The state Supreme Court on Thursday split the proverbial baby in a highly watched mixed-motive employment case, ruling that a termination based on both discriminatory and legitimate reasons can trigger attorney fees and declaratory or injunctive relief but not damages, back pay or reinstatement.
In Harris v. City of Santa Monica, employers had argued that they shouldn’t be held liable unless workers could show that they wouldn’t have been fired "but for" discrimination. But in a 6-0 ruling, the high court said that if discrimination was a "substantial" factor in a worker’s termination, an employer shouldn’t escape all liability, even if the firing was tied to legitimate shortcomings.
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