Zamora v. Security Industry Specialists, Inc.
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Zamora sued his former employer, SIS, under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) (Gov. Code 12900) for employment discrimination based on physical disability, failure to make a reasonable accommodation, failure to engage in the interactive process, retaliation, wrongful termination, and other claims after SIS laid him off while he was recovering from an industrial injury. The trial court granted summary adjudication of all but two causes of action. The parties later stipulated to dismiss the remaining claims, and the court entered judgment for SIS.
The court of appeal reversed the summary adjudication of the disability discrimination, wrongful termination in violation of FEHA, and wrongful termination in violation of public policy claims. Zamora suffered from a qualifying disability under the FEHA based on his workplace knee injury. FEHA requires employers to make reasonable accommodation for the known disabilities of employees and applicants to enable them to perform the essential functions of a position unless doing so would produce undue hardship to the employer’s operation. The evidence here raises triable issues of fact as to whether Zamora could have worked in another position at SIS with his restrictions and whether he was discharged because of his disability. Zamora presented substantial evidence of pretext or discriminatory intent.
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