A civilian DoD employee lost her age-discrimination case last month, even though she successfully proved that her second-line supervisor was biased against older workers. In Jernagin v. McHugh (No. 1:12-cv-1285), the U.S. District Court in Alexandria found that even though Lavina Jernagin established the existence of age bias on the part of her second-line supervisor, she failed to establish a causal nexus between that supervisor’s age bias and another supervisor’s decision to rate Jernagin a “2 out of 5” on a performance appraisal.
Jernagin was employed as a Logistics Management Specialist with the U.S. Army, where she had consistently received “Outstanding” or “Excellent” performance ratings during her 10+ year career. In 2007, when she was nearly 60 years old, Jernagin unexpectedly received a rating of “Fair” (2 out of 5) on her annual review. Prior to this review, Jernagin’s second-line supervisor, Mary Costa, had made several derogatory, age-based comments toward Jernagin and her coworkers, such as asking older employees about their age at initial meetings, asking Jernagin, “are you that old that you can’t remember what I told you to do?” and calling various employees “old timer” and “dinosaur”. Jernagin believed that Costa had ordered her first-line supervisor, Larry Lawson, to give her a low rating due to Costa’s apparent bias against older employees.
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) makes it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against any employee age 40 or older on the basis of the employee’s age. In order to prevail on a cause of action under the ADEA, a plaintiff must prove “but for causation” by a preponderance of the evidence; in other words, the evidence has to show that were it not for the employer’s motive to discriminate against the employee because of his age, the employee would not have suffered the adverse employment action (in this case, the low performance rating).
Following a three-day trial, the district court concluded that the testimony of Jernagin and three of her coworkers regarding Costa’s alleged comments was credible; accordingly, a preponderance of the evidence supported the existence of age bias on the part of Jernagin’s second-line supervisor. Critically, however, it was Jernagin’s first-line supervisor—Lawson, not Costa—who gave her the low rating. The court found that Jernagin failed to establish a causal nexus between Costa’s apparent age bias and Lawson’s decision to rate her a “2”. In fact, the “2” rating was consistent with the first-line supervisor’s interim review, which noted concerns with the timeliness of Jernagin’s work, etc.
This decision highlights an important truth of employment litigation: even if you’re a member of a protected class who has suffered a clearly adverse employment action, it’s not enough to prove merely that your boss is an ageist, sexist, or racist. You must also connect the proverbial dots by showing that your employer’s bias or prejudice was the actual reason behind the unfavorable treatment. This “difficult, but narrow, motivational issue” is often the determining factor in these cases.
Fill out the form and we’ll respond as soon as possible.
Posted on Google
AnonymousTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
I was facing a charge of Reckless Driving for speeding on I66 at midnight. This is considered a Class 1 Misdemeanor in the state of Virginia. Having something like Reckless Driving on your record is on par with having a DUI. This charge also carries a chance for jail time (up to a year). I was incredibly scared because I had never faced such a charge. And looking into Virginia Law, my speed exceeded 90mph, which is quite serious. I retained Dave Albo to help me with this case. Since my record was clean, Dave had advised I do the following before my trial. * Take a DMV Driver's Improvement Course * Take a Behavior Modification Course * Do 100 hours of community service * Print my DMV Record one week before the trial On the day of my trial, Dave got my Reckless Driving charge REDUCED to a regular Speeding charge. This was the absolute best case scenario for me. No criminal record. No jail time. No suspension of license. I did receive 6 demerit points and had to pay a fine of $250 (plus court fees). But that's a slap on the wrist, compared to what I could have been facing. Thank you Dave Albo for helping me through this ordeal!Posted on Google
TomDave albo it's a fantastic lawyer. He has helped me twice now with great results both times with minor traffic tickets. I would recommend him to anybody including my family. He has great ethics and honesty which is what I look for in a lawyer .Posted on Google
kendall carpenterDave was my attorney recently for a car accident where I needed someone to represent me in court. After exchanging all necessary information he reassured me when the court date came that there wouldn’t be anything to worry about. On the day of court a couple problems arose and Dave was able to rectify them quickly, told me everything I need to say if needed and when it was all over he got my violation reduced significantly. I hope to never go to court again but if I do I will being calling Dave again.Posted on Google
Amanda StallardRetaining the services of Mr. Albo for traffic court was probably the best decision I made. He is very responsive to emails, knowledgeable, and punctual. He provided excellent advice that eased the panic of having to go to the court house and stand before a judge. I am very happy with the outcome of my visit to traffic court and highly recommend Dave Albo.Posted on Google
Mark WestMr Albo was very professional and I was pleased with the outcome.Posted on Google
MDavid was incredible to work with from clear communication and next steps. To showing up to traffic court early to walk over all steps, making case in court as experienced/intelligent/well spoken lawyer. Lastly, he even followed after case in writing to confirm the outcome outlining everything that happened in lamen terms (in my case the best outcome we could ask for). I’m so appreciative to David.Posted on Google
mitquinn88Absolutely top notch representation. Can't thank Dave enough for his knowledge and expertise.Posted on Google
G RThanks to Dave Albo for a fantastic job representing me and ensuring the best possible outcome for my case. I highly recommend him - you will be in good hands for sure. From start to finish he provided expert counsel and kept me well informed. He simply could not have done a better job.Posted on Google
Hope CarriganI am THRILLED with the outcome of my case, all thanks to Attorney Albo's superb expertise, excellent advice & sharp negotiating skills! I am extremely relieved and grateful; I highly recommend retaining his services. Well beyond worth it!!Posted on Google
Doug DamronDave did a great job representing me for my traffic court infraction! I wanted the best and his name came up as I searched for an attorney. Highly recommend him on all levels including a successful outcome to my case.
