Tenth Circuit Underscores Importance of Documenting Employee Activity to Support Termination
The Tenth Circuit recently affirmed a finding by the Federal District Court of Kansas, which ruled in favor of for Larned State Hospital (LSH) in lawfully firing an employee who violated multiple sections of the employee handbook.
In Iweha v. State of Kansas, LSH fired the plaintiff after finding she violated several provisions of the employee handbook, including misuse of her time on the clock and state property. 2024 WL 4820803 (10th Cir. Nov. 19, 2024). The plaintiff brought claims of harassment and retaliation.
During the independent investigation, LSH investigated claims of Iweha’s misuse of her time and the State’s computers for her personal benefit instead of for work purposes. Based on the State’s findings from this investigation, Iweha was terminated from her position with Larned State Hospital.
The plaintiff-employee attempted to reclassify LSH’s actions as retaliatory, alleging a hostile work environment based on her race. Iweha pointed to a handful of sporadic incidents she claimed were racially motivated to support her claim for hostile work environment. The plaintiff also alleged she was discriminated against based on her race when she was ultimately terminated following an independent investigation, based on complaints by her coworkers and supervisors.
During her employment, Iweha did not allege discrimination or harassment which she provided in her complaint. Though she attempted to characterize her termination as racially motivated, the Court found that the plaintiff could not meet her burden of showing pretext in her retaliation claim. Because the employer had documented its investigation and verified complaints to find violations of the employee handbook, the Court found no correlation between the plaintiff’s termination and her alleged hostile work environment claims.
This finding highlights the importance of detailed recordkeeping for activity that could lead to adverse employment actions taken against employees. Lack of an employer’s recordkeeping can leave the employer vulnerable to potential liability and incurring significant litigation costs.
Read more at: https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca10/23-3074/23-3074-2024-11-19.html