Raines v. U.S. Healthworks Medical Group

Summary

The court held that the California Fair Employment and Housing Act permits a business-entity agent of an employer to be directly liable as an employer for employment discrimination when the agent has at least five employees and performs FEHA-regulated activities on the employer's behalf. The court reached that conclusion based on the statutory text, legislative history, analogous federal authorities, and the FEHA's remedial purposes. The court did not resolve the significance of employer control over the agent or whether the rule applies to agents with fewer than five employees.