Modification: Ververka v. Dept. of Veterans Affairs

DONALD VERVERKA,

Plaintiff and Appellant,

v.

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS,

Defendant and Respondent.

No. A163571

(Napa County Super. Ct. No. 18CV001376)

California Court of Appeal

First Appellate District

Division One

Filed June 5, 2024

ORDER MODIFYING OPINION

[NO CHANGE IN JUDGMENT]

Trial Court: Napa County Superior Court

Trial Judge: Hon. Victoria D. Wood

Counsel:

Workplace Advocates, Barbara E. Cowan; Elhert Hicks, Allison Elhert for Plaintiff and Appellant.

Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Chris A. Knudsen, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Fiel D. Tigno, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, Joshua C. Irwin and John T. McGlothlin, Deputy Attorneys General for Defendant and Respondent.

THE COURT:

It is ordered that the opinion filed herein on May 6, 2024, be modified as follows:

On pages 12-13: Delete the sentence beginning with "Likewise, here, we find it highly unlikely" on page 12 and ending with "based on nothing more than stray remarks" on page 13, and replace with the following sentence:

"Likewise, here, we find it highly unlikely the Legislature intended to impose liability on employers whenever a protected disclosure may have had minimal influence on their employment decisions, as this could easily lead to liability based on nothing more than passing remarks unrelated to the disputed employment decision."

There is no change in the judgment.

Humes, P.J.