Escamilla-Vera

INTRODUCTION

Gina Escamilla-Vera sued her supervisor and employer for age and national origin discrimination under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA; Gov. Code,1 § 12900 et seq.). Her employer moved for summary judgment on the ground it had fewer than five employees such that it was not an “ ‘[e]mployer’ ” within the meaning of section 12926, subdivision (d). In opposition, Escamilla-Vera presented evidence the employer had purportedly voluntarily agreed to comply with FEHA and argued it created a triable dispute as to whether the employer was, in fact, subject to the FEHA. The trial court rejected her position. We affirm the trial court’s entry of summary judgment because Escamilla-Vera fails to establish that such an agreement could support the imposition of liability under FEHA. Finding no abuse of discretion in the court’s decision to deny the supervisor and employer’s motion for attorney fees, we further affirm its order denying fees on the cross appeal.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The San Ysidro Improvement Corporation is a non-profit organization that, since 2017, has done business as the San Ysidro Chamber of Commerce (the Chamber). Its mission…