In November 2012, plaintiff Rose Espiritu, a health facilities evaluator nurse with the California Department of Public Health, filed a workers’ compensation claim as a result of carpal tunnel syndrome. Espiritu claimed that her supervisors harassed her for requesting various accommodations and that the department failed to determine what accommodations it could provide. She also claimed that the department retaliated against her. Espiritu sued California Department of Public Health. She alleged that California Department of Public Health’s actions constituted disability discrimination, failure to engage in the interactive process, workplace harassment, and retaliation. Espiritu claimed that her supervisors subjected her to disability discrimination as a result of her injury by verbally harassing her for requesting various accommodations and by interfering with her ergonomic evaluation, which was necessary to explore accommodations for her injury. She also claimed that the department failed to engage in the interactive process with her to determine what appropriate accommodations it could provide. In addition, she claimed that she was retaliated against for filing a workers’ compensation claim due to her injury and for making a whistleblower complaint to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid relating to the improper closing of complaints involving nursing homes. Prior to trial, the court granted summary adjudication as to Espiritu’s claim of failure to engage in the interactive process, finding that the department did engage in the interactive process. The court found that even though the department did not arrange for the specific voice recognition software that Espiritu wanted, it did provide reasonable accommodation in the form of modified work agreements that incorporated Espiritu’s medical restrictions, as well as an ergonomic assessment and ergonomic equipment. The court further found that the department accommodated Espiritu by ultimately granting a leave of absence, on which Espiritu remained at the time of trial. Thus, the matter proceeded to trial on Espiritu’s claims of discrimination and retaliation. Defense counsel argued that the department took no personnel actions against Espiritu and that the department accommodated Espiritu with time-off to obtain medical treatment. In addition, counsel argued that Espiritu could come back to work as soon as she was released to do so by her doctors., Espiritu sought recovery of damages for her alleged emotional distress as a result of the alleged discrimination and retaliation. She also sought recovery of past and future economic damages for her time off from work.