Posted by: Jennifer Milligan
May 12, 2006

The federal court in Fort Wayne, Indiana recently held that an Iraqi employee was entitled to a jury trial on his discrimination claims because he presented evidence that the supervisor who fired him made negative comments about 9/11 and the Iraq war. The court found that the employer’s stated reasons (violation of company policy and insubordination) for firing the employee could be seen as a pretext for discrimination. The policy the company relied on wasn’t in writing, and other employees who had engaged in similar conduct were not fired.

What does this case mean to you?

Make sure your company’s policies/work rules are in writing and applied consistently. You may also want to verify that your procedures discourage major employment decisions (like firing someone) from being made by a single supervisor in the heat of the moment without input from others and without witnesses.

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