Tenth Circuit Upholds Termination Of Problem Employee

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit recently considered whether the termination of an employee who was the subject of 23 separate internal complaints (but who had also recently filed his own internal complaint) constituted discrimination or retaliation. In Crowe v. ADT Security Services, Inc., 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 8434 (10th Cir. Apr. 25, 2011), the court determined that the employee, despite having made his own internal complaint about a lack of advancement opportunities for African-Americans, could not show that his termination was either a pretext for discrimination or retaliation for engaging in protected activity.

Background

The plaintiff, an African-American technician at ADT Security Services, provided telephonic support to customers and retailers from 1997 until 2007. Although plaintiff received adequate performance evaluations, he was the subject of 23 reported complaints from other employees and his superiors, including five separate complaint