Ex-Foley & Lardner Associate May Proceed with Discrimination Suit
This story gets filed under: “How Not to Deal with Associate Layoffs and Subsequent Discrimination Allegations” (via the WSJ Law Blog):
Zafar Hasan, a Muslim of Indian descent, claims that, post-9/11, he was fired from Foley & Lardner because of his religion, race, national origin and color. The district court granted the firm’s motion for summary judgment. [Yesterday], a three-judge panel of the Seventh Circuit reversed.
The Seventh Circuit opinion in Hasan v. Foley & Lardner, 07-3025 (7th Cir. Dec. 15, 2008) notes:
Foley initially claimed that it fired Mr. Hasan for poor performance. . . . However, after Foley located Mr. Hasan’s work evaluations, which were mostly positive, the firm changed its tune, maintaining that it actually fired Mr. Hasan not because his work was unacceptable but because it only had enough work to keep the best associates in the department occupied.