Employee Cleared to Go Forward to Trial on Retaliation Case with Smoking Gun Memo 

The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland has denied Capital One's motion for summary judgment on the retaliation claim by former employee, Tracy Eastridge.  Eastridge alleges that after she complained about disability discrimination, she was terminated.  According to court documents, during a 2007 reduction-in-force, a manager, James Burner, noted to company officials:  "This function will be absorbed into the individual groups within Installations.  The incumbent has a documented disability that provides her work from home for up to 2 days per week.  She had also registered an EEOC complaint in August '07 to change her management report."    Capitol One disputes Burner's knowledge of the EEOC complaint at some time prior to the making of an initial decision to terminate Eastridge in 2007.  Relying on the recent 4th Circuit decision of Okoli v. City of Baltimore,  Eastridge's attorney, Gwen W. D'Souza, contended a jury may decide if knowledge of a discrimination complaint allegedly acquired after an initial decision, but before a final decision to terminate, became a "superseding cause" for the termination.  

Maryland Employment Lawyers Association


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