Smith v. BP Lubricants USA Inc., E073174 (May 12, 2021)
Plaintiff asserted claims for harassment, discrimination, and emotional distress based upon racist comments made during a workplace seminar held by plaintiff’s employer but conducted by another company. Plaintiff claimed that an employee of the seminar presenter made multiple offensive comments in front of many colleagues and supervisors who laughed at each of the comments. The trial court dismissed all of plaintiff’s claims without leave to amend.
The Court of Appeal upheld dismissal of the harassment claim but reversed the dismissal of the discrimination and emotional distress claims. The court held the harassment claim was based on an unsupported claim of concerted activity between the employer and the seminar presenter, and was therefore properly dismissed. But, the court held that an intentional infliction of emotional distress claim can arise from “the use of racial epithets if coupled with aggravating circumstances,” and that a plaintiff can state a valid race discrimination claim under the Unruh Act based only on alleged verbal harassment.
