Western District denies Summary Judgment

Originally published by Thomas J. Crane.

An engineer worked for Texas Commission on Environmental Quality or 23 years. Shiyan Jiang was never in any trouble until in 2014, he was assigned a new boss, Kim Wilson. The new boss believed Mr. Jiang placed some papers in a permit folder that did not belong there. The plaintiff then filed a complaint alleging discrimination based on age and ethnic origin. The supervisor then found many more things wrong with the long-time engineer, including raising his voice and disputing settled policy matters. Ms. Wilson placed the engineer on probation. During the probation, he had two meetings with supervisors. No incident occurred after the second meeting, yet, the supervisor recommended termination.

Mr. Jiang filed suit as Jiang v. Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, No. 17-CV-00739 (W.D. Tex. 8/13/2018). The TCEQ moved for summary judgment. The Western District court noted that there was evidence that some other co-workers raised their voices on occasion. Other co-workers sometimes placed draft documents into a permit folder. And, others debated policy with their supervisors. Mr. Jiang submitted a statement on his behalf in responding to the motion for summary judgment. The employer tried to argue that Jiang’s Declaration was based on subjective belief. But, his testimony was corroborated by co-workers. The employer then argued that the co-worker affidavits were based on subjective belief. But, noted the court, the co-workers presented facts to support their beliefs.

The court also noted that two other senior employees were placed on probation or issued written warnings after they complained about age discrimination. And, the court noted  that Mr. Jiang complained about race discrimination at the second probation meeting. The very next day, the supervisor recommended he be terminated. That is a very close nexus indeed between opposing discrimination and then suffering an adverse personnel action. The court found that viewing all this evidence in totality, a jury could infer a pattern of behavior of retaliation against persons who complaint about discrimination. It found that there were issues of fact regarding the employer’s articulated reasons for the termination. So, the court denied the employer’s motion for summary judgment. See the decision here.

The judge ruled correctly. The affidavits of co-workers, if supported by factual observations, are much more than mere “subjective” belief.

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