Kolstad

I.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL

BACKGROUND

The following facts are taken from Kolstad’s operative complaint and must be accepted as true for purposes of reviewing a ruling on a demurrer. (Evans v. City of Berkeley (2006) 38 Cal.4th 1, 6.)

1 Northstar hired Kolstad, who is white, in 2011 to work as a family services counselor at Skylawn Memorial Park selling funeral and cemetery arrangements. A man with the last name Lim (his first name does not appear in the operative complaint) allegedly had supervisory power over Kolstad. According to the complaint, from the time Kolstad was hired in 2011 and up until September 2023—a time period when Kolstad left Skylawn, worked for two other cemeteries, and at one point returned to work at Skylawn—Lim mistreated Kolstad both personally and professionally. Lim demoted Kolstad in June 2012 and deprived him of the assignments needed to make sales, and Kolstad resigned in December 2013. In September 2016, Lim “invited [Kolstad] back” to work at Northstar, but after Kolstad returned Lim continued to “bully,” “sabotage,” and retaliate against him. Lim told coworkers that Kolstad was “lazy,” had “white privilege,” and “had a spoiled upbringing.” Lim…