United States First Circuit

In an employment discrimination and retaliation action where plaintiff alleged that he was terminated after his job performance was maligned by a jilted co-worker intent on revenge, summary judgment in favor of defendant-employer is: 1) vacated in part as to the discriminatory termination claim, where the employer faces liability if the coworker acted, for discriminatory reasons, with the intent to cause the plaintiff's firing, the co-worker's actions were in fact the proximate cause of the termination, and the employer allowed the co-worker's acts to achieve their desired effect though it knew (or reasonably should have known) of the discriminatory motivation, and here, a reasonable jury applying this test could find in favor of plaintiff; but 2) otherwise affirmed.

Appellate Information

• Decided 05/23/2014
• Published 05/23/2014

Judges

• KAYATTA

Court

• United States First Circuit

Counsel