Jones

FACTS

In November 2015, Costco hired Jones as a meat cutter. At the meat department where Jones worked, all the employees were men. One employee described it as a “relaxed environment” with people “‘joking around’” and talking about current news, sports, and movies. Another employee said the department had “a fraternity kind of vibe, locker room kind of vibe, [where] lots of jokes were made at the expense of everybody who worked there.” Jones, the only black person in the department, was subjected to jokes about his race. Jones was employed there until June 2018, when he was fired for eating rotisserie chicken headed for the “bone barrel,” a violation of Costco’s policy prohibiting employees from eating Costco food they didn’t buy, including product destined for the trash (the no-grazing policy). The next year, Jones filed a complaint against Costco and Tang, asserting 12 causes of action: (1) discrimination; (2) harassment; (3) retaliation; (4) failure to prevent discrimination, harassment, and retaliation; (5) failure to provide reasonable accommodations; (6) failure to engage in a good faith interactive process; (7) violation of the California Family Rights Act; (8) negligent…