Case Summary

1505 REVIEW GRANTED (SEE # 1689) In a claim for employment discrimination or retaliatory discharge, the employee has the initial burden of establishing a prima facie case of discrimination or retaliation, after which the burden shifts to the employer to articulate a legitimate reason for the employment action, after which the burden shifts to the employee to show that the reason offered by the employer was a pretext for discrimination or retaliation; constructive discharge occurs when the employer intentionally creates or knowingly permits working conditions that are so intolerable or aggravated that a reasonable employer would realize that a reasonable person in the employee's position would be compelled to resign; an employer may be liable for punitive damages for conduct involving oppression, fraud, or malice committed by employees with authority regarding promotions, assignments, affirmative action, and transfers; punitive damages should bear some rational relationship to compensatory damages.

LANE v HUGHES (Race Discrimination) 51 CA4 1601 [See: Heard v Lockheed 44 CA4 1735, T/AT 6/96; Turner v Anheuser 7 C4 1238, T/AT 8/94; Kelly-Zurian v Wohl 22 CA4 397, T/AT 3/94; CivC 3294]