A one hour course for human resources professionals and attorneys regarding how to conduct effective investigations under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).

Presenter

Timothy Muscat is the Chief of Enforcement of the Enforcement Division, the investigatory arm of the Department of Fair Employment and Housing. He oversees the Employment, Housing and Special Investigations Units, as well as all Regional and District Offices of the DFEH. Immediately prior to his current assignment, Mr. Muscat served for two years as Chief Counsel of the Department and headed the Legal Division. In this capacity, he helped develop the Department’s effective Case Grading System. Mr. Muscat also developed the investigation and prosecution of systemic discrimination cases under the reestablished Special Investigations Unit. Among other achievements, he is responsible for the Department's $6.9 million class and group action settlements with Verizon Service Corporation. In addition, he is the clinical supervisor of the DFEH-UCI and DFEH-UC Davis Schools of Law civil rights/employment discrimination programs.

Before he joined the Department, Mr. Muscat was a Deputy Attorney General IV in the Civil Rights Enforcement Section of the California Attorney General’s Office, where he represented the DFEH and the Fair Employment and Housing Commission (FEHC) in many significant cases involving novel applications of the Fair Employment and Housing Act: Fair Employ, & Hous. Com. v. Gemini Aluminum Corp. (2004) 122 Cal.App.4th 1004 (the FEHA protects an employee’s right to take time off from work to attend a religious retreat); Auburn Woods Homeowners Assoc. V. Fair Employ. & Hous. Com. (2004) 121 Cal.App.4th 1578 (a companion dog can constitute a reasonable FEHA housing accommodation); and Albertson’s v. Fair Employ. & Hous. Com. (2006) WL 147528 (Cal.App.2 Dist.) (an employee’s previous workers’ compensation settlement does not bar a subsequent FEHA action brought by DFEH).

Mr. Muscat has litigated other civil rights cases as well, including: Catholic Charities of Sacramento v. Superior Court (2004) 32 Cal.4th 527 (Women’s Contraceptive Equity Act violates neither the free exercise nor establishment clause protections provided by the California and federal constitutions); Evans v. City of Berkeley (2006) 38 Cal.4th 1 (city’s denial of a public subsidy for an organization that would not follow a local anti-discrimination ordinance does not violate the free speech and association protections provided by the California and federal constitutions); and Lockyer v. City and County of San Francisco (2004) 33 Cal.4th 1055 (city mayor exceeds his authority when he orders city officials to issue same-sex marriage licenses in violation of state law). Moreover, he has a wealth of experience in complex and high profile civil litigation, major class action litigation, state and federal court jury trials, alternative dispute resolution and investigations representing the Governor, Attorney General, other constitutional officers and state agencies in the Government Law, Indian Gaming and Correctional Law Sections. In addition, prior to joining the Attorney General’s Office, he was a civil litigator in two private firms.

A graduate of U.C. Davis and its Law School, Mr. Muscat has also been an adjunct professor at the University of Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, supervising clinical appellate advocacy workshops and judging oral advocacy final exams.

Participants Will Receive

Certificate of Participation

One hour MCLE credit

One hour HRCI credit

Frequently Asked Questions

ØHow do I get the link to access the webinar?

After the purchase of your ticket, you will receive a thank you email with a link. Click on the link and complete the registration process. You will receive a confirmation email indicating that you are registered for the webinar.

ØI did not receive an email confirmation, what should I do?

Check your spam or gray mail folder, in case it was misdirected. If you are unable to find it, email LegalUpdate@dfeh.ca.gov to have it resent. Please include the name and email address used to order the tickets.

ØWhat should I do if I need a reasonable accommodation?

Please send an email to accommodations@dfeh.ca.gov or call Jennifer Harlan at (916) 478-7251 at least two business days before the webinar. Please note that all webinars have live captioning

Read more Frequently Ask Questions.

Certificate Information

Requirements

Refund and Cancelation Policy

Personalized certificates will be provided to each individual that registers and attends the complete webinar. Certificates are emailed within 2 business days after the webinar.

Before purchasing, please check that your system meets the Microsoft Office Live Meeting Requirements. To check, please click here.

No refunds. Please read our entire refund and cancelation policy.