Facts

Rose Espiritu sued the California Dept. of Public Health, involving allegations of employment discrimination.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiff worked for defendant as a health facilities evaluator nurse. In 2012, plaintiff filed a workers' compensation claim due to carpal tunnel syndrome. Thereafter, her supervisors allegedly retaliated against her by harassing her for requesting various accommodations and for failing to figure out what accommodations to provide her. Plaintiff sued defendant alleging claims for disability discrimination, failure to engage in the interactive process, workplace harassment, and retaliation. Plaintiff also claimed that she was retaliated against for filing a whistleblower complaint to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Defendant denied the allegations, claiming that plaintiff was accommodated and welcomed back to work as soon as she was allowed to do so by her doctors.

Damages

Espiritu sought noneconomic damages.

Injuries

Espiritu suffered from emotional distress resulting from the discrimination and retaliation she went through at work.

Result

Shortly before trial, the trial court granted summary adjudication with respect to Espiritu's claims for failure to engage in the interactive process and failure to accommodate a disability. The matter then proceeded to trial on Espiritu's discrimination and retaliation claims. The jury unanimously found in favor of the defense, finding Espiritu was neither harassed nor subjected to discrimination.

Other Information

FILING DATE: Nov. 5, 2014.