Dive Brief:
- The parent company of Mississippi news station WLBT-TV did not discriminate against a White former anchor when it fired her for using racially offensive language on air, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held in a May 22 decision.
- Gray Media Group, Inc. terminated the anchor following two separate incidents that the employer deemed to have violated internal policies prohibiting the use of harassing and derogatory language as well as policies against conduct which could reflect negatively upon the station or its employees.
- The plaintiff alleged that her race played a part in her termination in violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. A district court granted summary judgment to Gray Media Group and the 5th Circuit affirmed. The court held that the employer made its decision after receiving complaints from employees and viewers about the offending comments, leaving no factual dispute as to whether race was a motivating factor.
Dive Insight:
An employer’s decision to terminate an employee for offensive conduct — even if the employer “wrongly concluded” that such conduct is, in fact, offensive — is not sufficient to establish discriminatory intent under Title VII, the 5th Circuit concluded.
The plaintiff in the case, Bassett v. Gray Media Group, Inc., argued that the station wrongly determined her conduct to be offensive. The station, however, countered that it had received complaints about the comments from Black employees as well as public criticism. It also issued a written warning to the plaintiff after the first incident and cautioned her that additional violations of its policies could lead to disciplinary action, including termination.
As such, Gray Media Group met its burden under the U.S. Supreme Court’s McDonnell Douglas framework to articulate a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for firing the anchor, the 5th Circuit held.
The plaintiff nonetheless claimed that race remained a motivating factor, pointing to details including deposition testimony from a WLBT-TV executive in which the executive — in reference to the one of the anchor’s comments — said that there exist “some things that [B]lack people can say that [W]hite people can’t say.”
But the 5th Circuit noted further testimony from the executive that the anchor’s comment should not have been said on air by any employee regardless of race. Furthermore, WLBT-TV received complaints about the comments from Black and White viewers and employees alike.
“None of [the plaintiff’s] cited evidence creates a genuine dispute of material fact regarding whether race motivated WLBT’s decision to terminate her employment,” the court said.
U.S. employers retain generally broad discretion to discipline employees for conduct, including off-duty conduct, that is found to be inflammatory or offensive in violation of organizational policies, attorneys previously told HR Dive.
For example, the 6th Circuit found in a March decision that an employee fired for missing work and acting unprofessionally toward a colleague did not show retaliation for taking leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. The plaintiff’s conduct served as a lawful basis for his termination, the 6th Circuit concluded.
