Ortiz v. Dameron Hosp. Ass'n
250 Cal. Rptr. 3d 1
Cal. Ct. App. 5th2019Background
- Ortiz, a Filipino-born registered nurse over 40, worked ~10 years at Dameron; Alvarez became her supervisor in 2011 and supervised mostly Filipino unit coordinators.
- Alvarez repeatedly made derogatory comments about accents, English ability, Filipinos, and older employees; she told supervisors she wanted to "get rid" of older Filipino unit coordinators and provided names including Ortiz.
- Alvarez involuntarily transferred Ortiz to an orthopedic unit where Ortiz had little experience and gave no training; later gave a poor evaluation, issued a performance improvement plan, and falsely accused Ortiz of sleeping on the job.
- Ortiz resigned the day after the evaluation claiming intolerable stress and a belief she would be fired; she sued Dameron and Alvarez under FEHA for discrimination, harassment (hostile work environment), failure to prevent discrimination, retaliation, injunctive relief, and punitive damages.
- Trial court granted summary judgment for defendants, finding no adverse employment action (no constructive discharge) and no nexus between Alvarez's conduct and protected characteristics; Ortiz appealed.
- Court of Appeal reversed in part: reversed judgment, ordered summary adjudication only on retaliation claim and punitive damages against Dameron, but denied summary adjudication on discrimination, harassment, failure-to-prevent, injunctive relief, and punitive damages as to Alvarez; remanded and instructed reassignment to a different judge.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discrimination (FEHA §12940(a)): whether Ortiz suffered an adverse employment action (constructive discharge) and whether discriminatory motive connects to action | Ortiz: Alvarez's sustained derogatory conduct, involuntary transfer without training, false sleeping accusation, and evaluation made working conditions intolerable such that a reasonable person would resign; Alvarez's discriminatory remarks show motive and are attributable to employer | Dameron: No constructive discharge because employer unaware of Alvarez's conduct before resignation; no nexus between Alvarez's conduct and employer actions | Reversed: Enough evidence of constructive discharge by a supervisory actor; discriminatory motive shown via statements and conduct; supervisory actor's intent attributable under FEHA—triable issues remain |
| Harassment / Hostile Work Environment (FEHA §12940(j)) | Ortiz: Repeated denigration of accents and age, transfer and false accusation, and repeated comments to others about removing older Filipino staff show harassment based on national origin and age that was severe/pervasive | Defendants: Conduct not based on protected status and not sufficiently severe or pervasive; some comments were legitimate supervisory critique | Reversed: Evidence permits reasonable juror to find animus and that conduct was severe/pervasive enough to create hostile work environment |
| Evidentiary rulings on summary judgment record | Ortiz: Court improperly sustained numerous objections that excluded material testimony about transfer, stress, and witness statements recounting Alvarez's remarks and request to fabricate sleeping sighting | Defendants: Objections on hearsay, relevance, foundation, and opinion grounds justified | Court found abuses of discretion in sustaining key objections (relevance, hearsay, foundation) and reinstated that evidence for triable issues |
| Remedies / Procedural disposition | Ortiz: Trial court should not have entered summary judgment; wants trial on remaining FEHA claims and punitive damages against Alvarez and Dameron | Defendants: Summary judgment proper; alternatively summary adjudication | Court directed vacatur of summary judgment, ordered new order granting summary adjudication for retaliation claim and punitive damages against Dameron, but denied summary adjudication on discrimination, harassment, failure-to-prevent, injunctive relief, and punitive damages as to Alvarez; reassigned judge on remand |
Key Cases Cited
- Turner v. Anheuser-Busch, Inc., 7 Cal.4th 1238 (Cal. 1994) (constructive discharge requires employer-created intolerable working conditions known or intended by employer or its supervisory agents)
- Guz v. Bechtel Nat. Inc., 24 Cal.4th 317 (Cal. 2000) (FEHA discrimination prima facie framework and burden shifting)
- Fragante v. City & County of Honolulu, 888 F.2d 591 (9th Cir. 1989) (foreign accent discrimination can establish national origin discrimination)
- Miller v. Department of Corrections, 36 Cal.4th 446 (Cal. 2005) (hostile work environment standard under FEHA: severe or pervasive conduct alters terms/conditions of employment)
- Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc., 510 U.S. 17 (U.S. 1993) (hostile work environment analysis: objective and subjective components)