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May 31, 2005 PRESS RELEASE - FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE DENIAL OF CLASS CERTIFICATION CONCERNING EMPLOYEES’ RIGHT TO CLASS ACTION LAW SUIT AGAINST HOSPITAL FOR VIOLATING FAIR
EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS REVERSED BY APPELLATE COURT JOB APPLICANTS WERE REQUIRED TO DIVULGE
REPRODUCTIVE DYSFUNCTIONS, INFERTILITY, PREGNANCY, VENEREAL DISEASE, STILL BORN
BIRTHS, AND MISCARRIAGES IN ORDER TO GET A JOB The Fourth Appellate District
Court of Appeal recently reversed the trials courts’ denial of class action
certification in the case of Grace Fontana v. St. Joseph Hospital of
Orange, (Superior Court Case No. 03CC02559), arising out of the
Hospital’s policy and practice of requiring each and every
job applicant to reveal personal and intimate details about their private
lives
in order to receive employment. See
OPINION After offering employment to job applicants, the Hospital required individuals to answer questions such as whether the applicant had ever had: (1) venereal disease; (2) taken birth control pills; (3) problems with infertility; (4) children with birth defects; (5) stillborn children; (6) fetuses/unborn children with birth defects; (7) miscarriages; (8) problems with pregnancies; or (9) problems with menstrual periods; (10) problems with urination; (11) seen a counselor, psychiatrist or psychologist and (12) cancer of any kind.” The Appellate Court ruled: “Recognizing plaintiff’s theory that many questions ... are not related to any job at the hospital, and there is no business necessity to ask these questions, it is somewhat difficult to understand why a class cannot be certified, at least for the purpose of establishing whether or not there is classwide liability entitling the class to injunctive relief.” Ms. Fontana’s attorney, Gregory D. Helmer, of HELMER · FRIEDMAN LLP, stated: "For years, the hospital forced thousands of applicants to answer these horribly invasive questions in order to get a job. Now, these individuals may have an efficient way to correct the harm that has been done to them." |