Morgan v. Hilti, Inc.

No. 96-5111 (10th Cir. Mar. 18, 1997) ; Clearinghouse Number: 52213

Description

District Court Applied Improper Legal Standard in Disability Discrimination Action

Abstract

The Tenth Circuit has affirmed the district court’s order granting defendant employer summary judgment in this employment discrimination action. Plaintiff employee alleged that defendant discriminated against her in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by terminating her employment for the allegedly pretexual reason of excessive absenteeism. She further claimed that she was terminated in retaliation for filing a charge of disability discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and in retaliation for exercising her rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act. Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment, the district court held that, although plaintiff had made out a prima facie case of ADA discrimination, she had failed to carry the two-pronged burden of showing (1) that defendant’s proffered reasons for terminating her were false; and (2) that defendant’s real reasons were unlawful. Plaintiff appealed. The court of appeals held that the district court had applied an improper standard in requiring plaintiff to demonstrate that discriminatory reasons motivated defendant’s decision to terminate her. However, after reviewing the case de novo, the court affirmed the district court’s decision to grant defendant summary judgment, finding that defendant had proffered a facially nondiscriminatory reason for plaintiff’s termination and that plaintiff did not raise any material issues of fact as to defendant’s motivation.

Additional Information

Docket Date
1997-03-18 00:00:00+00:00

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