HR employee's wrongful discharge and discrimination claims are summarily dismissed

Linda Tate was laid off by Plastomer Corporation, along with a large share of the Plastomer workforce, in 2008.  Only the HR Director remained employed, and he was reduced to part-time without benefits.  In 2009, the company offered to re-employ Tate on a part-time basis, along with another administrative assistant.  Tate was on disability leave at the time and declined the offer.  Months later, she sought re-employment and was again offered a part-time position which she declined.  She then sued, alleging discrimination and a hostile work environment.

The Court of Appeals agreed with the trial judge that Tate could not prove that she was treated any differently than other similarly-situated HR employees or that economic down-turn was a mere pretext for her lay off.  It also concluded that her allegations about harassment in 2008 could not rise to a jury decision because she had not raised any of the issues with company management prior to her lawsuit.