A black staffer files a race bias complaint, then gets fired and sues for retaliation. Did he win?

Read the dramatized version of this real-life case and see if you can determine the outcome.

“How did this mess with Randall Brown happen?” asked VP Bob Stevens.

“Why do you ask?” asked HR manager Lynn Rondo.

“We just found out he’s suing us,” said Bob. “Tell me what happened.”

He skipped fitness for duty test

“Randall filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claiming race discrimination,” said Lynn.

“At the same time, he sent us an 81-page letter that included comments that sounded threatening,” she added.

“I remember that,” said Bob. “What happened next?”

“We put him on administrative leave and asked him to undergo a fitness for duty test,” said Lynn.

“Then he canceled his appointment,” said Lynn. “We tried to get in touch with him and we even rescheduled a new evaluation for him but he missed that one, too. We had no choice but to fire him.”

“Well, now he’s claiming we retaliated against him for filing that race bias complaint,” said Bob.

“I could see how his case might look strong – his race complaint and his firing were close together in timing – but we had a legitimate reason for firing him,” said Lynn.

“I’m confident the court will see things our way,” she added.

Bob went ahead with his claim. Did Lynn’s firm win?

The decision

Yes, Lynn’s company won.

The court acknowledged that Randall’s complaint met all three elements necessary to make a claim of retaliation:

  • the filing of a complaint or claim of bias
  • an “adverse action” taken by the firm, and
  • a causal link between the claim or complaint and the adverse action.

Once the court determined that, the burden shifted to the company to prove it had a legitimate, non-retaliatory reason for firing Randall, which it did – he canceled his fitness for duty evaluation and never rescheduled it.

And since Randall wasn’t able to prove that the company’s given reason for firing him was a lie to cover up any illegal retaliation, he lost.

3 ways to handle retaliation complaints

Richard Cohen of Fox Rothschild LLP advises firms to take a “business as usual” approach to people who file retaliation complaints:

  • treat the worker as you would any other staff member
  • communicate openly to find common ground while the investigation or legislation is ongoing, and
  • document all relevant decisions after the bias complaint.

The case is Bess v. County of Cumberland.

The post A slam dunk retaliation case — or was it? appeared first on HR Morning.

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