Nursing Student Protected from Harassment under FEHA

The California Court of Appeal in the Fourth Appellate District recently held that a nursing student who was required to participate in clinical rotations was protected by FEHA when her rotation supervisor allegedly harassed her. 

The case focused on the fact that, in addition to employees, FEHA protects “unpaid interns.”  The employe – a community college – argued that the plaintiff was a student, not an unpaid intern, and therefore not protected by FEHA.  The trial court agreed.

In reversing, the Court of Appeal pointed to various expressions of legislative intent that “unpaid interns” and “students” often overlap, holding:  “[A] postsecondary nursing student like [Plaintiff] doing a clinical rotation at a hospital qualifies as an ‘unpaid intern’ under FEHA.  Her student status does not deprive her of FEHA protection.”   

Note:  after the plaintiff complained, the College investigated and confirmed that her rotation supervisor had been sexually harassing her and another female student.

The case establishes an important protection for a vulnerable group of student interns who often (as in the present case) face a power imbalance with supervisors that creates risk of sexual harassment.  The case is Walton v. Victor Valley Community College District, and is available here.

Posted by William Jhaveri-Weeks and Sofia Schnurer