In Wake of Harris, Jury Awards $21.7 Million to Disabled Employee in Discrimination Case

Despite the California Supreme Court’s ruling in Harris v. City of Santa Monica, discussed in detail Here, in which the Court stated that plaintiffs in employment discrimination cases must prove discrimination was a “substantial factor motivating a termination of employment, and when the employer proves it would have made the same decision absent such discrimination, a court may not award damages, backpay, or an order of reinstatement,” 

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California Supreme Court Clarifies Standard Applicable to Discrimination Lawsuits

In Harris v. City of Santa Monica, — Cal. — (Feb. 7, 2013), the California Supreme Court held that under the Fair Employment and Housing Act, “when a jury finds that unlawful discrimination was a substantial factor motivating a termination of employment, and when the employer proves it would have made the same decision absent such discrimination, a court may not award damages, backpay, or an

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California Court of Appeal Holds Supervisors Cannot Be Personally Liable for Discrimination or Retaliation Against Employees Seeking Military Leaves of Absence

In Haligowski v. Superior Court, 200 Cal. App. 4th 983 (2011), the Court of Appeal considered whether supervisors can be personally liable for discriminating or retaliating against employees who seek time off from work to comply with their military obligations, concluding that they cannot. In this case, the plaintiff was called to active duty with the Navy, and when he returned from his six-month deployment in Iraq

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Where Employer Treated Similarly Situated Employees Differently, Ninth Circuit Allowed Employee’s Discrimination Claims to Proceed to Trial

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal opinion in Zeinali v. Raytheon Co., 636 F.3d 544 (9th Cir. 2011), marks yet another reminder that employers that treat similarly situated employees differently can set themselves up for costly discrimination lawsuits. In Zeinali, the plaintiff, who is of Iranian descent, had been employed by Raytheon for approximately four years.  At the start of his employment, Raytheon informed the plaintiff that

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New California Law Protects Health Care Coverage for Pregnant Employees

The State of California today marked another step in the direction of protecting pregnant workers when the Governor signed into law a Senate Bill requiring employers of five or more employees who maintain health care coverage for their workers to continue providing workers who take Pregnancy Disability Leave health care coverage at the same terms and conditions that coverage would have been provided to the

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