Supreme Court of California

An employee's refusal to follow a supervisor's order that she reasonably believes to be discriminatory constitutes protected activity under the Fair Employment and Housing Act, and the employer may not retaliate against an employee on the basis of such conduct when the employer believes the order to be discriminatory.

Appellate Information

• Decided 08/11/2005
• Published 08/11/2005

Judges

• GEORGE, C.J.

Court

• Supreme Court of California

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Herbert W. Yanowitz, San Francisco, and Joseph R. Grodin, Berkeley, for Plaintiff and Appellant., William R. Tamayo, San Francisco, Eric S. Dreiband, Lorraine C. Davis, Vincent Blackwood, Washington, DC, and Elizabeth E. Theran for U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Plaintiff and Appellant., Law Offices of Jeffrey K. Winikow and Jeffrey K. Winikow, Los Angeles, for California Employment Lawyers Association as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Plaintiff and Appellant., Charlotte E. Fishman, San Francisco, for Equal Rights Advocates, Asian Law Caucus, California Women's Law Center, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Inc., The Impact Fund, The Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center, Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, The National Women's Law Center and Women's Employment Rights Clinic as Amici Curiae on behalf of Plaintiff and Appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Morgenstein & Jubelirer, William J. Carroll and David H. Bromfield, San Francisco, for Defendant and Respondent., Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp, Lawrence A. Michaels and Suzanne M. Steinke, Los Angeles, for California Employment Law Council as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendant and Respondent., Ballard, Rosenberg, Golper & Savitt, Linda Miller Savitt, John J. Manier and Christine T. Hoeffner, Universal City, as Amici Curiae on behalf of Defendant and Respondent., Pillsbury Winthrop, George S. Howard, Jr., and Brian L. Johnson, San Diego, for Employers Group as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendant and Respondent.