Examples: 1. This step is required before an employee can file alawsuit over FEHA wrongful termination or retaliation.25. 2, 11021. ), 8 Witkin, Summary of California Law (11th ed. Therefore, in California, employees will be considered disabled and entitled to protection under the FEHA, even if their impairments have been remedied by medicine, eye glasses, or their work environment. In May 2016, Plaintiff Yanez notified Defendants that she was very ill and could not come into work. [[Name of plaintiff] does not have to prove [discrimination/harassment] in order to be protected from retaliation. California Government Code 12926 (n) says discrimination on the basis of physcial disability "includes a perception that the person has any of those characteristics or that the person . It does not mean that your FEHA-protected activities need to be theonly reason for the adverse action.21, Circumstantial evidence, such as proximity in time between your FEHA-protected activities and the adverse employment actions, can be used to show the necessary causal connection.22. In a 2016 California Court of Appeals case, the court extended FEHAs discrimination protections against people with disabilities, requiring that employees associated with a disabled person be given reasonable accommodations. Instead, an adverse action is any pattern of behavior that materially and adversely affects the terms, conditions and privileges of your employmentfor example, by impairing your: This pattern of behavior might consist of a series of acts which, individually, would not be enough to constitute retaliationbut do add up to unlawful FEHA retaliation when they are taken as a whole.17, However,minor or trivial behavior that is likely only to anger or upset youbut is not likely to affect your job prospects or performancedoes not count as an adverse action for purposes of FEHA retaliation law.18. That [name of defendant] would have discharged [name of plaintiff] for [his/her] misconduct as a matter of settled company policy.), Government Code 12965 GC Civil action in name of department; group or class complaint; relief; tolling of statute of limitations [FEHA retaliation lawsuits]. %PDF-1.6
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After receiving a right to sue notice from CRD, file a FEHA wrongful termination / retaliation lawsuit against your employer. Outside of this context, claims of associational discrimination are rare, and few California courts have grappled with the issue of determining what association means under the FEHA. If there is a breakdown in the interactive process leading to discharge or demotion, courts look to see who was responsible for the breakdown in the process.