10th Circuit provides good reminder on how to handle gender discrimination claims

An employer that terminated a female employee who left work early to attend to what an appeals court called an “inherently female” emergency situation must face a jury trial on a gender discrimination claim.

Facts

Anthony Mann, Dana Moye, and Katina McGee, former employees of XPO Logistics Freight, Inc., all contended their former employer had fired them for discriminatory and retaliatory reasons. They sued, and the federal trial court in Kansas granted XPO’s request for summary judgment (dismissal without a trial) with regard to all three. The U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers the state of Oklahoma), however, reversed the grant of summary judgment with regard to McGee.

XPO is a company that provides logistics and transportation services throughout the United States. McGee, an African-American woman, began her employment with XPO in 2013 as a driver sales representative. As part of her job, she worked on a “flex” team of drivers that drove extended service routes, which involved the transport of freight over long distances by teams of two. On nights where there wasn’t enough shipping volume to warrant a run, the drivers would perform dock work instead.