Georgia Military College legitimately chose to eliminate the HR administrative assistant’s position as part of a campus-wide reduction-in-force, the 11th Circuit ruled.
Dive Brief:
- Georgia Military College properly terminated an African American HR administrative assistant as part of a campus-wide reduction-in-force due to declining revenues, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held Feb. 20 (Gray v. Board of Trustees of the Georgia Military College).
- For the RIF, brought on in part by the 2020 COVID pandemic, each department head was told to eliminate one position, according to court records. The vice president of HR said she chose the administrative assistant position because most of the other HR employees had held the job or a similar one and its duties were the easiest for the department to absorb.
- The administrative assistant was the only African American in an otherwise all-White, 7-person HR department, court records reflected. She sued the college for alleged race discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The 11th Circuit said she failed to show the stated reason for eliminating her position was a pretext for discrimination. It upheld summary judgment for the college.
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