Jed DeWick and Sarah E. A. Sousa Win Dismissal of Discrimination Case

10/26/2023

Arrowood LLP attorneys Jed DeWick and Sarah E. A. Sousa won dismissal of a discrimination case brought against their client, CGIT Systems, Inc., by one of its former employees.

In awarding Mr. DeWick and Ms. Sousa’s client summary judgment, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled that the company, a designer and manufacturer of custom electrical equipment used in large-scale infrastructure installations, did not discriminate against one of its senior engineers when it denied his request to work from home during the early days of the COVID pandemic and then terminated him when he repeatedly failed to show up for work.

The engineer claimed he was discriminated against because of his age and race, and that his hypertension was a disability. CGIT maintained that he was terminated because he did not qualify for remote work and he abandoned his job.

In a 39-page order, the judge wrote that the engineer had not shown that he was a victim of age or racial discrimination or that his hypertension was a qualifying disability. The undisputed facts, according to the judge, support CGIT’s reasons for termination and were not a pretext for discrimination. Furthermore, the judge wrote that CGIT viewed the employee as a valuable worker, repeatedly asking him to reconsider his position and return to work in person.

Read this Law360 article for additional details related to this case.

 

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