Cal. Supremes Review Granted: FEHA Disability Discrimination

Adding to its already lengthy caseload of employment law matters, on November 16 the California Supreme Court granted review yet again, this time on the burden of proof in a FEHA disability discrimination case. As framed by the Court's online Weekly Summary, the issue is: to establish a prima facie case under the Fair Employment and Housing Act for employment discrimination based on disability, who bears the burden of proof? Does plaintiff bear the burden of proving that he or she is capable of performing the job's essential duties, or does the employer have the burden of proving plaintiff was not capable of performing those duties? Green v. State of California, formerly at 132 Cal.App.4th 97, S137770, review granted 11/16/05.