Gonzalez

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. Initial complaint and demurrer Gonzalez filed the initial complaint in this action on June 2, 2023, naming the City and unnamed City employees as defendants. The complaint alleged that Gonzalez had been employed as an assistant to the Chief of the Palo Alto Fire Department, and that on April 2, 2019, she wrote a letter of complaint to the City’s human resources department that was critical of the interim Fire Chief. As a result of the letter, Gonzalez alleged, she “began to receive a succession of formal work reprimands which were untrue and unhelpful.” According to the complaint, defendants continued to criticize Gonzalez’s work performance, albeit without providing any specific criticisms. On August 19, 2021, defendants suspended Gonzalez for three weeks for alleged “unsatisfactory work performance” and for “poor judgment,” but without specifying her alleged failings. The complaint alleged that Gonzalez’s treatment by defendants “had nothing to do with her job performance but was because of her gender and national origin.” On or about October 18, 2022, the City terminated Gonzalez’s employment. Gonzalez then submitted a letter of…