Caldera v. Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

Augustine Caldera (plaintiff) spoke with a stutter. Caldera had worked as a correctional officer at a California state prison for 20 years. In 2006, Caldera began working in the prison’s administrative-segregation unit, which housed inmates with disciplinary or mental-health issues. Sergeant James Grove, another correctional employee who worked in Caldera’s unit, began mocking Caldera’s stutter. Grove frequently repeated Caldera’s stuttered words back to him in the presence of other employees. On one occasion, Grove mocked Caldera over the prison’s radio system. On September 2, 2008, Caldera, Grove, and the prison’s chief psychologist were together in a hallway with 24 other officers during a shift change. Caldera said something to Grove, and Grove responded, “F-f-f-f-f**k you.” Caldera threatened to file a complaint against Grove, and he responded, “I don’t give a F-f-f-. . . .” The following week, Caldera filed a complaint against Grove with the prison’s Equal Employment Opportunity office. Grove continued to mimic and mock Caldera’s stutter. Caldera then sued the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (defendant) in state court, alleging claims including disability harassment. At trial, Caldera testified that the mocking was demeaning, embarrassing, harmful, and hurtful. The chief psychologist testified that he witnessed prison employees mocking Caldera’s stutter on 12 occasions and described a “culture of joking” at the prison about Caldera’s stutter. The psychologist testified that the mocking was at times mean-spirited and harmful. Another psychologist testified that Caldera had experienced psychological disorders stemming from the mocking. The jury also heard from another prison employee who witnessed Grove openly mocking Caldera’s stutter during a training program for prison supervisors. The jury found that Caldera was subjected to severe, pervasive, and unwanted harassment based on his disability and awarded him $500,000 in noneconomic damages. The department appealed to the California Court of Appeal.