Proffered Reasons For Police Officer’s Discharge Were Not Pretexts For Retaliation Based On His Retention Of An Attorney
Russell J. Morris brought this action claiming that the Chillicothe, Missouri, Police Department terminated him in retaliation for exercising his First Amendment right of freedom of association with an attorney. The district court granted summary judgment for the City.
On appeal, the 8th Circuit affirmed, finding that the city’s proffered, legitimate reason for discharging Morris, that he had multiple performance problems, including abuse of his sick leave, non-attendance of the conferences paid for by the city, and ranking in the bottom third of all employees in certain performance areas, was not a pretext for retaliatory discharge, based on Morris’ retention of an attorney.
Although Morris’ discharge was a
deviation from the city's progressive discipline policy, the employment manual
specifically stated that the city was not bound by the policy. Also, the city
council's recommendation of the discharge predated the employee's protected
association with his attorney. Additionally, the employer's stated reasons for
the discharge did not change over time. Finally, there was no showing that the
discharge was motivated by a retaliatory purpose.
Morris v. City of
Chillicothe
The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals’ jurisdiction includes North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Arkansas.