A Primer on Employment Discrimination & Sexual Harassment

ABSTRACT: With regard to Miller, Jane Kingsley v. City of Carmel-by-the-Sea et al. (M99513), information links are provided on Sex-Based Discrimination, Age-Based Discrimination, Sexual Harassment and Retaliation. NOTES involving the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, the City of Pacific Grove and former Pacific Grove Police Chief Scott Miller are presented. A COMMENT is made regarding the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea’s failure to investigate employment discrimination and sexual harassment allegations promptly and apparent failure to proactively implement an anti-employment discrimination and anti-sexual harassment policy.

In Miller, Jane Kingsley v. City of Carmel-by-the-Sea et al. (M99513), Miller alleges sex-based discrimination, age-based discrimination, sexual harassment and retaliation in the workplace.

Information (links) on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Sex-Based Discrimination, Age-Based Discrimination, Sexual Harassment and Retaliation is provided, as follows:

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin.

Sex-Based Discrimination
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects individuals against employment discrimination on the basis of sex as well as race, color, national origin, and religion.

Age Discrimination
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) protects individuals who are 40 years of age or older from employment discrimination based on age.

Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

SEXUAL HARASSMENT

Retaliation
An employer may not fire, demote, harass or otherwise "retaliate" against an individual for filing a charge of discrimination, participating in a discrimination proceeding, or otherwise opposing discrimination.

NOTES:
• The Fair Employment and Housing act (FEHA), at Government Code section 12965, subdivision (b), requires that individuals must exhaust their administrative remedies with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing by filing a complaint and obtaining a "right-to-sue notice" from the Department before filing a lawsuit under the FEHA.

The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing gave Jane Miller “the right to sue the city,” after Miller filed a complaint in July 2008, according to reporting in The Carmel Pine Cone.

•In contrast to the inactions of the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea, the City of Pacific Grove, under City Manager Jim Colangelo, hired an attorney to conduct an investigation into a police officer’s claims of discrimination, harassment and retaliation and issue a report regarding the allegations in 2007, according to reporting by The Carmel Pine Cone. In fact, City Manager Jim Colangelo stated “I want to get the facts,” “I want to know if these allegations are true. If they are true, there will be consequences for the people involved. We don’t tolerate this type of behavior.” Moreover, Mayor Dan Cort stated the City “won’t tolerate discrimination." “I can tell you that the City of Pacific Grove does not condone discrimination or harassment based on one’s race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation.”

• In 2003, Scott Miller, husband of Jane Miller, was fired as Pacific Grove police chief; after his firing by City Manager Ross Hubbard, Miller filed a wrongful termination claim against Pacific Grove (M69049, Miller, Scott vs. City of Pacific Grove) and was awarded a “substantial sum,” according to reporting by The Carmel Pine Cone. Scott Miller’s attorney was also attorney Michael Stamp.

COMMENT:
• Since the 20 May 2008 letter from Jane Miller’s attorney Michael Stamp to the Mayor Sue McCloud and City Council Members notifying them of City Administrator Rich Guillen’s behavior and seeking prompt action in response, the City apparently failed to respond and failed to investigate Miller’s allegations of employment discrimination and sexual harassment promptly. Accordingly, the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea appears to not be committed to investigate allegations of employment discrimination and sexual harassment promptly, maintain confidentiality, and prohibit retaliation against employees who report incidents.