David A. Lawrence and Prerana R. Bacon recently prevailed in the Michigan Court of Appeals and obtained an Opinion affirming the dismissal of an employment discrimination case by the Genesee County Circuit Court. In the case below, Lawrence and Bacon conducted thorough discovery on behalf of employer Creative Foam and were granted summary disposition of all of Plaintiff and former employee Dwight Gregg’s claims for age and sex discrimination, workers compensation retaliation and wrongful discharge. The case was published in the State Bar of Michigan’s e-Journal. You can click here for the full opinion.
The Court of Appeals held that Gregg’s Worker’s Disability Compensation Act (WDCA) retaliation claim was properly dismissed due to the lack of a causal connection between his on the job injury and his termination 7 months later. The Court also ruled that Gregg’s age and sex discrimination claims under the Michigan Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) were properly dismissed because he did not show that the adverse employment action was based on age or sex. The evidence revealed that Gregg did not interact well with his subordinates or peers, that he failed to address shortcomings in his work performance, that he got into an altercation with another supervisor and threatened to take it ‘outside,’ that he lacked proficiency with the company software system, that he thought his supervisor favored coworkers because of friendships, and that he admitted he did not participate in the performance improvement plan (PIP). Thus, Creative Foam offered compelling evidence of legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons for imposing the PIP and later terminating Gregg’s employment. He then failed to show that Creative Foam’s proffered legitimate reasons were only a pretext for discrimination.
Mr. Lawrence is a shareholder of the firm focusing his practice in the areas of Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Employment & Labor and Business & Corporate.
Ms. Bacon is an associate with the firm. Her areas of practice also focus on Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Employment & Labor and Business & Corporate.
If you have a litigation, employment or business matter, you can email Mr. Lawrence or Ms. Bacon, or call them at 248-489-8600.