LA County Settles Disability Discrimination Case $175K

Case Background

Valerie Busch, an individual Plaintiff, commenced legal action against the County of Los Angeles in July 2021. The Plaintiff had served as an employee of the County and brought the lawsuit forward after she asserted that her employer had subjected her to discriminatory practices. The core of her complaint maintained that the County had failed to meet its legal obligations concerning her medical condition, leading to her eventual termination. The high-stakes employment case progressed through the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, Central District, initially assigned to the Honorable Holly J. Fujie.

Cause

The Plaintiff filed her original complaint on July 28, 2021, on the basis of alleged violations of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). The lawsuit established that Ms. Busch had suffered from a qualifying physical disability that required the County to offer reasonable workplace modifications, or accommodations, to allow her to continue her work effectively. Her filing made clear that the County possessed an enforceable duty to engage in a good-faith interactive process to determine suitable accommodations. Ms. Busch claimed the County repeatedly refused to provide the necessary support, thereby breaching its duty. This inaction, the Plaintiff asserted, constituted both a failure to accommodate and unlawful disability discrimination.

Injury

Throughout the litigation, the Plaintiff consistently maintained that she endured significant physical and emotional distress because of the County’s conduct. The complaint detailed that the stress and the resultant loss of employment severely impacted her health and necessitated ongoing medical and psychological treatment. The Plaintiff’s legal team argued that the County’s actions inflicted not only physical symptoms but also profound emotional suffering and