“Plaintiff has presented strong evidence that raises a genuine issue of material fact regarding whether [Defendant]’s assertion that [Plaintiff] discriminated against Wade on the basis of [employee]’s race is false. [Another employee], Director of Human Resources, testified in her deposition that she did not believe that Plaintiff was a racist and that she thinks Plaintiff
Employment Discrimination
Replacement of plaintiff months after termination satisfies prima facie case.
By Colin W. Walsh on
Posted in Race Discrimination
“Although Defendant suggests that the remote temporal proximity of the African American hire and Plaintiff’s termination indicate no relation between the two events, such is an inference more properly drawn by the trier of fact. Thus, Plaintiff has established a prima facie case of disparate treatment, causing the burden to shift to Defendant to assert…
Evidence of retaliation and hostile work environment in an ADA claim include failure to accommodate plaintiff for heavy lifting, placing plaintiff in a position requiring more physical exertion, and terminating plaintiff for inability to perform job tasks requiring more physical exertion.
By CRANSOM on
“Requesting reasonable accommodations is generally a protected activity against retaliation under the ADA; however, first a plaintiff must have a good faith belief that he or she was disabled or perceived as disabled.”
Williams v. Rocktenn, 2013 WL 5960671 at *14 (W.D. La. November 6, 2013) (Trimble, J.).
An employee may prove disparate treatment by showing that other employees were similarly situated for comparison purposes, and not “identically situated.”
By Nicole M. Conger on
Posted in Employment Discrimination
“[An employee] sets forth the factors for similarly situated employees as follows: (1) they shared the same supervisor, (2) were subject to the same standards, and (3) engaged in the same conduct without such differentiating or mitigating circumstances that would distinguish their conduct or the employer’s treatment of them for it.”
Hoffman v. Baylor Health…
The lack of documentation of complaints at the time of the incident is evidence of pretext.
By Gregory A. Placzek on
Posted in Employment Discrimination
“The only two documented complaints against De La Cruz are dated February 8, the day she was demoted. Although not incriminating evidence, the suspicious timing of these documents, taken with reasonable inferences in favor of De La Cruz’s claim that they were fabricated, could support a finding of discriminatory motive.”
De La Cruz v. Coastal…
Where the bad actor is the only person to dispute the facts and deny any discriminatory language was used, this is insufficient to meet defendant’s burden for summary judgment.
By JCOHEN on
Posted in Employment Discrimination
“Thus, Koopman is the only person who definitely denies that the statements were ever made…. Viewing this evidence in the light most favorable to Plaintiffs, the Court finds that Plaintiffs have present sufficient evidence to create a fact issue….”
Smith v. Tower Automotive Operations USA I, LLC, 2013 WL 6240247 at *8-9 (S.D. Miss.…
The lack of interview notes favors plaintiff’s version of events.
By Gregory A. Placzek on
Posted in Employment Discrimination
“In response to Defendants’ claim that De La Cruz was only temporarily filling the fulltime position, De La Cruz insists that Diaz actually hired her for the full-time position. De La Cruz next asserts that, although Defendants admitted that notes should have been taken during her job interview and kept in her employee file, no…
Telling an employee that she should transfer because she is black and customers at a new location are black constitutes direct evidence of discrimination.
By JMANCHESTER on
Posted in Race Discrimination
“[Plaintiff’s manager] commented that Plaintiff should relocate to the Hammon property because ‘she is black and the residents are black’ … the Fifth Circuit set forth the criteria for direct evidence of discrimination…. [and] the comments cited by Plaintiff meet the criteria.”
Zeno v. Livingston Management, Inc., 2013 WL 4520532 at *2-3 (M.D. La.…
Evidence of an insufficient investigation into a complaint creates a fact issue on whether prompt remedial action was taken.
By Colin W. Walsh on
Posted in Employment Discrimination
“Indeed, the interviewed employees’ responses that the Spanish-speaking employees were trying to ‘cause trouble,’ and that they felt uncomfortable when the Hispanic employees spoke Spanish, might have suggested the need to investigate further. However, there is no evidence that Defendant took additional steps after the cursory investigation to remedy the situation about which Plaintiff complained.…
In determining whether an employee’s rebuttal precludes summary judgment, courts look to see whether an employer’s reason for discrimination or termination was pretextual.
By Nicole M. Conger on
Posted in Employment Discrimination, Retaliation
“Pretext may be shown ‘either through evidence of disparate treatment or by showing that the employer’s proffered explanation is false or unworthy of credence.”
Hoffman v. Baylor Health Care System, 2014 WL 772672 at *2 (N.D. Tex. February 27, 2014) (Lindsay, J.) (quoting Jackson v. Cal-Western Packaging Corp., 602 F.3d 374, 378 (5th…