Cash

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

I. Jury Verdict

In 2017, Michael Cash (plaintiff) worked as a captain in the Los Angeles County Fire Department (the Department) and also served as a training captain for the Department’s training academies. When plaintiff complained to the Department’s battalion chief of training that the chief should have terminated a female recruit for failing a test that ordinarily results in automatic termination from a training academy, plaintiff was removed as a training captain in future academies. Plaintiff thereafter sued the County of Los Angeles (the County), alleging that his removal constituted (1) retaliation for reporting gender discrimination in violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) (Gov. Code, § 12940 et seq.), (2) a failure to take reasonable steps to prevent such

3 retaliation in violation of FEHA, and (3) retaliation for whistleblowing in violation of Labor Code section 1102.5.1 The matter proceeded to a 20-day jury trial in the spring of 2023. The jury found for plaintiff on all three claims and awarded him $450,000. The County filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) or, alternatively, for a new…