County of Alameda v. Fair Employment & Housing Commission

The County of Alameda (County) appeals from a judgment of the superior court denying its petition for writ of mandate (Code Civ. Proc., § 1094.5) to compel defendant Fair Employment Housing Commission (Commission) to set aside its findings: (1) that the County had wrongfully denied Saches Caulfield employment as a cook at the Santa Rita jail because of her race and gender in violation of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (Gov. Code, § 12940, subd. (a)); and (2) that the Commission properly granted her backpay with benefits and credited her with retroactive seniority from October 1974. The County contends: (1) the findings of Commission were not supported by substantial evidence; (2) the County’s policy of hiring only male cooks for Santa Rita’s male prison is justified because gender is a bona fide occupational qualification (bfoq) for that position; and (3) that Caulfield’s award of backpay should be offset by any unemployment benefits received by her and that fringe benefits should not have been included in the award. We affirm.

Initially, we note that the substantial evidence test is to be applied in reviewing the decision of the Commission. (See American…