CACI No. 2509. “Adverse Employment Action” Explained [Name of plaintiff] must prove that [he/she/nonbinary pronoun] was subjected to an adverse employment action. Adverse employment actions are not limited to ultimate actions such as termination or demotion. There is an adverse employment action if [name of defendant] has taken an action or engaged in a course or pattern of conduct that, taken as a whole, materially and adversely affected the terms, conditions, or privileges of [name of plaintiff]’s employment. An adverse employment action includes conduct that is reasonably likely to impair a reasonable employee’s job performance or prospects for advancement or promotion. However, minor or trivial actions or conduct that is not reasonably likely to do more than anger or upset an employee cannot constitute an adverse employment action.
Adverse employment actions within the context of unlawful discrimination are those which materially affect the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment. An adverse employment action “requires a `substantial adverse change in the terms and conditions of the plaintiff’s employment.’” (Holmes v. Petrovich Development Co., LLC (2011) 191 Cal.App.4th 1047, 1063.)
The inquiry as to whether an employment action is adverse requires a case-by-case determination based upon objective evidence. [Citation.]…A “`materially adverse change might be indicated by a termination of employment, a demotion evidenced by a decrease in wage or salary, a less distinguished title, a material loss of benefits, significantly diminished material responsibilities, or other indices that might be unique to a particular situation.’ [Citation.] The employment action must be both detrimental and substantial. [Citation.]” (Id. at p. 511.)
(Thomas v. Department of Corrections (2000) 77 Cal.App.4th 507, 510 – 511.)