By Associated Press
Atlanta, GA – A $200,000 judgment for a former Alabama Department of Transportation employee who claimed she suffered discrimination and retaliation for reporting racist remarks by a white co-worker has been reversed by the federal appeals court in Atlanta.
Alverene D. Butler filed suit in March 2006, two months after retiring, against ALDOT, Director Joe McInnes, a district engineer and supervisor. A federal jury awarded her $25,000 for lost benefits and earnings, $25,000 for emotional distress and punitive damages of $150,000.
A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in an opinion Wednesday that adverse employment conditions facing Butler did not rise to the level of violations under the Civil Rights Act and the suit should have been dismissed by the lower court.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)