California Court of Appeal

Sustaining of demurrer to amended complaint, in action brought by employee for retaliation after he opposed race discrimination against a subordinate, is reversed where the complaint sufficiently stated a cause of action for retaliation under both the materiality test followed by the California Supreme Court in Yanowitz v. L-Oreal USA, Inc. (2005) 36 Cal.4th 1028, and the deterrence test adopted by the U.S. Supreme Court in Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Ry. Co. v. White (2006) 126 S.Ct. 2405. A supervisor can be held personally liable for retaliation under the FEHA, and Government Code section 12940(k) applies to a cause of action for failure to prevent retaliation.

Appellate Information

• Decided 11/20/2006
• Published 11/20/2006

Judges

• ZELON, J.

Court

• California Court of Appeal

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Law Office of Jill B. Shigut, Jill B. Shigut;  Law Office of Jerry L. Webb and Jerry L. Webb, for Plaintiff and Appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Rockard J. Delgadillo, City Attorney, Lisa S. Berger, Deputy City Attorney;  and Richard M. Brown, for Defendants and Respondents.