115 results for 'cat:"Civil Rights" AND cat:"Employment Retaliation"'.
J. Bolden denies, in part, the city and its police chief's motions for summary judgment, ruling the fired officers' attendance at a rally in support of their efforts to reopen the station during the Covid-19 pandemic constitutes First Amendment protected activity and is sufficient to state a plausible retaliation claim, given the proximity between the rally and their terminations. Furthermore, their defamation claims will proceed. Although the termination letters of the officers were public records and, therefore, could be disclosed to the media, the statements made by the chief during press conferences - specifically, that they were fired for "not doing their jobs" and for misconduct - are statements of fact that could be proved objectively false by the officers.
Court: USDC Connecticut, Judge: Bolden, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 3:21cv787, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, employment Retaliation, First Amendment
J. Traum dismisses the city employee’s suit alleging that the city failed to take action to stop the spreading of rumors of his inappropriate sexual relations with underage women, his embezzling money from a local business and his receiving improperly approved police overtime. The employee fails to plead an adverse employment action under the cited title of the Civil Rights Act and does not make a prima facie case of retaliation. Claims regarding the employee’s right to exercise his religion are mostly subjective and do not rise to a substantial burden on his exercise of religion. Any further amendment would be futile.
Court: USDC Nevada, Judge: Traum, Filed On: August 14, 2023, Case #: 2:21cv1946, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, employment Retaliation
J. Lungstrum grants a packing company's motion for summary judgment on a former employee's race discrimination claims. The packing company sufficiently shows that the former employee, who was tasked with overseeing equipment-related safety issues, pawned "a significant amount of equipment" to a local pawn shop without permission, after rummaging in the company's trash and recycling dumpsters.
Court: USDC Kansas, Judge: Lungstrum, Filed On: August 8, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv2282, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Employment, employment Retaliation
J. Joseph denies a request by a meat processing plant to dismiss a white Hispanic shift manager’s national origin-based Title VII allegations because she purportedly failed to exhaust those claims at the administrative level before the EEOC. Because the circumstances that led to the manager’s allegations of discrimination at the plant are inextricably linked with her race and national origin, Alford’s national origin claim would “reasonably be expected to grow out of the initial charges of discrimination” based on her race. Therefore, she has administratively exhausted her national origin claims before the EEOC prior to filing suit.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Joseph, Filed On: July 31, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv5758, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Employment Discrimination, employment Retaliation
J. Jackson-Akiwumi affirms a district court ruling dismissing a former police officer’s First Amendment suit against the police chief of a Wisconsin police department for allegedly retaliating against him for critiquing the chief’s leadership. The ex-cop’s remarks were made in his capacity as a public employee, not a private citizen. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Jackson-Akiwumi, Filed On: July 26, 2023, Case #: 22-1467 , Categories: civil Rights, Constitution, employment Retaliation
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J. Copenhaver grants in part and denies in part the motions of a former Wood County sheriff, the county commission and the prosecuting attorney to dismiss the respective claims alleged in a deputy sheriff’s suit for sexual discrimination and retaliation. The court dismisses the deputy sheriff’s Title VII claims against the prosecutor, former sheriffs and the commission in part because she failed to exhaust her administrative remedies when she failed to name them in her complaint with the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission. Finding she has alleged sufficient facts to satisfy all the required elements, the court rules the deputy’s suit may continue against not only the former sheriff on the grounds he created a hostile work environment, but also against him and the commission on a “discrete retaliation” claim because they allegedly acted in concert with the prosecutor to damage her reputation by placing her name on a “bad cop list.”
Court: USDC Southern District of West Virginia, Judge: Copenhaver, Filed On: July 12, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv388, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Immunity, employment Retaliation
J. Siragusa dismisses claims contending a supervisor retaliated against an employee and failed to promote her after she rebuffed his sexual advances. The employee did not file a contemporaneous complaint of sexual harassment, and thus her complaints did not constitute protected activity. Meanwhile, the incident appears to have been isolated, and the complaint failed to detail several key allegations. Factual allegations did not establish the employee was treated differently than male colleagues.
Court: USDC Western District of New York, Judge: Siragusa , Filed On: July 11, 2023, Case #: 6:21cv6312, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Employment, employment Retaliation
J. Lawson partially grants the board's motion to dismiss a hostile work environment, retaliation and race and sex-based discrimination action brought by a law professor. The board is entitled to sovereign immunity as a department of the state from the professor's claims under the Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act and the Persons With Disabilities Civil Rights Act. The professor, a Black woman, failed to allege sufficient facts to show that the board discriminated against her on the basis of her race, gender or because she was unmarried. However, the professor stated a plausible claim for retaliation based on the suspension of her teaching duties and salary benefits after she made and reported her civil rights complaints.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Michigan, Judge: Lawson, Filed On: July 7, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv12021, NOS: Amer w/Disabilities-Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Employment Discrimination, employment Retaliation
J. Oxley finds that the trial court properly ruled in favor of the school district in a civil rights, retaliation and hostile work environment action brought by the Black teacher's associate alleging that a white teacher engaged in racial discrimination that led to the associate's constructive discharge. The trial court correctly overruled the associate's challenge to the district's peremptory strike of the only Black potential juror. There is not sufficient evidence to show that the strike was motivated by discriminatory intent. The trial court correctly granted the teacher's motion for a directed verdict on individual liability because there was no evidence that the teacher acted as the associate's supervisor. Affirmed.
Court: Iowa Supreme Court, Judge: Oxley, Filed On: June 30, 2023, Case #: 21-1327, Categories: civil Rights, Employment Discrimination, employment Retaliation
Per curiam, the Fifth Circuit finds the district court properly dismissed the terminated employee's FMLA interference claim arising from an extended leave of absence as assistant manager at Office Depot for knee surgery. She could not plausibly state a violation of the FMLA because she had exhausted her protected leave. The court's dismissal of the employee's retaliation claims was improper as she sufficiently alleged a causal link between her protected leave and Office Depot’s decision to fire her. Because federal claims remain, the court erred in dismissing state law causes of action. The court’s order on the motion to reopen is vacated. The dismissal is affirmed in part and reversed in part.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: June 29, 2023, Case #: 22-50767, Categories: civil Rights, employment Retaliation
J. Suddaby preserves an employment-related lawsuit brought by the two female corrections officers against Warren County with claims for sex-based disparate treatment and retaliation. One officer was denied light duty work to accommodate her pregnancy, while the other was not offered permanent employment after she complained that she was being harassed by a coworker because she was pregnant. As to the first officer’s claims, based on admissible testimony, there exists a genuine dispute of material fact as to whether other officers were provided similar accommodations. As to the second, there remains a dispute as to the veracity of the county’s claim that she was fired for failing to conduct a contraband search of an inmate’s cell.
Court: USDC Northern District of New York, Judge: Suddaby, Filed On: June 13, 2023, Case #: 1:19cv1061, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Employment Discrimination, employment Retaliation
J. Conley finds for the laundry and linen company in a lawsuit from a Black employee claiming she was fired as retaliation for complaining about racial harassment she faced from a coworker. In part because her supervisor relocated her to a different department after she complained about the single race-based comment from the coworker in the record, the employee has not alleged harassment severe enough to support a hostile work environment claim, and her retaliation claim fails because the record does not show she was fired for her complaints instead of her low productivity numbers. Summary judgment is granted to the company and the case is closed.
Court: USDC Western District of Wisconsin, Judge: Conley, Filed On: June 12, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv53, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Employment Discrimination, employment Retaliation
J. Stadtmueller grants summary judgment to the plumbing products manufacturer in a lawsuit from an employee claiming she was disciplined more harshly than her white coworkers and fired because she is Black. The record contains multiple instances of the employee failing to meet the manufacturer's attendance and performance standards, and based on the evidence, the legitimate issues the employer cited when firing her had nothing to do with her race.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Wisconsin, Judge: Stadtmueller, Filed On: May 31, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv65, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Employment Discrimination, employment Retaliation
J. Anderson denies the defendant college's motion to dismiss this Title VII discrimination lawsuit for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. In its reply, the college challenges the complaint as to "the exhaustion of Plaintiff's discrimination claims before the EEOC." However, this is not a jurisdictional argument. Also, the court will allow the individual plaintiff an extension of time for service.
Court: USDC Western District of Tennessee , Judge: Anderson, Filed On: May 26, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv2537, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Employment Discrimination, employment Retaliation
J. Baker denies the board’s motion for summary judgment in a civil rights and retaliation action brought by the police captain alleging that he was fired due to his involvement in investigating sexual harassment complaints filed by three female officers against the former chief of the Savannah State University Police Department. The captain sufficiently shows that he was engaged in protected activity when he actively opposed the alleged harassment. He also points to sufficient evidence of a causal relationship between the protected activity and his termination, as well as evidence that the proffered reason for his termination was pretextual.
Court: USDC Southern District of Georgia, Judge: Baker, Filed On: May 25, 2023, Case #: 4:21cv148, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, employment Retaliation
J. Baker denies the board's motion for summary judgment in a civil rights and retaliation action brought by the police lieutenant alleging that he was fired due to his involvement in investigating sexual harassment complaints filed by three female officers against the former chief of the Savannah State University Police Department. The lieutenant sufficiently shows that he was engaged in protected activity when he opposed the alleged harassment. He also points to sufficient evidence of a causal relationship between the protected activity and his termination, as well as evidence that the proffered reason for his termination was pretextual.
Court: USDC Southern District of Georgia, Judge: Baker, Filed On: May 25, 2023, Case #: 4:21cv147, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, employment Retaliation
J. Traum denies a grocery store’s motion for summary judgment as to the employee’s negligent retention and sexual harassment claims arising from another employee’s harassing behavior. The employee made several complaints that were not followed up on, and the manager eventually told the other employee about who was making the complaint, violating the policy of anonymity. The employee has presented genuine disputes of material fact as to both her negligent retention and sexual harassment claims, as the harassment occurred frequently enough to be considered pervasive. As she has conceded her retaliation claim, summary judgment is granted the grocery on this claim only.
Court: USDC Nevada, Judge: Traum, Filed On: May 24, 2023, Case #: 2:21cv2066, NOS: Other Labor Litigation - Labor, Categories: civil Rights, employment Retaliation
J. Liu, upon review, finds the court of appeal improperly affirmed the trial court’s finding that the former employee is not subject to protection for complaining about unpaid wages. A protected disclosure under the relevant labor code encompasses reports of violations made to an agency even if the recipient already knows of the violation. Remanded.
Court: California Supreme Court, Judge: Liu, Filed On: May 22, 2023, Case #: S269456, Categories: civil Rights, Agency, employment Retaliation
J. Milazzo denies a request by a pest control company to dismiss a religious discrimination suit by an employee fired for refusing to get a mandated Covid-19 vaccination. The former employee alleges he was terminated in August 2021 because he told his employer that his Catholic faith prevented him from being injected with the vaccine derived from aborted fetal cell lines. In response, a manager allegedly stated, “The Pope wants you to take it.” Terminix denies the allegation. The company unsuccessfully argued the ex-employee makes no factual connection between his “sincerely held belief and his termination.” The terminated exterminator has established a claim for religious discrimination.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Milazzo, Filed On: May 19, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv3701, NOS: Amer w/Disabilities-Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Employment Discrimination, employment Retaliation
J. Silva grants the county’s motion for summary judgment in this suit brought by its former employee alleging wrongful termination and disability and race discrimination, and that she was fired for filing a workers’ compensation claim. It is undisputed that the employee failed to present any claim within two years of her termination, and that claim is time-barred. The employee was a temp worker, and the only evidence in the record indicating a hostile work environment is her own subjective, unsupported belief that her coworkers’ rudeness was based on her race.
Court: USDC Nevada, Judge: Silva, Filed On: May 18, 2023, Case #: 2:20cv1811, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Employment Discrimination, employment Retaliation