Fifth Circuit Rules Age-Related Comments Must Be Specific To Defeat Summary Judgment

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued a ruling concerning the discharge of Michael Harris from his position with the City of Schertz, Texas, as the city marshal. In doing so, the Fifth Circuit gave a bit more clarity on the situations in which comments made by an employer or agent of an employer amount to discriminatory pretext. The court found that those comments must be specific rather than general or suggestive to defeat summary judgment. In this case, comments made in testimony by the city's agents or employees were not specific enough to show pretext and defeat the city's motion for summary judgment.

Harris' duties as city marshal included supervising the Animal Services department, which Shanna O'Brien oversaw. At some point in 2016, O'Brien complained to Harris about the conduct of another employee, David Taylor. Initially, Harris decided to attempt to resolve the issue without involving the human resources (HR) department or the city attorney,