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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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No retaliation where bus driver wrecks bus, goes out on sick leave, sues employer for discrimination, returns to work, and is then disciplined for having a preventable accident.

Thompson v. Bi-State Development Agency, 463 F.3d 821 (8th Cir. September 22, 2006) - Gary Thompson was a bus driver for Bi-State from 1991 until an on-the-job accident in June 2003. Bi-State classified this as a preventable accident, which was his second in twelve months. The range of discipline under Bi-State's guidelines was a suspension without pay for one to five working days and retraining for one to three days. After the accident, Thompson was placed on sick leave. He eventually returned to work in early December 2003. A disciplinary hearing was then held and he was given five days suspension and three days of retraining. After the hearing, Thompson decided to take disability retirement and he never returned to work. He brought this action alleging that Bi-State retaliated against him under Title VII because he had filed two previous race discrimination lawsuits. He also claimed that Bi-State violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by constructively discharging him and forcing him to take a disability pension. The district court granted summary judgment. The Eighth Circuit affirms. With respect to his ADA claim, he failed to make out a prima facie case because he failed to present sufficient evidence of constructive discharge. In disciplining Thompson, Bi-State followed its normal procedures and applied standard discipline. Next, with respect to his Title VII retaliation claim, the Eighth Circuit agrees with the district court that Thompson failed to make out a prima facie case because he failed to establish a causal connection. He took sick leave beginning in June 2003. He filed an earlier race discrimination and retaliation lawsuit in August 2003. He was disciplined in December 2003. But he was not disciplined until he was released to return to work, which was December; and the discipline he was given was within company guidelines. Therefore, the temporal proximity between the filing of the second lawsuit and the discipline is insufficient to establish a causal link for purposes of the prima facie case. Click here to see actual case.