Hamilton v. Sheridan Healthcorp, Inc. (Summary)

EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION

Hamilton v. Sheridan Healthcorp, Inc., No. 13-62008-CIV (S.D. Fla. May 25, 2014)

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida granted the defendant’s motion for summary judgment on the plaintiff’s federal and state racial discrimination and retaliation claims.

The plaintiff, an African-American anesthesiologist, alleged that the defendant discriminated against him on the basis of race when it moved him from night shift to day shift, subjected him to monitoring, cut his pay and ultimately terminated him.  The defendant moved for summary judgment, arguing that the plaintiff was not able to show that the defendant treated a similarly situated employee more favorably.  The court agreed that the plaintiff failed to make out a prima facie case of discrimination because he provided no evidence of similarly situated individuals with similar histories of disciplinary and job performance issues.

Turning to the plaintiff’s retaliation claim, the court held that the defendant had a legitimate non-retaliatory basis for the plaintiff’s termination – his failure to return to work when he said he would after being granted leave.  The court rejected the plaintiff’s argument that the defendant’s deviation from its standard termination procedures demonstrated that its “proffered reason for his termination is unworthy of belief.”