Does lateral transfer of a principal from one school to another constitute an adverse employment action?

In Patten, an action involving a whistleblower claim under Labor Code section 1102.5, the reviewing court found there was a triable issue of fact as to whether a lateral transfer of a young principal from one school to another constituted an adverse employment action. The court noted that in context, the school district had taken actions reasonably likely to impair her job performance, notwithstanding the fact she was transferred into a comparable position. There, the lack of administrative support and scheduling and budgetary issues had to be considered along with the knowledge that the district planned to close the school to which plaintiff had been transferred. ( Patten v. Grant Joint Union High School Dist., supra, 134 Cal.App.4th at p. 1390, 37 Cal.Rptr.3d 113.)

Federal cases, while employing a slightly different standard, agree that administrative leave may constitute an adverse employment action. (See Dahlia v. Rodriguez (9th Cir. 2013) 735 F.3d 1060, 1078, citing Coszalter v. City of Salem (9th Cir. 2003) 320 F.3d 968, 975.) Here, plaintiff did not request the administrative leave, and it was not intended as a reward or accommodation to plaintiff, given that the County acknowledged the leave was for the purpose of investigating plaintiff's alleged wrongdoing. Further, we must view the County's conduct in context, and in this case plaintiff's administrative leave coincided with the firing of the original social worker assigned to the case. The trial court correctly found that the act of placing plaintiff on administrative leave was an adverse employment action.