Rubio

INTRODUCTION

Ana Rubio worked for AmeriPride Services, LLC1 (AmeriPride) for three-and-a-half months. She missed work or left early on nine days due to either her granddaughter’s, her husband’s, or her own medical issues. AmeriPride terminated Rubio’s employment based on her attendance record. She then sued AmeriPride for disability- related claims under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) (Government Code § 12900 et seq.)2, and for wrongful termination. The trial court granted AmeriPride’s motion for summary judgment on the ground that neither Rubio nor her husband suffered from a qualifying disability under FEHA.3 We conclude that summary judgment was properly granted, but for a different reason. Even assuming Rubio and her husband suffered from qualifying disabilities, she failed to raise a triable issue as to whether AmeriPride knew of her disability or her husband’s disability when it decided to terminate her employment. The adverse employment action, therefore, could not have been “because of” Rubio’s (or her husband’s) disability—an essential element of her claims. Accordingly, we affirm.

AmeriPride Services, LLC was incorrectly sued as AmeriPride Services,…