Stepmother Who Claims She Was Discriminated Against Can Proceed on Title VII Claim

A female employee alleged that her supervisor started giving her poor performance reviews after he learned of her status as the stepmother of three young children. The supervisor also told the employee that working mothers could not perform as well as women without children or men, that mothers should stay at home, and that the employee would have to choose between her job and being a mother. The employee was reprimanded for making telephone calls to her children and for time away from work. A male co-worker with children was not similarly treated by the employer. After the employee was terminated, she sued the employer under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, claiming that she was treated differently and fired because she was a stepmother. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit allowed her to proceed on her claims, and explained that she only needed to demonstrate that: (1) she belonged to a protected class; (2) she performed her job satisfactorily; (3) she sustained an adverse job action; and (4) her employer treated her differently than a similarly situated employee who did not belong to the protected class. The employer would then be entitled to put forth a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for the employee’s treatment. Employers must be careful to treat employees equally, and should be cognizant of the importance of documenting any performance problems which may establish a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for an adverse employment action.

Gerving v. Opbiz LLC d/b/a Aladdin Resort & Casino, No. 07-16822 (9th Cir., unpublished opinion, Apr. 29, 2009)