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Miller v. Dep't of Corrections7/18/2005
Plaintiffs, two former employees at the Valley State Prison for Women, claim that the warden of the prison at which they were employed accorded unwarranted favorable treatment to numerous female employees with whom the warden was having sexual affairs, and that such conduct constituted sexual harassment in violation of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). (Gov. Code, § 12900 et seq.) The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of defendants, concluding that the conduct in question did not support a claim of sexual harassment, and the Court of Appeal affirmed. We must determine whether, in light of the evidence presented in support of and in opposition to the summary judgment motion, the lower courts properly found that plaintiffs failed to present a prima facie case of sexual harassment under the FEHA.
For the reasons explained below, we conclude that, although an isolated instance of favoritism on the part of a supervisor toward a female employee with whom the supervisor is conducting a consensual sexual affair ordinarily would not constitute sexual harassment, when such sexual favoritism in a workplace is sufficiently widespread it may create an actionable hostile work environment in which the demeaning message is conveyed to female employees that they are viewed by management as "sexual playthings" or that the way required for women to get ahead in the workplace is by engaging in sexual conduct with their supervisors or the management. We further conclude that, contrary to the Court of Appeal's determination, the evidence presented in the summary judgment proceedings was sufficient to establish a prima facie case of sexual harassment under the appropriate legal standard, and thus that the Court of Appeal erred in affirming the trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of defendants. Accordingly, we shall reverse the judgment rendered by the Court of Appeal.
I.
On June 15, 1999, plaintiffs Edna Miller and Frances Mackey brought this action against the California Department of Corrections (Department), the Valley State Prison for Women, Cal Terhune as Director of the Department, and various unnamed persons (all of whom shall be referred to collectively as the Department or defendants). In their first cause of action, Miller and Mackey alleged that during their employment with the Department, they were subjected to sexual discrimination and harassment in violation of the FEHA. They also alleged that defendants retaliated against them for complaining about the discrimination and harassment.
On August 17, 2001, the trial court granted defendants' motion for summary adjudication of issues with respect to plaintiff Miller, except as to her claim for disability discrimination. The court also granted summary judgment in favor of defendants with respect to plaintiff Mackey. Miller voluntarily dismissed her complaint as to her remaining cause of action for disability discrimination, and judgment was entered in favor of defendants. This appeal followed.
The declarations, deposition transcripts, and other evidence submitted in support of and in opposition to defendants' motion for summary judgment and for summary adjudication of issues disclose the following facts.
A.
Plaintiff Edna Miller began working for the Department as a correctional officer in 1983. In 1994, while she was employed at the Central California Women's Facility (CCWF), she heard from other employees of the Department that the chief deputy warden of the facility, Lewis Kuykendall, was having sexual affairs with his secretary, Kathy Bibb, and with another subordinate, associate warden Debbie Patrick. In her declaration, Miller stated th
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