Neisendorf

I.

INTRODUCTION

Following 14 weeks of medical leave, appellant Barbara J. Neisendorf s at-will employment with respondent Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&Co.) was terminated. She filed suit, claiming, among other things, that the termination of her employment violated the Moore-Brown-Roberti Family Rights Act of 1993 (CFRA) (Gov. Code, § 12945.2; Cal. Code Regs., tit. 2, § 7297, subd. (b)) and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) (Gov. Code, § 12900 et seq.). After most of Neisendorf s case was dismissed on summary adjudication, including her claims of gender and age discrimination, her remaining claims for disability discrimination in violation of the FEHA and retaliation for taking a medical leave under the CFRA, proceeded to jury trial. At the conclusion of four weeks of trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of LS&Co. finding, by special verdict, that Neisendorf was not terminated in retaliation for having taken medical leave under the CFRA and that she was not a “disabled person” entitled to FEHA’s protection.

While Neisendorf does not challenge the jury’s verdict entered in favor of LS&Co., she appeals two rulings made by the trial court. She first…