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ACK obtained summary judgment in the United States District Court for the District Court for his client, a government contractor at Aberdeen Proving Grounds. The case, Troy Williams v. Tero –Tek, involved claims by a former employee that he was demoted and then discharged because he was an African American. He also contended that his discharge was in retaliation for filing a claim with the EEOC after his demotion.
ACK was able to demonstrate to the Court that the demotion had nothing to do with the plaintiff's race, but rather was because he took it upon himself to tell an employee, who was scheduled to be laid off, that the company was not following the procedure set forth in the contract the company had with the Union. The information provided by the Plaintiff to the employee was incorrect. ACK was also able to get the Plaintiff to admit at his deposition that he had no evidence that his demotion was racially motivated and all he had was his subjective belief that he would not have been demoted if he was Caucasian.
ACK was also able to demonstrate to the Court that the plaintiff's termination was unrelated to racial discrimination or in retaliation for complaining to the EEOC about his demotion. The contract between the Government and the Company required all employees to have a secret clearance. The Company was required to report all court proceedings involving employees to the Government. The Company notified the Government that a peace order had been entered against the Plaintiff. The Government then informed the Plaintiff that he had to fill out a new security questionnaire. The Plaintiff did not provide the new security questionnaire, therefore the Government revoked Plaintiff's secret clearance and the Company had to terminate the Plaintiff's employment. With regard to the retaliation claim, ACK was able to establish that there was a legitimate business reason for Plaintiff's termination. This was accepted by the Court as a complete defense to the retaliation claim.
