California Employment Law Notes (May 2014)

Male Employee's Sexual Harassment Claims Should Not Have Been Dismissed

Lewis v. City of Benecia, 224 Cal. App. 4th 1519 (2014)

Brian Lewis, a heterosexual man, sued his former employer (the City of Benecia) and two former male supervisors for sexual harassment and the City for retaliation. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the supervisors (Steve Hickman and Rick Lantrip) and judgment on the pleadings for the City. A jury found in favor of the City on the retaliation claim. The Court of Appeal reversed all of the lower court's rulings except the summary judgment that was granted in favor of Lantrip. As for Hickman, the Court found that the alleged course of conduct allowed an inference that he was pursuing a romantic relationship with Lewis and that the frequency and regularity of the alleged conduct allowed an inference of a pervasive pattern of conduct rather than a few isolated acts. As for Lantrip's alleged conduct, the Court held there was no basis for a reasonable trier of fact to conclude Lantrip harassed Lewis on the basis of sex or subjected Lewis to a pervasive pattern of harassing conduct (by displaying pornographic images on his computer two or three times and telling "obscene jokes"). As for the retaliation claim against the City, the Court held the trial court erred by excluding evidence of Hickman's alleged sexual harassment and of a psychologist's expert testimony about emotional distress allegedly suffered by Lewis.

Employee's Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Was Not Barred By Shortened Statute Of Limitations

Ellis v. U.S. Sec. Assocs., 224 Cal. App. 4th 1213 (2014)

When Ashley Ellis applied to work as a security guard for U.S. Security Associates, she signed an employment application that purported to limit the statute of limitations to six months for any employment-related claims. Later, Ellis claimed to have been sexually harassed by her supervisor and filed a lawsuit within 12 months of receipt of a right-to-sue letter from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. The employer filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings, asserting that the lawsuit was barred by the six-month statute of limitations contained in the employment application. The trial court granted the employer's motion without leave to amend, but the Court of Appeal reversed, holding that the shortened statute of limitations is "unreasonable and against public policy." Cf. Hopkins v. Kedzierski, 2014 WL 1466282 (Cal. Ct. App. 2014) (case remanded to trial court for factual findings...