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California Fair Employment & Housing Com. v. Gemini Aluminum Corp.

California Fair Employment & Housing Com. v. Gemini Aluminum Corp.

Court of Appeal of California, Second Appellate District, Division Four

September 29, 2004, Filed

B165771

Opinion

 [**908]  HASTINGS, Acting P. J.—

BACKGROUND

In 1997, Lester Young filed a religious discrimination complaint with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (the Department) against his former employer, Gemini Aluminum Corporation. The Department issued an accusation, and then a first amended accusation in January 2001.

Gemini contested the accusation, and the matter was heard by an administrative hearing officer in January and February 2001. The Commission reviewed the evidence, declined to [***2]  adopt the hearing officer's decision, and issued its own decision on January 10, 2002.

 [*1009]  The Commission found that Gemini had discriminated against Young by failing to accommodate his religious beliefs, that it had failed to prevent discrimination, and that it had retaliated against Young for protesting the discrimination, all in violation of Government Code section 12940. 3 

Gemini filed a petition for writ of administrative mandate in the Los Angeles County Superior Court to overturn the decision of the Commission. 4 The Superior Court granted the petition and issued a writ directing the Commission to vacate its decision.

The Department appeals from the [***3]  judgment, and Gemini appeals from the Superior Court's denial of its request for attorney fees. In a separate motion, Gemini moved to dismiss the Department's appeal, on the ground of untimeliness. We found the appeal timely and denied the motion.

We conclude the trial court erred and we reverse.

FACTS

We begin with a short summary of the evidence before the Commission, in the light most favorable to the Commission's findings, indulging in all reasonable inferences in support of those findings. (See  Johnson Controls, Inc. v. Fair Employment & Housing Com. (1990) 218 Cal. App. 3d 517, 530–532 [267 Cal. Rptr. 158].) We shall review the evidence and findings in greater depth in our discussion of the issues.

By mid-June 1997, Young had been employed by Gemini for approximately 15 months. Young had been a Jehovah's Witness since May 1970, and had attended a  [**909]  Jehovah's Witness convention every year, with the exception of one or two, since then. Attending the three-day convention is considered a form of worship and religious study in his faith.

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122 Cal. App. 4th 1004 *; 18 Cal. Rptr. 3d 906 **; 2004 Cal. App. LEXIS 1623 ***; 2004 Cal. Daily Op. Service 8869; 2004 Daily Journal DAR 12140

CALIFORNIA FAIR EMPLOYMENT AND HOUSING COMMISSION, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. GEMINI ALUMINUM CORPORATION, Defendant and Appellant.

Subsequent History: Review denied by, Request denied by California Fair Employment & Hous. Commn v. Gemini Aluminum Corp., 2004 Cal. LEXIS 12493 (Cal., Dec. 22, 2004)

Prior History:  [***1]  APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, No. BS074328, David P. Yaffe, Judge.

Disposition: Reversed and remanded with directions.

CORE TERMS

convention, attend, religious, accommodate, religious belief, documentation, religion, protected activity, termination, pretext, prima facie case, labor board, observance, suspension, contends, unlawful discrimination, substantial evidence, retaliation, temporal, employment requirement, management committee, religious observance, congregation, religious discrimination, pilgrimage, practices, initiate, tenets, reasonable inference, proffered reason

Labor & Employment Law, Religious Discrimination, Scope & Definitions, General Overview, Administrative Law, Judicial Review, Reviewability, Factual Determinations, Standards of Review, Substantial Evidence, Business & Corporate Compliance, Labor & Employment Law, Discrimination, Accommodation, Business & Corporate Law, Duties & Liabilities, Causes of Action & Remedies, Unauthorized Acts, Actionable Discrimination, Torts, Vicarious Liability, Employers, Agency Relationships, Defenses, Reasonable Accommodation & Undue Hardship, Retaliation, Unfair Labor Practices, Employer Violations, Interference With Protected Activities, Elements, Protected Activities, Evidence, Burdens of Proof, Burden Shifting