Saucedo v. County of Humboldt CA1/4

Filed 11/7/25 Saucedo v. County of Humboldt CA1/4 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FOUR

JESUS SAUCEDO, A172746 Plaintiff and Appellant, v. (Humboldt County COUNTY OF HUMBOLDT. Super. Ct. No. CV2400105)

Defendant and Respondent.

This dispute arises from the termination of Jesus Saucedo’s employment as an office assistant for the County of Humboldt (the County). The trial court sustained the County’s demurrer to Saucedo’s third amended complaint (complaint) without leave to amend. We reverse. BACKGROUND The County hired Saucedo to work as an Office Assistant I in its Department of Health and Human Services in July 2015. An August 1990 description of the position, which she attached as an exhibit to the complaint, listed a number of “[i]llustrative” duties of Office Assistants I and II, including acting as a receptionist, receiving and screening visitors and telephone calls, taking messages, providing information regarding County activities, typing correspondence, preparing reports and meeting materials, proofreading materials, entering data, maintaining records, processing forms, and taking notes for meetings, among others. The description further stated

that specific duties of the Office Assistant II position, including “contact with the public,” would “vary with the organizational unit to which assigned.” A July 2003 description, also attached as an exhibit to the complaint, similarly set forth a long list of examples of typical duties an office assistant “may” have to perform, such as assisting the public in person or by phone, answering inquiries related to department services, scheduling appointments, researching information, processing mail, and maintaining records and files. Shortly after Saucedo was hired, the County asked her to attend and take minutes at meetings on a couple of occasions. Saucedo did not feel adequately trained for this task and experienced anxiety and panic attack symptoms as a result. Saucedo saw her doctor, who issued a note stating that Saucedo was experiencing symptoms of anxiety that were triggered by taking meeting minutes. Saucedo’s medical provider requested that Saucedo be excused from taking meeting minutes, and the County accommodated this request. Saucedo worked from 2015 to 2019 with this accommodation and, in July 2016, was promoted from Office Assistant I to Office Assistant II. However, her anxiety symptoms were triggered once again in 2019 when the County transferred her to another physical location and required her to make scripted telephone calls to clients. In response, the County allowed Saucedo to work with clients by mail only from May to August 2019. During this time, Saucedo’s supervisor told her that her situation had been discussed with the department’s Program Manager but the Program Manager believed Saucedo was “ ‘faking her symptoms.’ ” Saucedo’s supervisor suggested that Saucedo obtain a note from her medical provider. Around June 2019, Saucedo’s doctor sent a letter asking that Saucedo’s work