustion) would also create an end-run around the administrative procedures of the FEHA solely for disability discrimination claimants.
Bass v. The County of Butte, 2006 DJDAR 10757 (9th Cir. Aug. 15, 2006)
The Ninth Circuit upheld the Eastern District of California’s dismissal at summary judgment of Plaintiffs’ claims under California’s Unruh Act and Disabled Persons Act (“DPA”) on the grounds that those statutes do not incorporate Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act and cannot be used to enforce the Americans with Disabilities Act’s employment protections.
Plaintiffs Allison Bass and two other County of Butte employees asserted employment discrimination claims under the Unruh Act and the DPA based on the county’s alleged failure to accommodate work-related injuries. The plaintiffs claimed that the Unruh Act and DPA incorporated Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act and could be used to enforce the ADA’s employment protections. A district court held in favor of the county, ruling that neither state statute provided a cause of action for employment discrimination.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed. Title I of the ADA prohibits employment discrimination against qualified persons with disabilities by public and private employers. The Unruh Act and DPA focus on ensuring that people with disabilities have equal access to public businesses, facilities, and other accommodations. California courts have historically been reluctant to expand the scope of the Unruh Act or DPA to include employment claims. Amendments to the Unruh Act and DPA (e.g., that a violation of the right of any individual under the ADA shall also constitute a violation of the Unruh Act) do not change matters because the plain meaning of the amendments does not require incorporation of the ADA, in its entirety, into the Unruh Act and DPA. Such a reading would broaden the reach of the state statutes from public accommodations to employment discrimination, which is “incompatible with the state’s statutory scheme as a whole and is unsupported by the legislative history of the amendments” to the Unruh Act and DPA. Expanding the scope of these statutes (which do not have an administrative scheme requiring exhaustion) would also create an end-run around the administrative procedures of the FEHA solely for disability discrimination claimants.
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