Van Hoomissen v. Xerox Corporation

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

Defendant Xerox and the nine individual defendants in this case have moved the Court to dismiss plaintiff’s complaint and to strike each of its counts.

Plaintiff Van Hoomissen is suing defendants for various alleged acts of retaliation, to wit: denial of job advancement opportunities with the accompanying salary increases, demotion, and finally, termination of employment. The alleged retaliation was in response to plaintiff’s asserted attempts to change the hiring policy of Xerox, which he believes discriminates against Mexican Americans at its Mountain View, California, plant. Plaintiff is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, in addition to back pay and reinstatement in an appropriate job position. He has been joined in the suit by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (hereinafter EEOC) as plaintiff-intervenor.

Count One of plaintiff’s complaint is based on § 703(a) of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act (42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)). Count Two is based on 42 U.S.C. § 1981 , while Count Three originally rested upon the Unruh Civil Rights Act of California (Calif. Civil Code §§51 and 52). Plaintiff has conceded that a cause of action under the…