Fifth Circuit Rules in Jury Service Matter
// Dallas, Texas, United States // Attorney Keith Clouse (Blog) // Keith Clouse
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed summary judgment for an employer in a case involving the federal Jury System Improvement Act. Rogers v. Bromac Title Srvs., L.L.C., No. 13-31097 (5th Cir. June 18, 2014), available at http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions%5Cpub%5C13/13-31097-CV0.pdf.
The plaintiff alleged that she was fired for serving as a grand juror. She missed eight days of work due to her jury service. Her employer alleged that she was fired for making inappropriate comments during two separate business meetings. The district court applied a “but-for” causation standard and held the employee failed to satisfy this standard because she failed to show that her jury service had a determinative influence on her employer’s decision to discharge her.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the decision. It first determined that the lower court applied the correct causation standard because the statute provides that no employer shall discharge an employee “by reason of” the employee’s jury service. The plain meaning of “by reason of” supported a but-for causation standard. The court next determined that summary judgment for the employer was appropriate because the employee failed to create a genuine dispute that the employer terminated her by reason of her jury service or that the employer’s stated reason was pretextual.
This article is presented by the Dallas employment lawyers at Clouse Dunn LLP. For inquiries, send an email to debra@clousedunn.com or call (214) 239-2705.
Contact Keith Clouse
KEITH A. CLOUSE
Clouse Dunn LLP
214.220.2722 214.220.3833 ( fax) keith@clousedunn.com
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