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Davis v. Fort Bend County

Davis v. Fort Bend County

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

August 26, 2014, Filed

No. 13-20610

Opinion

 [*483]  EDWARD C. PRADO, Circuit Judge:

Plaintiff-Appellant Lois M. Davis ("Davis") filed suit against her former employer, Defendant-Appellee Fort Bend County ("Fort Bend"), alleging discrimination and retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2000e-17 ("Title VII"). The district court granted Fort Bend's motion for summary judgment on both claims. For the reasons stated below, we affirm in part and reverse in part.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Fort Bend hired Davis in December 2007 as a Desktop Support Supervisor responsible for supervising about fifteen information technology ("IT") technicians. Charles Cook ("Cook") was the IT Director at the time. In November 2009, he hired his personal [**2]  friend and fellow church member, Kenneth Ford ("Ford"), as Davis's supervisor.

On or about April 1, 2010, Davis filed a complaint with Fort Bend's Human Resources Department, alleging that Cook subjected her to constant sexual harassment and assaults soon after her employment began. Fort Bend placed Davis on Family Medical Leave Act ("FMLA") leave during its investigation of her complaint. The investigation substantiated Davis's allegations against Cook and ultimately led to Cook's resignation on April 22, 2010.

According to Davis, Ford immediately began retaliating against her when she returned to work from FMLA leave. She alleged that Ford "effectively" demoted her by reducing the number of her direct reports from fifteen to four; removed her from projects she had previously managed; superseded her authority by giving orders and assigning different projects and tasks directly to Davis's staff; removed her administrative rights from the computer server; and assigned her tasks that similarly situated employees were not required to perform.

In March 2011, Fort Bend prepared to install personal computers, network components, and audiovisual equipment into its newly built Fort Bend County [**3]  Justice Center. All technical support employees, including Davis, were involved in the process. As the Desktop Support Supervisor, Davis and her team were to "assist with the testing of the computers [and] make sure all of the computers had been set up properly." The installation was scheduled for the weekend of July 4, 2011, and all employees were required to be present.

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765 F.3d 480 *; 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 16470 **; 124 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 101; 98 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) P45,138

LOIS M. DAVIS, Plaintiff-Appellant v. FORT BEND COUNTY, Defendant-Appellee

Subsequent History: US Supreme Court certiorari denied by Fort Bend Cnty. v. Davis, 135 S. Ct. 2804, 192 L. Ed. 2d 847, 2015 U.S. LEXIS 3814 (U.S., 2015)

Dismissed by Davis v. Fort Bend Cnty., 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 113510 (S.D. Tex., Aug. 24, 2016)

Prior History:  [**1] Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Davis v. Fort Bend County, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 130197 (S.D. Tex., Sept. 11, 2013)

CORE TERMS

religious, religious belief, sincerity, church, summary judgment, district court, volunteer, accommodate, undue hardship, attend, employees, retaliation, material fact, courts, prima facie case, religion, religious discrimination, genuine dispute, quotation, employment requirement, personal preference, community service, bona fide, marks, conflicted, feeding, weekend, nonmoving party, religious observance, retaliation claim

Civil Procedure, Appeals, Standards of Review, De Novo Review, Summary Judgment, Appellate Review, Standards of Review, Entitlement as Matter of Law, General Overview, Genuine Disputes, Materiality of Facts, Burdens of Proof, Movant Persuasion & Proof, Opposing Materials, Accompanying Documentation, Nonmovant Persuasion & Proof, Judgments, Evidentiary Considerations, Evidence, Inferences & Presumptions, Inferences, Scintilla Rule, Labor & Employment Law, Discrimination, Religious Discrimination, Defenses, Reasonable Accommodation & Undue Hardship, Burden Shifting, Employee Burdens, Constitutional Law, Fundamental Freedoms, Freedom of Religion, Free Exercise of Religion, Scope & Definitions, Allocation, Retaliation, Burdens of Proof, Elements, Statutory Application, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Adverse Employment Actions