Thursday, October 18, 2012

Sixth Circuit: Vague Complaint To HR About Derogatory Comments Forms Basis for Next Week’s Retaliatory Discharge


Yesterday, a divided Sixth Circuit reversed summary judgment in favor of an employer on a retaliatory discharge claim brought under Title VII by a former executive who was fired for not being a “good fit”  shortly after “venting” to the Vice President of Human Resources on an overseas trip about repeated and inappropriate derogatory racial comments about other individuals made by another executive.  Trujillo v. Henniges Automotive Sealing Systems North America, Inc., No. 11-1148 (6th Cir. 10-17-12).   The Court did not find the plaintiff’s vague expressions of discomfort to the offending speaker to constitute protected conduct because they were not complaints or expressions that he was in any way offended.  However, complaining to the VP about repeated derogatory statements about other races “can be construed as a complaint about a hostile work environment caused by racial and national origin discrimination.”

 It did not matter that the comments were not directed to him or about him.  It also did not matter that the individual incidents might not constitute actionable harassment, if collectively they could do so.   “We have repeatedly held that complaints to human resources personnel regarding potential violations of Title VII constitute protected activity for purposes of establishing a prima facie case of retaliation.”

 The district court had found the conversation with the VP was too informal to constitute protected conduct.  The Court conceded that in the past it has “found that some complaints to human resources personnel are not sufficiently specific to constitute opposition to employment discrimination.”  It has not extended protection to complaints about management style or vague comments of possible discrimination.   However, it concluded that a good faith complaint about a possible hostile work environment was sufficiently related to opposing unlawful employment practices to warrant protection in this case.

 The dissenting judge would have found the comments to be protected under Title VII only if the plaintiff had brought the issue to the attention of HR because it constituted discrimination against him or against other employees.  Instead, the plaintiff admitted that he had only been venting and had not intended for her to take any action. “Not every casual remonstrance against bad language equates to complaining of illegal discrimination.”

 NOTICE: This summary is designed merely to inform and alert you of recent legal developments. It does not constitute legal advice and does not apply to any particular situation because different facts could lead to different results. Information here can change or be amended without notice. Readers should not act upon this information without legal advice. If you have any questions about anything you have read, you should consult with or retain an employment attorney.