Takeaway: To survive dismissal, a Title VII claim must raise an inference of discrimination above a speculative level. This can be done, however, with a handful of facts that suggest discriminatory motives for employment decisions.
The plaintiff, a Black man, worked for the Maryland Military Department, a state employer. He was hired in 2014 as the program coordinator/deputy director of Freestate Challenge Academy, a residential education program for at-risk adolescents. Until 2016, he reported to a program director and was a top performer and regularly received outstanding evaluations.
In June 2016, the program director was dismissed, and the plaintiff was promoted to acting program director and then program director. After his promotion, the plaintiff began to have problems with the HR director, a white man. According to the plaintiff, the HR director refused to work with him and required him, unlike other directors, to take his concerns to the deputy HR director, a Black woman.
In early 2018, the plaintiff learned that he was being paid around $5,000 less annually than the prior program director. The plaintiff raised the pay issue with the HR director, who agreed that he was not being paid fairly but did not rectify the disparity. In February 2018, the plaintiff filed his first Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) complaint alleging discrimination and a hostile work environment by the HR director. Mediation resulted in a settlement agreement.
The HR director later...
Delhi Police has rejected allegations that Congress leader Deepender Hooda or any other politician has been placed under house arrest, describing the reports as misleading and baseless. The police...