True or false: Opposing discrimination gives green light for employee misconduct

Here’s an urban myth: An employee who opposes potential employer discrimination must be treated with kid gloves after complaining. The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals (whose rulings cover Texas employers) recently stated that this proposition is, indeed, a myth.

Oppose, oppose, oppose

Emilio Lira worked as a financial advisor for Edward Jones. Between November 2014 and November 2016, he complained that while on the job, he was the victim of race and national origin discrimination.

His complaints culminated in a discrimination lawsuit that was filed in late 2016. During the legal battle (which lasted almost three years) he remained employed with Edward Jones. After he lost his case in May 2019, however, he was fired.

Why terminate?

Lira claimed he was fired in retaliation for filing a discrimination complaint. In response, the 5th Circuit essentially said, “Well, the complainants were too far removed in time from the termination to possibly have caused it.” In other words, since his complaints were about incidents that occurred between 2014 and 2016 and his termination was in 2019, they couldn’t be related.

And, oh, are you forgetting something? As a regulated financial institution, Edward Jones was required to collect information on claims filed against it. Lira was charged with reporting the outcome of his lawsuit (his loss) to the company, but he didn’t do so in a timely manner.