Wash. Court of Appeals published opinion — D2 43703-1-II Published Opinion.pdf

allowed others to also use the term. CP at 115. Employees, including Martinez, openly mocked

Alonso' s speech impediment and accent, described his speech as that of a " ghetto Hispanic," and

contrasted themselves to Alonso because they " spoke correct English," unlike him. CP at 144,

145. This open mocking based on Alonso' s national origin and speech impediment constitutes

further direct evidence of discriminative intent, specifically relating to Alonso' s protected

disability and national origin statuses. Viewing this evidence in a light most favorable to

Alonso, we hold that the evidence sufficiently proved that Martinez acted with a discriminatory

motive toward Alonso, a disabled, military veteran of the Gulf War and a man of Mexican-

American heritage.

C. Significant or Substantial Factor in Employment Decision

We must next determine whether the discriminatory motive was a significant or

substantial factor in an employment decision relating to Alonso. See Kastanis, 122 Wn.2d at

491. An adverse employment action involves a change in employment conditions that is more

than an inconvenience or alteration of one' s job responsibilities, such as reducing an employee' s

workload and pay. Campbell v. State, 129 Wn. App. 10, 22, 118 P. 3d 888 ( 2005), review denied,

157 Wn.2d 1002 ( 2006). A demotion or adverse transfer, or a hostile work environment, may

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No. 43 703 - 1 - II

also amount to an adverse employment action. Kirby v. City of Tacoma, 124 Wn. App. 454, 465,

98 P. 3d 827 ( 2004), review denied, 154 Wn.2d 1007 ( 2005).

1. Adverse transfer

Here, Martinez removed Alonso from AQCB duty, and transferred him to the central