Summary Judgment Reversed Because First Amendment and Title VII Protects Public Employee’s Refusal to Facilitate Unlawful Hiring Decision

Plaintiff, Annette Thomas, was a municipal court administrator who was placed on extended probation and then fired for refusing her supervisor’s instruction to pass over an African- American subordinate employee for a promotion. The subordinate had successfully sued the city for retaliating against her when she complained that she had not been promoted to the same position because of her race.? ?Thomas alleged that her supervisor told her not to promote the subordinate because of her prior lawsuit even though she was the best candidate. ?The court of appeals reversed summary ?judgment ?against ?the ?plaintiff? on ?her First Amendment and Title VII retaliation claims finding that she raised genuine issues of material fact about whether her refusal to facilitate her supervisor’s unlawful retaliatory conduct constituted expressive conduct on a matter of public concern and for engaging in protected activity.? ?The Court affirmed dismissal of the plaintiff’s Fourteenth Amendment and state law claims. ?Thomas ?v. ?City ?of ?Beaverton, ?No. ?03-35120 (08/16/04; Goodwin, McKeown, Fisher).