Jones v. The Lodge at Torrey Pines Partnership
Posted by Ursula Kubal
Jones v. The Lodge at Torrey Pines Partnership, 147 Cal. App. 4th 475 (2007)
The totality of circumstances must be considered in determining whether an adverse action has been taken against a plaintiff in retaliation and discrimination cases.
Plaintiff employee sued under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act ("FEHA"), for sexual orientation discrimination by defendant employer and retaliation by the employer and defendant supervisor. Following a jury verdict for plaintiff, the trial court granted defendants' motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict ("JNOV") and a new trial. Using the standards laid out in MacRae v. Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation, 142 Cal App. 4th 377 (2006), the trial court found that there was insufficient evidence of an adverse employment action for purposes of establishing sexual orientation discrimination or retaliation, because none of the alleged retaliatory acts had a tangible detrimental effect on plaintiff's employment.
The California Court of Appeal reversed both trial court rulings and reinstated judgment in favor of plaintiff. The appellate court found that the trial court had used an overly restrictive definition of adverse employment action, because it considered only actions that had a substantial and detrimental affect on plaintiff's employment, including plaintiff's poor performance review and several written criticisms of plaintiff's employment. Under a totality of circumstances approach, there was sufficient evidence of an adverse employment action. The evidence favorable to the jury's finding of an adverse employment action, which was not considered by the trial court, included evidence that after plaintiff asked the supervisor to refrain from making derogatory remarks about women and homosexuals, the employee received warning notices based on false charges and was excluded from meetings, and the supervisor continued to use offensive language despite being asked to stop. Finally, the Court of Appeal affirmed that under FEHA, an individual supervisor can be held personally liable for retaliation.
Jones v. The Lodge at Torrey Pines Partnership, 147 Cal. App. 4th 475 (2007)
The totality of circumstances must be considered in determining whether an adverse action has been taken against a plaintiff in retaliation and discrimination cases.
Plaintiff employee sued under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act ("FEHA"), for sexual orientation discrimination by defendant employer and retaliation by the employer and defendant supervisor. Following a jury verdict for plaintiff, the trial court granted defendants' motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict ("JNOV") and a new trial. Using the standards laid out in MacRae v. Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation, 142 Cal App. 4th 377 (2006), the trial court found that there was insufficient evidence of an adverse employment action for purposes of establishing sexual orientation discrimination or retaliation, because none of the alleged retaliatory acts had a tangible detrimental effect on plaintiff's employment.
The California Court of Appeal reversed both trial court rulings and reinstated judgment in favor of plaintiff. The appellate court found that the trial court had used an overly restrictive definition of adverse employment action, because it considered only actions that had a substantial and detrimental affect on plaintiff's employment, including plaintiff's poor performance review and several written criticisms of plaintiff's employment. Under a totality of circumstances approach, there was sufficient evidence of an adverse employment action. The evidence favorable to the jury's finding of an adverse employment action, which was not considered by the trial court, included evidence that after plaintiff asked the supervisor to refrain from making derogatory remarks about women and homosexuals, the employee received warning notices based on false charges and was excluded from meetings, and the supervisor continued to use offensive language despite being asked to stop. Finally, the Court of Appeal affirmed that under FEHA, an individual supervisor can be held personally liable for retaliation.
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