In September 2012, plaintiff Betty Ruelas, 54, an office assistant for the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District, returned to work after taking an extended leave to care for her ailing husband and father. Ruelas claimed that upon her return, she was subjected to harassing and discriminatory actions by her supervisors until she was forced to retire in 2013. Ruelas sued Hacienda La Puente Unified School District and her supervisors, Cynthia Parulan-Colfer and William Roberts. Ruelas alleged that the defendants’ actions constituted discrimination due to her leave under the California Family Rights Act and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. She also alleged that the defendants’ actions constituted harassment due to her disability, retaliation on the basis of her disability, whistleblower retaliation, and wrongful constructive termination. The matter ultimately continued against the school district only. Ruelas contended that in April 2010, she took leave to care for her terminally ill husband, followed by another leave to care for her dying father. She claimed that once she returned to work, she reported suspicious and illegal activity taking place in the office, but that after reporting it, she became the target of a series of harassing and discriminatory actions by her supervisors. Ruelas alleged that her supervisors and coworkers engaged in a series of increasingly malicious acts, such as placing her in stressful situations, yelling at her, and frequently making negative comments about her. She alleged that these actions demonstrated discriminatory motivations. Ruelas further claimed that the behavior continued to escalate, causing her humiliation, emotional distress, and mental and physical pain and anguish. She alleged that as a result, she decided to retire early in 2013, at the age of 54, instead of following her career plan, which was to work until she was 65. Defense counsel denied all of Ruelas’ allegations, and denied that the school district engaged in any discrimination or other unlawful act. Counsel also denied Ruelas’ allegation that her employment was constructively terminated., Ruelas worked for the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District since 1991. However, she claimed that after return from her leave, she suffered undue emotional duress and overwhelming stress due to the escalating treatment toward her from September 2012 until her retirement on July 5, 2013. Ruelas alleged that as a result, she developed health issues such as stress-induced hives covering her eyelids, depression, and other stress- and anxiety-related issues, which ultimately a forced early retirement in 2013. Defense counsel denied that the school district caused any of Ruelas’ alleged damages and contested the amount of damages Ruelas’ sought.