Surrell

I. BACKGROUND

Cal Water is a wholly owned subsidiary of California Water Service Group, a privately owned company that pro- vides water service to businesses and consumers in communi- ties throughout California. Surrell, an African-American woman, began employment as a customer-service representa- tive in the company’s Stockton District in January 1997. Cox was the Office Manager and Surrell’s supervisor. Surrell’s job duties included answering phones, performing data entry, fil- ing records, and dispatching work orders. In 1998, Surrell bid on and received, based on her seniority at Cal Water, a higher-level customer-service position. At all times during her employment with Cal Water, she was a member of the Utility Workers Union of American AFL-CIO, which had a collective-bargaining agreement with Cal Water. Under this agreement, vacant or newly created positions were open for bid by current employees and filled based on seniority. But temporary jobs that would not last longer than 120 days were filled at management’s discretion, without regard to seniority. The agreement also provided that Cal Water could submit employees to drug testing if they appeared impaired. 2332 …