In Glynn v. Superior Court (Allergan), the Court looked at the corporate mindset when firing an employee.  There, a temporary corporate benefits staffer mistakenly thought an employee had transitioned from short term disability (STD) to long term disability (LTD) and was unable to work with or without an accommodation. She fired him. The terminated employee tried to correct the misunderstandings, but for months the corporation ignored his efforts. The issue was whether this was direct evidence of disability discrimination under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). The trial court granted defendant’s motion for summary adjudication of the employee’s disability discrimination cause of action, as well as other related causes of actions. The Court of Appeal reversed. It held that even if the mistakes were reasonable and made in good faith, a lack of animus does not preclude liability for a disability discrimination claim.  Accordingly, this was direct evidence of disability discrimination—he was terminated because the company mistakenly believed he was totally disabled and unable to work. This was enough to defeat a motion for summary adjudication.

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