Perez

Plaintiff, a nurse at Elmwood Men’s Correctional Facility (Elm-wood), sued her employer, the County of Santa Clara (County), for racial discrimination and retaliation under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). (Gov. Code, § 12940 et seq.) After a court trial, she failed to recover on her complaint. On appeal, plaintiff contends that the court erroneously converted a burden of production into a burden of persuasion by misapplying McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green (1973) 411 U.S. 792 [ 36 L.Ed.2d 668 , 93 S.Ct. 1817 ]. She further challenges a protective order restricting her access to the personnel records of other nurses at Elmwood. We find no error in the court’s application of the law and therefore affirm the judgment in the County’s favor.

The County has appealed from a postjudgment order granting plaintiff’s motion to tax costs. We agree with the County that the discretion to award costs to a prevailing defendant is not limited to cases in which the plaintiff’s action was frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation. We therefore reverse the order and remand for the court to exercise its discretion with regard to the claimed costs.

Background

Plaintiff, who…