By Jim Cline and Peter Haller
In Andrade v City of Milwaukee, the Wisconsin State Supreme Court ruled that a police officer fired for making racist comments on Facebook was not entitled to getting his job back because of an alleged pre-termination due process violation. The Court reasoned that the officer was entitled to notice of the charges against him, but not to all the information related to factors involved in determining the level of discipline imposed.
By Mark Anderson and Katrina Thornton
In Levy v. Wilkie, an Illinois court of appeals ordered a trial of an African American police officer’s race discrimination lawsuit. Levy worked as a police officer at the Hines VA Hospital. The court found that inconsistent discipline practices raised a jury question on whether Levy had been subject to racial discrimination.
By: Loyd Willaford and Clive Pontusson
In Cobsy v. City of Indianapolis, a federal court dismissed the lawsuit of a police officer who claimed that his repeated discipline was motivated by racial bias in the Indianapolis Police Department. Because Officer Cosby did not present evidence that his multiple suspensions were related to his race, he could not state a claim for racial discrimination.
By: Loyd Willaford and Clive Pontusson
In Jones v. City of Birmingham, a federal court ruled that an Alabama Police Officer had alleged sufficient facts to show he may have been transferred as retaliation for filing a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The Court dismissed Edwin Jones’ claim for racial discrimination, but it did find that Jones had shown a potential retaliation for his filing a complaint with the EEOC. As a result, the Court determined that his case should be heard by a jury. [Read more…]
By: Loyd Willaford and Matt Baker
In Peeples v. City of Detroit, eleven firefighters brought a lawsuit against the City and their Union, arguing that they were laid off for racially discriminatory reasons. The firefighters had been improperly laid off due to a misreading of the CBA by the City. When the firefighter’s Union notified the City of its mistake, the firefighters were reinstated. However, they argue that the decision to lay them off resulted not from a contract dispute, but from racial animus. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan dismissed their claims against both the City and the Union.
By: Loyd Willaford and Matt Baker
In Volker v. County of Nassau, a County fired an Affirmative Action Specialist after alleging he engaged in activity that the County said was outside the scope of his employment. He had submitted a report to his employer, a Sheriff’s Department, detailing the work that the Department needed to do in order to comply with Affirmative Action guidelines. The Department argued that in making the report, he had violated several policies, including interviewing employees without representation present, and proceeded to fire him. He then sued the Department, alleging that his termination had been in retaliation for protected activity. The Department moved for summary judgement, which the U.S. Federal Court for the Eastern District of New York denied.
By: Loyd Willaford and Sarah Burke
In Williams v. Office of Chief Judge of Cook Cnty., a former African American juvenile probation officer in Illinois, sued her department for racial discrimination and workers compensation retaliation after she was terminated while on medical leave. The department argued that the decision was based on its belief that the officer had abandoned her job. The Seventh Circuit upheld the lower court’s decision, and granted the department summary judgment on both claims.
By Loyd Willaford and Sarah Burke
In Williams v. Baltimore County, an African American police officer alleged he was retaliated against after he was transferred to a new department. A Maryland district court disagreed, and found that a transfer without evidence of loss of pay, opportunities, or benefits was not an adverse employment action.
By: Loyd Willaford and Sarah Burke
In O’Brien v. City of Benton Harbor, two white Michigan police officers alleged they experienced reverse race discrimination after the black city manager terminated them so that he could promote a black employee to police chief. A District Court in Michigan found the officers had direct evidence to support their alleged claim of discrimination because the city manager told officers they were the wrong color to be the chief because they were not black.
By: Loyd Willaford and Sarah Burke
In Matthews v. City of Mobile, an African American police dispatcher in Alabama was terminated from her position after failing to update officers responding to a call of the presence of an armed suspect. The dispatcher argued that she was being discriminated against and retaliated against for previously filing EEOC complaints. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama disagreed and found the dispatcher had failed to demonstrate she had been treated differently than similarly situated co-workers and dismissed her claims.
