Judge dismisses employment retaliation claim against firm’s client
BOSTON (March 24, 2010) – A Massachusetts Superior Court judge recently dismissed an employment retaliation lawsuit filed against an employer represented by the firm.
Partner Jennifer E. Burke and Associate Laura E. Bange, who argued the matter in court, persuaded the judge to grant summary judgment in favor of their client on the basis that the former employee failed to allege a viable retaliation claim under the Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Act.
The firm’s client terminated the former employee for violating the company’s employee manual, nearly six months after he was injured on the job. The man was only out of work a few days following his injury and was working at the time he was terminated. Following termination, another eight months passed before the former employee filed a workers’ compensation claim.
Because the employment discharge occurred numerous months prior to the former employee filing a workers’ compensation claim, the judge found that as a matter of law it could not be inferred that the employer preemptively terminated the man to avoid the possibility of a future workers’ compensation claim.
“The facts of this case clearly showed that our client did not retaliate against the former employee related to his workers’ compensation claim,” Burke said. “We are pleased that the judge ended this case in the pre-trial stage.”
About Taylor Duane
Taylor Duane is one of New England’s leading civil litigation law firms with offices in Boston and Providence. Its experienced trial attorneys appear regularly in the federal and state courts of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. The Providence Business News has named the firm in 2008 and 2009 as one of Rhode Island’s Best Places to Work.
