Associational Retaliation Claim Dismissed
Spilman recently obtained a dismissal of an "associational" retaliation claim made by a client’s dismissed employee. Two dismissed employees filed a Title VII retaliation lawsuit against a railroad company. One of the plaintiffs claimed he was dismissed because he had earlier filed a Charge with the EEOC, and the other plaintiff said he was being retaliated because he was friends with the other. The court, in a detailed opinion, granted Spilman’s Motion to Dismiss because the co-plaintiff was not in the "zone of interest" that Title VII protected—simply being someone's friend was not sufficient.