Takeaway: Where an employer gave inconsistent reasons for the timing of and motivation for its decision to fire an employee, the employee was able to prevail on her claim that she was terminated in retaliation for taking medical leave.
A Los Angeles municipal employee's medical leave was a motivating reason for her discharge, a California appeals court recently ruled, affirming an award of damages of $230,000 to the employee.
The city employee was terminated nine days after she returned from leave in 2017. There was evidence of negative reactions to the employee's decision to take leave by those who made the termination decision. While the city offered nonretaliatory reasons for the discharge, there were contradictions and inconsistencies in the city's evidence related to the timing of— and reasons for—the decision to terminate the worker, the appeals court noted.
On Jan. 4, 2016, following her graduation from law school, the employee began working as a project coordinator at what was then the Los Angeles Housing and Community Investment Department (HCID) for the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). The employee was fired from this position on March 9, 2017.
The CSW was established in 1975 to promote gender equality in Los Angeles. During the employee's tenure, the CSW was staffed by seven appointed commissioners. Among the employee's duties were overseeing administrative functions and providing status reports; facilitating and implementing the commissioners' programs...
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