Johnson v. United Cerebral Palsy Spastic Children's Foundation

In Johnson v. United Cerebral Palsy/Spastic Children's Foundation (2009) 173 Cal.App.4th 740, plaintiff claimed that she was fired because she was pregnant. The employer moved for summary judgment. Plaintiff submitted declarations by former employees stating that they were fired after becoming pregnant, knew of someone who was fired after becoming pregnant, or resigned after the employer learned the employee was trying to become pregnant and pressured the employee to quit. (Id., at p. 761-762.) The Court of Appeal held that the declarations were relevant and admissible. (Id., at p. 766.) "Dissimilarities between the facts related in the other employees' declarations and the facts asserted by plaintiff with regard to her own case go to the weight of the evidence, not its admissibility." (Id., at p. 767.) In Johnson v. United Cerebral Palsy/Spastic Children's Foundation (2009) the plaintiff contended she had been improperly discharged based on her pregnancy. (Id. at p. 747.) The employer presented a legitimate reason for firing Johnson based on her falsification of time records. (Ibid.) Nevertheless, the appellate court found the plaintiff had raised a triable issue of material fact regarding the true reason for her discharge because she presented the following substantial evidence of pretext or discriminatory animus: she was fired the very day after she returned from a short sick leave related to her pregnancy, she was not given a specific reason for her discharge, there was no indication her time records were previously a cause for concern, and she was never told her job performance was unsatisfactory in any way. (Id. at pp. 758-759.)