On October 22, 2007, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee refused to grant summary judgment to the Chattanooga City Wide Service Department on a former employee’s claim of race discrimination.  The employee, Ronald Madden, who is African-American, was discharged for setting off a firecracker while working.  Madden admitted to setting the fire cracker off, but claimed it was to scare off a stray dog so as not to be bitten.  Another employee identified two white employees who also set off fireworks while working but were not terminated.  The employee claimed that the incidents with the white employees occurred in plain view of management and during the time Madden worked for the employer. 

The employer argued that Madden’s claim should be dismissed because he could not show that he was treated differently than similarly-situated, non-minority employees.  Specifically, the employer stated that no non-minority employee set off fire crackers during work, so there was no one to whom Madden could compare himself to establish discrimination.  The court disagreed.  The court took into consideration the fact that  Madden’s evidence did not specify which particular managers witnessed the white employees setting off firecrackers.  However, the court also noted that the evidence indicated that the employer’s managers communicated amongst themselves about Madden setting off fireworks, and if any manager had witnessed other employees setting off fireworks, the incident would have been communicated to the manager who took the disciplinary action against Madden.  The court made this determination in spite of the employer’s supervisors testifying that they were not aware of any alleged similar conduct by a white employee.     

This case serves as an important reminder that employee discipline, especially termination decisions, must be consistent.   

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