Lobato v. State of NM Environment Dept., et al, No. 12-2128 (10th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this Case
Michael Lobato was a probationary employee at the New Mexico Environmental Department (NMED). Before completing his probationary period, Lobato was fired. Lobato, who is Hispanic and of Mexican ancestry, alleged that the proffered rationales were pretextual and that NMED was in fact motivated by racial and national origin prejudice. He also alleged NMED wanted to punish him for whistleblowing. The district court granted summary judgment to NMED on all claims, and the Tenth Circuit agreed with that decision. Lobato failed to raise a genuine dispute that NMED’s decision to terminate him was motivated by anything other than the legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons NMED offered in its termination letter.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.