labor lawAdivision of labor law center

A recent court ruling highlights the danger of employers claiming an employee was “laid off” when, in fact, the employee was terminated for another reason.

Historically, many employers have made the mistake of claiming that they were merely “laying off” a troublesome employee. However, with today’s prevalence of lawsuits for wrongful termination, that tactic can backfire.

In a recent case before the 8^th Circuit Court of Appeals, a rental car company branch manager, Terri Wallace, was laid off 15 days after she complained that her supervisor was sexually harassing her.

Wallace dropped the sexual harassment suit before it reached the jury.  

However, under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it is illegal to retaliate against an employee who files a sexual harassment complaint in good faith. In this case, “good faith” means without the intention of fraud.

The employer, DTG Operations, Inc., initially claimed that Wallace was part of a company-wide lay off due to economic reasons. (more…)