Richey v. Autonation, Inc.

Opinion

CHIN, J.

An employer terminated an employee who was absent on approved medical leave, but engaged in outside employment in violation of company policy. After an 11-day arbitration hearing, the arbitrator relied on the federal “honest belief’ defense and rejected the employee’s claim that the employer violated the employee’s right to reinstatement under the Moore-Brown-Roberti Family Rights Act (CFRA) (Gov. Code, §§ 12945.1, 12945.2) and its federal counterpart, the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) (29 U.S.C. §§ 2601-2654). The trial court confirmed the arbitrator’s award, but…