In Adams v. City of Mobile (S.D. Ala. 2024), the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama evaluated discrimination and retaliation claims brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and related statutes.
The plaintiff was a 59 year-old male employee who was fired following his failure to disclose documents that he received from a customer. He filed suit in the Shelby County Circuit Court alleging both age and sex discrimination in violation of the Tennessee Human Rights Act. He asserted that a female employee in a similar situation was treated more favorably and that the firing was a pretext for replacing him with a younger female employee.
Donna Solly was employed as a limited-status teacher at Caldwell Area Technology Center. The employer did not renew her employment contract, stating she had an affair with a male colleague. Solly filed suit in the Franklin County Circuit Court, alleging sex discrimination. The Circuit Court found in favor of the employer, but the Court of Appeals of Kentucky reversed and remanded, holding that she had established a prima facie case of sex discrimination.
In Davis v. Wharf Resources (USA), Inc., 2015 S.D. 34, the plaintiff was an employee of Wharf Resources. She applied for a different position within the company, but the position was ultimately offered to a male employee. The plaintiff later learned that her supervisor had made disparaging remarks about women not belonging in mining. She raised concerns about discrimination to management, and several weeks later, she was terminated for alleged disruptive and hostile behavior. She filed a gender discrimination and retaliation claim.
The plaintiff-appellant was the “head golf professional” at the Congress Lake Golf Club. Despite her formidable golfing pedigree, the club’s board of directors requested her resignation, ostensibly because of her inability to manage various golf programs. She sued the defendant for sex discrimination in the Stark County Court of Common Pleas.
In Grundberg v. Alaska State Commission for Human Rights (2012), the Alaska Supreme Court reversed a dismissal of a discrimination claim brought by a 58‑year‑old Asian American woman who alleged she was passed over for promotion due to her sex and race.
In Pitts-Baad v. Valvoline Instant Oil Change, the plaintiff was an assistant manager being considered for promotion, but failed to complete the required courses. While eight months pregnant, she fell at work and reported the injury on her doctor’s advice. After returning from maternity leave, she experienced a hostile environment marked by distrust and long delays in being allowed to pump breast milk. Following an incident in which she did not follow proper procedures during an oil change, her employment was terminated.
