The worker, a woman of Chinese descent, was demoted and replaced by a White male — and that was enough to show potential discrimination, the appeals court determined.
- A Washington district court erred when it determined the U.S. Postal Service offered a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for demoting a postmaster, a panel of judges for the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held Feb. 26 (Lui v. DeJoy).
- The worker, a woman of Chinese ethnicity, alleged she received unwelcome comments from co-workers based on her national origin and, when her supervisor interceded and complained to the HR manager on her behalf, he was pressured to fire or demote her, according to court documents. She was demoted and replaced with a White male postmaster.
- Although USPS argued the worker failed to show she was treated less favorably than “similarly situated” employees, the 9th Circuit found the postmaster only needed to show USPS replaced her with a White male worker to successfully establish her case.
