Brady v. Cumberland County
Annotate this CaseGerard Brady brought a claim against Cumberland County for employment retaliation pursuant to the Maine Whistleblowers’ Protection Act (WPA), alleging that disciplinary action taken against him by the County was motivated by complaints he made about the investigation of an incident at the Cumberland County jail. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the County on Brady’s WPA claim, concluding that Brady failed to present a prima facie case of retaliation. The Supreme Court vacated the judgment, holding (1) Brady produced sufficient evidence to allow a jury to find that the adverse employment action taken against Brady was substantially motivated at least in part by retaliatory intent; and (2) the application of the compartmentalized three-step process set out in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green to the summary judgment stage of WPA retaliation cases is not appropriate.
Court Description: Corrected March 8, 2016 (Errata sheet)
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