Opinion ID: 705181
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Relevance of the Judson and Shoemaker Decisions

Text: 56 Because the workers' compensation provisions were enacted prior to the FEHA to provide a specific remedy for employer discrimination based on work-related injuries, the California Supreme Court, prior to the 1992 amendments to the FEHA, interpreted Labor Code Sec. 132a broadly as the exclusive remedy for any type of employer discrimination against workers because of injuries occurring in the course of and arising out of their employment. Judson Steel Corp. v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Bd., 22 Cal.3d 658, 150 Cal.Rptr. 250, 586 P.2d 564 (1978); accord, Palmer v. Roadway Express, Inc., 664 F.Supp. 458 (N.D.Cal.1987); see Labor Code Secs. 3600-3602 and Sec. 132a. Several California appellate courts held specifically that the workers' compensation laws preclude a cause of action based on the physical disability provisions of the FEHA. See, e.g., Denney v. Universal City Studios, Inc., 10 Cal.App.4th 1226, 13 Cal.Rptr.2d 170 (1992); Fortner v. Safeway Stores, Inc., 229 Cal.App.3d 542, 280 Cal.Rptr. 409 (1991), review denied (1991); Pickrel v. General Telephone Co., 205 Cal.App.3d 1058, 252 Cal.Rptr. 878 (1988), review denied (1989). 57 We cannot, however, decide whether workers' compensation provides the exclusive remedy for discrimination based on work-related injury without considering the California Supreme Court's decision in Shoemaker v. Myers, 52 Cal.3d 1, 276 Cal.Rptr. 303, 801 P.2d 1054 (1990), and its progeny. Elaborating on its opinion in Cole v. Fair Oaks Fire Protection Dist., 43 Cal.3d 148, 233 Cal.Rptr. 308, 729 P.2d 743 (1987), the court exempted employer conduct that does not stem[ ] from a risk reasonably encompassed within the compensation bargain from the workers' compensation exclusive remedy provisions. Shoemaker, 276 Cal.Rptr. at 313, 801 P.2d at 1064. The court has since applied the Shoemaker test to find that several types of conduct may fall within the exception to workers' compensation exclusivity. See, e.g., Fermino v. Fedco, Inc., 7 Cal.4th 701, 30 Cal.Rptr.2d 18, 872 P.2d 559 (1994) (holding that a claim of false imprisonment by an employer is always outside the scope of the compensation bargain); Gantt v. Sentry Ins., 1 Cal.4th 1083, 4 Cal.Rptr.2d 874, 824 P.2d 680 (1992) (holding that a claim for retaliatory dismissal for supporting a coworker's claim of sexual harassment is not precluded by workers' compensation remedies); Livitsanos v. Superior Court, 2 Cal.4th 744, 7 Cal.Rptr.2d 808, 816, 828 P.2d 1195, 1203 (1992) (suggesting that an employee's emotional distress injury may fall outside the exclusivity provisions). 58 The California appellate courts, in cases decided after the Shoemaker decision, have specifically held that the workers' compensation provisions preclude a cause of action pursuant to the physical disability provisions of the FEHA. See, e.g., Langridge v. Oakland Unified School District, 25 Cal.App.4th 664, 31 Cal.Rptr.2d 34, 36 (1994) (finding that discrimination based on a work-related physical disability is a risk included in the compensation bargain); Angell v. Peterson Tractor, Inc., 21 Cal.App.4th 981, 26 Cal. Rptr.2d 541 (1994) (finding that workers' compensation provides the exclusive remedy for an employee with a work-related heart condition who was discharged wrongfully), review denied (1994); Usher v. American Airlines, Inc., 20 Cal.App.4th 1520, 25 Cal.Rptr.2d 335 (1993) (finding that workers' compensation provides the exclusive remedy for an employee claiming constructive termination because of a work-related injury), review denied (1994). These courts grounded their interpretation on the specificity of the workers' compensation provisions and the decision by the legislature to place[ ] work-related disability discrimination within the scope of the workers' compensation laws. Langridge, 31 Cal.Rptr.2d at 36. 8 These recent appellate court decisions are persuasive. 59