- Posted January 22, 2014
- Tweet This | Share on Facebook
New legal bar set in case of road worker's job
By Ed White
Associated Press
DETROIT (AP) -- A western Michigan road worker who suffered from stress and exposure to soot and diesel fumes can sue his former employer, even though he had sought the job that gave him fits just months earlier, a federal appeals court said.
Robert Deleon was passed over as equipment superintendent before the Kalamazoo County Road Commission put him in the job in 2009 when others bowed out. He lasted less than a year due to tension with his superiors and health problems.
In a 2-1 decision, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Deleon, who is Hispanic, can pursue a claim of discrimination. Judge Damon Keith said it's plausible that Deleon was set up to fail, and it makes no difference that he had formerly applied for the job, which carried warnings about noise and fumes.
"No case within this circuit has ruled on this precise issue," Keith said last week in an opinion joined by Judge Timothy Black.
Deleon said he was repeatedly blowing black soot from his nostrils and regularly wiping it out of his garage office. He had bronchitis and headaches.
"The testimony presents sufficient indication that the work environment was objectively intolerable," the court said.
A message seeking comment was left with the road commission's attorney Monday.
In a dissent, Judge Jeffrey Sutton said the decision will cause confusion about workplace law in Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee and Kentucky, the states covered by the 6th Circuit.
"Even after plumbing the depths of logic, experience, case law and common sense, I must return to this surface point: When an employee voluntarily applies for, and obtains, a job transfer, his employer has not subjected him to an adverse employment action," Sutton said.
The case now returns to a Kalamazoo federal judge who had ruled in favor of the road commission. Deleon went on a medical leave in 2010 and didn't return to work.
Deborah Gordon, a Detroit-area lawyer who specializes in workplace law, said the decision grants a "wider view" of what's an "adverse action" at work.
"The facts here are unusual. Yes, he asked for the job, but he asked nine months earlier and didn't get it," said Gordon, who's not involved in the case. "This wasn't an easy, breezy move down the hall. It was a significant job change to a very, very unpleasant job."
Published: Wed, Jan 22, 2014
headlines Oakland County
- Gilman Award Luncheon
- Consumers warned of unpaid toll road smishing scam
- Attorneys general sign letter calling on congress to make ‘maximum possible’ investment in LSC
- Justice Dept. files statement of interest supporting private citizens’ right to sue under Voting Rights Act of 1965
- Nessel announces findings in Plymouth Twp. voter intimidation investigation
headlines National
- Less litigation, more practical skills in law school needed, junior associates say
- Black retired judge who flew first class says flight attendant ordered her to use coach restroom
- Immigration law firm will expand nearly 10% with addition of Seyfarth Shaw team
- Clark Hill was ‘duped by an obvious scam,’ costing its client $1.1M, suit alleges
- Former general counsel failed to file federal tax returns while earning $54M, he admits in guilty plea
- New US citizens sworn in 100 feet underground