Older man of Chinese ancestry cannot pursue discrimination claim against Department of Community Health
Jiqiang Xu sued the Michigan Department of Community Health and his supervisors, alleging that he was denied promotions because of his age and ethnicity. He alleged that he was passed over for numerous promotions in favor of younger women who were less qualified. He also argued that he was retaliated against for making complaints, pointing in particular to an absenteeism policy that required him to disclose the nature of any medical visits, including the time of arrival and departure at the health care provider's office, was an unreasonable invasion of privacy.
The Court of Appeals held that Xu had not proved that he and the younger women who were promoted were "similarly situated," and that he "only" proved that there was a relationship in time between his actions and a series of retaliatory responses. The Court also held that since Xu "did not state how detailed the [medical] note need to be, in terms of disclosing the reason for the appointment," he had failed to show that the disclosure would be "highly offensive to a reasonable person."