In re Rodriguez v. Fedex, Sixth Circuit, No. 06-1988, June 27, 2007

In re Rodriguez v. Fedex, Sixth Circuit, No. 06-1988, June 27, 2007

Decision: If an employee presents evidence that a jury could find to be discrimination, the company must show that other (nondiscriminatory) factors were the basis for an employment decision.

Jose Rodriguez was a truck driver who expressed interest in becoming a supervisor. He interviewed twice for a vacant supervisory position, and one manager indicated he would have been hired, except the Regional HR Manager made disparaging remarks about Rodriguez’ accent when discussing his promotion opportunities. Rodriguez lodged a complaint with the company, and eventually resigned and filed a lawsuit for discrimination and retaliation based on race and national origin.

The trial court dismissed his case, and he appealed. The Sixth Circuit reversed the lower court’s ruling, finding that the employer should have to show it would have denied Rodriguez a promotion even without taking into account the remarks about his accent, and that the remarks could be evidence of discrimination.

The Sixth Circuit includes the state of Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee.