posted on Wednesday, April 05, 2006 3:12 PM
by
Lou Michels
A Little Too Glad
Many employees wish that their boss was dead on one or more occasions, but when it actually happens, it's probably not a good idea to celebrate too much around the workplace. It's especially not a good idea to couch the death of your supervisor as some kind of retribution from God.
That's what happened when the supervisor of a Florida hospital worker suffered a stroke during a routine hernia operation and died shortly thereafter. West v. Shands Hospital & Clinics, Inc., N.D. Fla., No. 1:02-cv-00087, March 23, 2006.
The plaintiff, who had many difficulties with her supervisor, began telling her coworkers that the supervisor's stroke was a sign of God's "wrath" and an indication of Divine judgment. When the supervisor died, the employee noted that God's vengeance was served and "victory is mine" to her coworkers. Her activities caused a major disruption in the office, with some shocked employees unable to work as a result of the Plaintiff's celebration. The plaintiff was subsequently terminated for her conduct, and sued the hospital for race and religious discrimination under Title VII.
The district court had no trouble granting summary judgment for the employer, finding that there was no pretext in the employer's stated basis for termination, namely that the plaintiff was fired for openly celebrating the death of a coworker with whom she did not get along. The fact that there was a religious element to the plaintiff's celebrations did not protect them or her. The court specifically noted it was not the religious component of plaintiff's comments that prompted the termination, but rather the inappropriate celebration of the supervisor's demise. Given some of the other silliness that occurs in the employment arena, it's nice to see that this type of ghoulish behavior is still sanctionable by an employer.