Hatai

Plaintiff and appellant Kenneth Hatai (Hatai) appeals a judgment following jury verdicts in favor of his employer, defendant and respondent the People of the State of California, acting by and through the Department of Transportation (Caltrans), and his supervisor, defendant and respondent Sameer Haddadeen (Haddadeen).

In this employment discrimination case, Hatai alleged he was discriminated against because of Japanese ancestry and Asian race. At trial, Hatai sought to prove his discrimination claim by showing that Haddadeen, of Arab ancestry, discriminated against any employee who was not of Arab descent. The trial court disallowed Hatai’s broad theory but allowed Hatai to present evidence of anti-Asian animus. We perceive no prejudicial error and affirm the judgment.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

1. Facts.

Haddadeen was the office chief of the Caltrans Office of Traffic Investigations (OTI) in the district office located in Los Angeles. He supervised a number of senior traffic engineers (STE’s), including Hatai. Haddadeen, in turn, was supervised by Frank Quon, deputy district director for operations; Quon reported to the chief deputy district director, Raja…