California IN BRIEF : SAN FRANCISCO : Rights Panel Unable to Award Damages

In its first decision since being weakened by a court ruling, the state’s civil rights commission awarded a woman $4,423 in back pay for sexual harassment and said it would have given her damages for emotional trauma if it could. The Fair Employment and Housing Commission acknowledged that its hands were tied by the state Supreme Court, which ruled Dec. 20 that state law did not authorize the commission to award damages for emotional distress suffered by victims of job discrimination. The commission said at the time that the ruling would overturn more than 30 past awards of damages to discrimination victims.