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Choosing Between Administrative Remedies: A Procedural 'No Brainer'

C. Christine Maloney Esq., Renne, Sloan, Holtzman & Sakai

Article comments

This article appeared in California Public Employee Relations (CPER), No. 170 (February 2005). For more information, go to http://cper.berkeley.edu.

Abstract

Aggrieved employees may find the road to the courthouse has become a lot shorter following two recent California court decisions. Employees claiming discrimination under the Fair Employment and Housing Act are not required to exhaust their employer’s internal administrative remedies on FEHA claims or, apparently, on non-FEHA claims that have issues in common with a FEHA claim. Once an employee with a FEHA discrimination claim obtains a right-to-sue letter, the employee has the right-of-way to the courthouse and cannot be slowed down by the employer’s internal dispute resolution processes.

Of course, employees still may choose to proceed with an employer’s internal appeal process, but doing so may imperil their ability to bring FEHA and related claims in a court action if the administrative decision does not go their way. This is because the rule conferring finality on administrative decisions — unless the decision is set aside in a mandamus proceeding — remains intact. The potential for preclusion in subsequent litigation makes it an easy decision for an employee with a viable FEHA claim to forgo the employer’s internal process.

Subject Area

Administrative Law, Employment Practice, Labor Law, Legislation, Politics, Practice and Procedure

Recommended Citation

C. Christine Maloney Esq., "Choosing Between Administrative Remedies: A Procedural 'No Brainer'" (February 2005). California Public Employee Relations (CPER) Papers. CPER Selected Publications. Working Paper 10.
http://law.bepress.com/cperselect/papers/art10

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