A firefighting captain's lawsuit against his department for retaliation and age discrimination has been dismissed by the court. The complaint, filed by James Tulette in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County on November 17, 2020, named the City of El Segundo and its fire chief as defendants.
James Tulette, born in October 1967, joined the El Segundo Fire Department in August 1991 and rose to the rank of captain by 2010. He participated in several voluntary activities within the department, including the Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) program, training other firefighters, and a grant committee. In January 2020, Tulette reported suspicions of fraudulent activities involving emergency response supplies to a battalion chief and later to human resources. An investigation found his allegations unfounded.
Following his report, Tulette experienced changes in his volunteer roles: he was reassigned from USAR program coordinator to advisor (a role he chose not to participate in), removed from the training cadre due to platoon reassignments by the fire chief, and ceased involvement with the grant committee. Believing these actions were retaliatory and discriminatory based on age, Tulette sued under Labor Code section 1102.5 for whistleblower retaliation and under FEHA for age discrimination.
The Department moved for summary judgment on grounds that these changes did not constitute adverse employment actions as defined by law. The trial court agreed, ruling that alterations in voluntary activities do not impact job performance or advancement opportunities materially enough to be considered adverse employment actions. Consequently, it granted summary judgment for the Department on February 21, 2023.
Tulette argued that these changes caused him emotional distress affecting his job performance and would harm his post-retirement career prospects. However, without substantial evidence showing material impact on his current job or future career beyond speculation, these claims were insufficient to establish a triable issue of material fact.
Representing Tulette were attorneys Kevin A. Lipeles, Thomas H. Schelly, and Julian Bellenghi from Lipeles Law Group. Defendants were represented by Jennifer M. Rosner, Joung H. Yim, and Marek Pienkos from Liebert Cassidy Whitmore. The trail court case was presided over by Judge Colin P. Leis under Case ID B332060.