News Notes: Court Applies Reasonableness Standard For Adverse Employment Actions

Francisco Vasquez, a Los Angeles County probation officer, sued the county for discrimination and retaliation after he was involuntarily transferred and a warning letter was placed in his personnel file. The federal Ninth Circuit threw out Vasquez’s lawsuit, however, finding neither act was an adverse employment action. The transfer wasn’t adverse simply because Vasquez preferred his original position. The correct focus, said the court, is on whether a reasonable person would find the transfer an adverse employment action—which wasn’t so in this case because the new position had the same pay, hours and responsibilities. And the warning letter didn’t amount to an adverse action because it was simply intended to let him know he did something wrong and was to be removed from the file after just one year.