Judge’s Firing Upheld for Remarks in Sex-Harassment-Related Case

A California administrative judge failed to show he was punished too harshly when he was terminated for comments he made during a workers’ compensation appeal by an employee fired for alleged sexual harassment, a state appeals court ruled Monday.

T. Fitzgerald Smith, formerly on the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board, concedes he made the remarks while presiding over Enrique Sandoval’s unemployment benefits hearing, the California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, said in an unpublished ruling. The hearing concerned whether Sandoval was still entitled to benefits even though he was fired for allegedly sexually harassing a co-worker, the court said.

Sandoval’s ...