Northrop Grumman Corp. v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board

I. Introduction

Northrop Grumman Corporation (Northrop) and the Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania seek review of the findings and award and the order denying reconsideration in a case brought by Robert C. Graves before the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (the board). We issued a writ of review. Upon review, based on the entire record, we conclude the workers’ compensation judge’s finding—that Mr. Graves sustained compensable industrial injury because of an investigation conducted in bad faith by Northrop into racial discrimination allegations—is not supported to by substantial evidence. (Labor Code, § 3208.3, subd. (h).) We remand the matter to the board for further consideration consistent with this opinion.

II. The Facts

A. Background

The current writ proceeding arises out of allegations Mr. Graves engaged in racial discrimination during training of Northrop employees and an ensuing investigation. Mr. Graves, a Caucasian man, was employed off and on as a tooling inspector for Northrop between 1981 and March 1999. In 1998, Mr. Graves was training employees at a Northrop facility. The employees were learning to take aircraft measurements with certain…