Federal court dismisses wrongful termination, FEHA violation claim

The federal court in California granted Costco Wholesale Corp. summary judgment, dismissing an injured worker’s complaint of wrongful termination and violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act.

The court found that Costco satisfied its requirement to engage in a timely, good-faith interactive process to find a way to accommodate the disability that Margarita Zamora suffered from an occupational shoulder injury, as documented in Margarita Zamora v. Costco Wholesale Corp., filed Jan. 3 in the U.S. District Court for Northern California.

Ms. Zamora’s injury restricted her from lifting, pulling and pushing more than 10 pounds, which prevented her from returning to work as a stocker. Though Zamora suggested she could clean or do other work if the company modified the position to remove some essential functions, the court said FEHA does not require employers to create light-duty positions to accommodate disabled workers who cannot perform certain essential job functions.

“Accordingly, Costco had no duty to create a modified position where Zamora performed only the various tasks she proposed without performing any of the essential functions that were beyond her medical limitations,” the court said.

Ms. Zamora had worked at Costco for more than 10 years when, in March 2018, she fell off a ladder and injured her shoulder while stocking the electronics department of a Redwood City store warehouse. After the injury, Costco placed her in warehouse sections that required handling only small items.

Following surgery and other medical interventions, her physician in August 2020 said she had reached maximum medical improvement and could not lift, pull or push more than 10 pounds.

Ms. Zamora met with Costco officials in September 2020 to discuss accommodations, and a general manager suggested new duties but could not find one that would accommodate her disability. In January 2021, Costco terminated her employment.

In dismissing Ms. Zamora’s subsequent discrimination lawsuit, the court wrote, “Costco reasonably accommodated Zamora to try and find vacant positions that would work with her medical restrictions.”

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