Worker expresses concerns that being identified by name would subject his family to violence

In a case arising from an employee’s discrimination allegations, a California court ruled that the risk of the employee’s family members experiencing retaliation served as a legitimate consideration to decide whether he could use a pseudonym in the proceedings.

In Department of Fair Employment and Housing v. Superior Court of Santa Clara County, California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing filed a lawsuit against Cisco Systems, Inc. for employment discrimination under the Fair Employment and Housing Act. It claimed that two supervisors treated an engineer working at Cisco unfavorably because he was from the lowest caste under India’s traditional caste system.

The Department filed a motion to allow the engineer to be called John Doe, a fictitious name, in the proceedings and in legal filings to protect his identity. The Department alleged the following:

• The employee was concerned that publicly revealing his lower caste status would subject him and his family members living in India to further mistreatment and violence;
• Publicizing his caste affiliation could also hinder his and his family’ future employment opportunities and could cause them to be socially ostracized;
• In India, people considered to be of lower caste status regularly faced violence.

The trial court denied the motion, which prompted the Department to take the case to the California Court of Appeal for the...

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