Francisco Vasquez v. County of Los Angeles, Erroneously Sued as Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors

dissenting:

I respectfully dissent. Today, the majority reaches beyond the facts of this casé and imposes a new requirement on Title VII claimants to show the objective adversity of a discriminatory employment action, thereby narrowing the scope of Title VII’s protections. In addition, the majority erroneously holds that Francisco Vasquez (“Vasquez”) was unable to make a prima facie case of retaliation, finding no causal link between the protected activity and the adverse employment action despite the evidence Vasquez offered. Alternatively, they hold that Vasquez was unable to show that his employer’s stated reason for the transfer was pre-textual. Finally, the majority errs in dismissing Vasquez’ hostile work environment claim as a matter of law. In so doing, it improperly downplays the pervasiveness of the hostile environment created by the ongoing harassing conduct of Kelly Berglund (“Berglund”) and wholly fails to address the role that Vasquez’ employer played in sanctioning, rather than correcting, the harassment in violation of Title VII.

I. Disparate Treatment Claim

I disagree with the majority’s conclusion that Vasquez has not proffered sufficient evidence for a…

307 F.3d 884 Francisco VASQUEZ, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, erroneously sued as Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Defendant-Appellee. No. 00-56803. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted December 4, 2001. Filed September 30, 2002. COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED Susan D. Salisbury, Rosemead, CA, for the appellant. Barry M. Wolf, Greines, Martin, Stein & Richland, LLP, Beverly Hills, CA, for the appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California; Margaret M. Morrow, District Judge, Presiding. D.C. No. CV-99-08542-MMM. Before FERGUSON, T.G. NELSON, and W. FLETCHER, Circuit Judges. Opinion by Judge T.G. NELSON; Dissent by Judge FERGUSON T.G. NELSON, Circuit Judge. 1 Francisco Vasquez, a deputy probation officer at a Los Angeles County youth detention center, brought this action against the County, alleging that the County violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act by discriminating against him on the basis of his national origin, subjecting him to a hostile work environment, and retaliating against him for filing discrimination charges. The district court…

Opinion by Judge T.G. NELSON; Dissent by Judge FERGUSON

Francisco Vasquez, a deputy probation officer at a Los Angeles County youth detention center, brought this action against the County, alleging that the County violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act by discriminating against him on the basis of his national origin, subjecting him to a hostile work environment, and retaliating against him for filing discrimination charges. The district court granted the County’s summary judgment motion, and Vasquez appeals. We affirm the district court.

I.

Francisco Vasquez is ■ a Deputy Probation Officer, Level I (DPO I), who works for the County of Los Angeles at its Dorothy Kirby Center (DKC). DKC is a detention facility for youth who have committed less serious crimes. The youth live at DKC in various cottages, and the DPOs are assigned to a particular cottage or to the field, where they rotate between cottages. ' Vasquez was assigned to “turquoise cottage” during the eyents that led to this lawsuit.

Kelly Berglund was employed at DKC as a DPO II, and was also assigned to turquoise cottage. A DPO II has more supervisory responsibilities and takes on more complex cases than a DPO I.…