Mooney

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff Valerie Mooney appeals from a judgment entered after the trial court granted the motion of her former employer, defendant County of *868 Orange (the County), for summary adjudication on her causes of action for violations of Government Code sections 31725 and 31721, subdivision (a). (All further statutory references are to the Government Code unless otherwise specified.) Mooney contends the trial court erroneously interpreted these sections in concluding neither applied to the County.

We affirm. Mooney’s claims fail as a matter of law because the undisputed facts show that Mooney was neither “dismissed” by the County because of a disability, within the meaning of section 31725, nor “separate[dj” from employment by the County, within the meaning of section 31721, subdivision (a). Both of these statutes refer to duties of an employer which are triggered by its actions. We hold that in the context of these statutes, “dismissed” and “separate[dj” share the same meaning.

UNDISPUTED FACTS

In November 1990, Mooney was hired by the County as a deputy probation counselor. On June 22, 2004, while pushing a linen cart, Mooney suffered a lumbar disc injury…