Labor and Employment Law Weekly Update (Week of January 18,
2011)
Employers who propose to terminate an employee are often rightly
concerned that the proximity of another event or protected activity
may "insulate" the target employee from termination.
However, as a recent federal court decision demonstrates, an
employee's claim will not always proceed merely because two
events were close in time.
Walid El Sayed, a U.S. citizen of Egyptian descent, worked for
Hilton Hotels. Apparently another hotel employee accused him of
being a "terrorist Muslim Taliban," and he lodged a
complaint. About three weeks later, the hotel terminated him,
giving as reasons the existence of omissions in his employment
application. Mr. El Sayed filed a discrimination lawsuit asserting
his termination was in retaliation for his filing a legitimate
discrimination complaint. The trial court granted judgment to the
hotel group, and he appealed. (Walid El Sayed v. Hilton Hotels
