Wilson v. Arkansas DHS, No. 16-1174 (8th Cir. 2017)
Annotate this CasePlaintiff, an African American female, filed suit against DHS, alleging disparate treatment on account of race, and retaliation in violation of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. 2000e-2 and 2000e-3(a). The district court dismissed the claims. On appeal, plaintiff argued that the district court erred in dismissing her claim for disparate treatment "on account of her race, when she was disciplined for something that a Caucasian female employee did not accomplish." The court concluded that plaintiff's claim of discipline did not allege that the Caucasian employee was not disciplined or received less discipline. The court explained that without an allegation of disparate treatment, this claim failed. The court concluded, however, that the district court erred in dismissing the retaliation claim where plaintiff alleged but-for causation. The court explained that plaintiff's claim permitted the court to infer more than the mere possibility of misconduct. Accordingly, the court affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.
Court Description: Benton, Author, with Loken and Beam, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Employment Discrimination. Plaintiff's claim of discipline "for something that a Caucasian female employee did not accomplish" did not allege that the Caucasian employee was not disciplined or received less discipline and failed to create an actionable allegation of disparate treatment; with respect to her claim that she was discharged in retaliation for filing an EEOC complaint, viewing the complaint as a whole, plaintiff's complaint alleged "but-for-causation," and the district court erred in dismissing her retaliation claim. Judge Loken, concurring in part and dissenting in part.
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