Am
A.M. v. Albertsons, LLC
Opinion
Opinion
Reardon, J.
A jury found that employer Albertsons, LLC, had violated employee A.M.’s rights under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA; Gov. Code, § 12900 et seq.) and awarded her $200,000 in damages. (Gov. Code, §§ 12900-12996.) Albertsons appeals, contending that (1) its motion for nonsuit should have been granted because there was no actionable failure to accommodate A.M.; (2) the trial court erred by refusing related proposed jury instructions; and (3) the trial court erred by instructing the jury that A.M. did not bear the burden of proof that she was unusually susceptible to emotional distress injuries. We affirm the judgment.
I. FACTS
A. Incident
In 1981, at age 23, respondent A.M. left her home in El Salvador after civil war broke out there. She came to live in the United States. In 1987, she began working for appellant Albertsons doing various types of work. In 1999, she began working in the Fairfax store. By January 2003, she was either working in the meat and deli department or she was checking.
In January 2003, A.M. was off work on medical leave because she had been diagnosed with cancer of the tonsils and larynx. She underwent chemotherapy and…