Fuhrmann v. Staples the Office Superstore E., Inc.
Annotate this CaseEmployee filed this action against Employer and her four individual supervisors (Supervisors), claiming whistleblower discrimination pursuant to the Whistleblowers' Protection Act (WPA) and the Maine Human Rights Act (MHRA) and sex discrimination pursuant to the MHRA. The superior court granted Supervisors' motion to dismiss, finding they could not be held individually liable pursuant to the WPA and the MHRA. The court then entered summary judgment in favor of Employer on all claims. Employee appealed, contending (1) summary judgment for Employer was improper because she presented a prima facie case of whistleblower discrimination and there remained material facts in dispute, and (2) the dismissal of her claims against Supervisors was improper. The Supreme Court affirmed with respect to the sex discrimination claim and the dismissal of Supervisors but vacated the judgment with respect to the whistleblower discrimination claim against Employer, holding (1) material facts remained in dispute regarding Employee's whistleblower claim; but (2) the WPA and MHRA do not provide for individual supervisor liability.
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.