Hughes

MEMORANDUM *

Defendant U.S. Foodservice (“USF”) appeals the district court’s judgment and award of damages in favor of Plaintiff Craig Hughes following a bench trial. Hughes cross-appeals the district court’s reduction of his damages award by the amount he received in disability payments and its exclusion of computer research expenses from the calculation of attorneys’ fees. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . As to USF’s appeal, we affirm. As to Hughes’s cross-appeal, we reverse and remand.

I. The district court did not err in holding USF liable under section 12940(m) of California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).

FEHA section 12940(m) provides that, once an employer is aware that an employee is disabled, it is unlawful for that employer to fail reasonably to accommodate the employee’s disability. 1 Thus, USF had a duty to accommodate Hughes reasonably. 2 The district court properly held that USF violated its duty after finding that Hughes was able to perform the essential functions of the new customer service position from home and that a work-at-home arrangement would not cause USF undue hardship.

The district court reasonably found that Hughes could…