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Garland's Digest
on employment discrimination law
online since 1997
 

 

Disclaimer: The case on which this summary is based may no longer be current law. Also, if the case was decided on summary judgment, the court recited the "facts" in the light most favorable to the non-movant, which may not be the true facts.

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In a Title VII retaliation action, if a plaintiff relies solely on temporal proximity to establish a causal link between the protected activity and the adverse employment action, a disparity of three to four months is not sufficient.

Thomas v. Cooper Lighting, Inc., 506 F.3d 1361 (11th Cir. November 9, 2007) - This is a Title VII retaliation action. Cecilia Thomas complained of sexual harassment on April 8 and 11, 2005. She was terminated effective July 7, 2005 for violating the company's no fault attendance policy. Her retaliation claim fails because she cannot establish a causal link. If a plaintiff relies on temporal proximity, alone, the proximity must be very close. "A three to four month disparity between the statutorily protected expression, and the adverse employment action is not enough."