California courts have issued two opinions which may affect the way employers avoid and defend against employment discrimination lawsuits. In Sanchez v. Swissport, Inc., the California Court of Appeals addressed the intersection between the Pregnancy Disability Leave Law and the disability accommodation requirements in the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). The California Supreme Court, in Harris v. City of Santa Monica, tackled the issue of whether an employer may defend against a FEHA discrimination claim by demonstrating the same decision would have been made absent discriminatory motive. We hope the summaries will provide an update on the current issues in employment law and shed some light on the practical affects of the Courts’ recent rulings.
If you have any questions please contact the EIA or Carolee G. Kilduff and Cori R. Sarno of Angelo, Kilday & Kilduff who shared these updates with the EIA. Kilduff and Sarno can be reached at (916) 564-6100.