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City of Moorpark v. Superior Court of Ventura County8/17/1998
costs and expenses not in excess of two hundred fifty dollars . . . . Any such employee shall also be entitled to reinstatement and reimbursement for lost wages and work benefits caused by the acts of the employer."
On its face, section 132a's remedies apply only when employers retaliate against employees for pursuing their rights under the workers' compensation law. In Judson Steel, however, we focused on the first sentence of section 132a, which declares a general policy barring discrimination against injured employees. (Judson Steel, supra, 22 Cal.3d at p. 667.) We concluded that section 132a's remedies are available whenever an employee suffers "discrimination incurred as the result of his injury " (Judson Steel, supra, 22 Cal.3d at p. 668), including discrimination based on disability (id. at p. 669).
In Portillo v. G. T. Price Products, Inc. (1982) 131 Cal.App.3d 285, 290 (Portillo), the court held that, in cases where section 132a applied, it provided an employee's exclusive remedy. The plaintiff in Portillo brought a common law wrongful discharge action, alleging her employer discharged her in retaliation for filing a workers' compensation claim. Defendant demurred, arguing that section 132a provided the plaintiff's exclusive remedy, and the trial court sustained the demurrer.
The Court of Appeal affirmed. (Portillo, supra, 131 Cal.App.3d at p. 286.) Noting that the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board had " `full . . . jurisdiction' " to resolve section 132a claims, the court found applicable the exclusive remedy provisions that apply to other workers' compensation remedies. (Portillo, supra, 131 Cal.App.3d at p. 287; see Lab. Code, §§ 3600, 3602, subd. (a).) The court emphasized the legislative compromise underlying the workers' compensation law: "The Workers' Compensation Act is designed to afford workers quick determination of their claims for injury without regard to the common law questions of liability, negligence or fault on the part of and other common law defenses available to the employer. The Legislature has balanced this imposition or burden on the employer by limiting the employee to seek redress in a single forum, the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board. On balance, the fact that the exclusivity of remedy before the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board is for the benefit of workers generally outweighs any occasional disadvantage that could be argued." (Portillo, supra, 131 Cal.App.3d at pp. 287-288, italics added.) The court also quoted Labor Code section 5300, which provides that proceedings " or the recovery of compensation, or concerning any right or liability arising out of or incidental thereto" "shall be instituted before the [Workers' Compensation] ppeals oard and not elsewhere . . . ." (Lab. Code, § 5300, subd. (a), italics added; see Portillo, supra, 131 Cal.App.3d at p. 287.) Finally, the court emphasized that section 132a addressed the precise wrong that the plaintiff alleged (Portillo, supra, 131 Cal.App.3d at pp. 288-289) and that courts should not, by enforcing a common law remedy, "say that a different rule for the particular facts should have been written by the Legislature" (id. at p. 290). Accordingly, the court held that section 132a provided the plaintiff's exclusive remedy and affirmed the judgment of dismissal. (Portillo, supra, 131 Cal.App.3d at p. 290.)
In Pickrel, the court extended Portillo to a case specifically involving disability discrimination. The plaintiff in Pickrel brought a FEHA cause of action alleging termination of her employment based on a "physical handicap." (Pickrel, supra, 205 Cal.App.3d at p. 1060.) The trial court sustained a demurrer, and the Court of Appeal affirmed. (Ibid.) Citing Portillo, supra, 131
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