Lack of conclusive evidence does not undermine termination's lawfulness

The 8th Circuit recently affirmed that employers facing discrimination charges don't need to prove they were right to prevail—they merely need to show they acted in good faith.

Employee admits a little misconduct

A coworker accused Albert Rinchuso, a pharmacist for the Brookshire Grocery Company, of looking at pornography on his work computer. During the company's investigation, four female coworkers claimed he looked at pictures of naked women, gambled on his work computer, and touched them offensively.

Rinchuso admitted he sometimes visited Internet dating sites and sports pages at work but denied the allegations regarding pornography, gambling, and touching coworkers. Brookshire's IT department could never confirm whether he did in fact access pornography on his work computer.

Brookshire fired Rinchuso at the conclusion of its investigation, prompting him to sue. He claimed his termination was motivated by his gender because:

• The company relied on interviews with female witnesses only and declined to interview two male coworkers during its investigation;
• It had no video evidence of him touching his female coworkers or misusing his work computer; and
• It couldn't verify he had viewed pornography at work.

Good faith dispels improper motivation