Introduction to
Federal
Employment Discrimination Law
Termination
Constructive Discharge - An
employee is constructively discharged when a reasonable employee would find his or her
working conditions so intolerable (on the basis of membership in a protected group) that
he or she would resign. Please remember that in most instances the employee must give the
employer an opportunity to correct the problem before resigning.
Case example: In
Cooper-Schut v. Visteon Automotive Systems, 361 F.3d 421 (7th Cir.
2004), a Title VII action, the court held that the constructive
discharge claim failed for two reasons: (1) most of the racial and
sexual harassment was mild; and (2) Cooper-Schut quit before Visteon had
a chance to complete its investigation of a derogatory caricature taped
to a refrigerator door in her work area.
Failure to Renew Contract - A
failure to renew contract claim involves an employee who has a written contract with his
employer that expires at a certain time. That contract is not renewed by the employer
because the employee is a member of a protected group.
Case example:
In Minshall v. McGraw Hill Broadcasting Co., Inc., 323 F.3d
1273 (10th Cir. 2003), an ADEA age discrimination action, the plaintiff
prevailed at trial and was awarded $212,326.00 in back pay; $137,500.00
in front pay; $212,326.00 in liquidated damages; and $153,958.00 in
attorney's fees. On appeal, the Tenth Circuit affirmed the jury verdict
on liability.
Mandatory Retirement - This type
of claim is almost always an age discrimination claim involving an employee who reaches a
mandatory retirement age.
Case example: In
Coupé v. Federal Express Corp.,
121 F.3d 1022 (6th Cir. 1997), an ADEA age discrimination action, the
court
upheld the right of Federal Express to follow the FAA's mandatory retirement rule for
pilots.
Reduction in Force - A reduction
in force involves an employee who is terminated as part of a layoff and the employee
believes he or she was selected to be laid off because the employee is a member of a
protected group.
Case example: In
Kautz v. Met-Pro Corp., 412 F.3d 463 (3d Cir. 2005), an ADEA age
discrimination action, the Third Circuit held that a plaintiff must
demonstrate that each of the employer's proffered nondiscriminatory
reasons are pretextual, but one way this can be done is to show that
enough of the employer's proffered reasons are pretextual so as to
seriously undermine the employer's credibility and thereby throw all
proffered reasons into doubt.
Wrongful Termination - A
wrongful termination claim involves an employee who was allegedly terminated because he or
she is a member of a protected group.
Case example: In
Fontánez-Núñez v. Janssen Ortho LLC, 447 F.3d 50 (1st Cir. 2006), a
Title VII sex or gender discrimination action, Fontánez failed to
establish a prima facie case because he could not show that he was
meeting his employer's legitimate expectations. Alternatively, even if
he did establish a prima facie case, Janssen proffered a legitimate
reason for the termination decision (poor job performance) and Fontánez
failed to create a jury question that the proffered reason was a pretext
for age or sex discrimination.
