Etter

In this action for racial harassment in the workplace, the sole issue raised on appeal is whether the trial court erred in instructing the jury that “occasional, isolated, sporadic, or trivial” acts of racial harassment are not actionable. We conclude that the instruction was not erroneous, and we affirm the judgment in favor of defendant.

Procedural History

Plaintiff brought an action for damages under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (Gov. Code, § 12900 et seq.) alleging that he had been subjected to racial harassment and discrimination while working for defendant Veriflo Corporation. A jury trial was held, and the jury returned a unanimous verdict in favor of defendant. In particular, the jury responded “no” to the following question on the special verdict form: “Question No. 1: Did Plaintiff Robert Etter prove by a preponderance of the evidence that (1) he was subjected to intentional and unwelcome conduct of a racial nature by Anita Grigsby; (2) the conduct complained of was based on race; (3) a reasonable person of Plaintiff’s race would have found the racial conduct complained of to be sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of the…