Prometheus 6

Coca-Cola asked the Supreme Court to consider whether an employer may be held liable for intentional discrimination if the person who fired an employee harbored no discriminatory bias.

Race Discrimination Case Added to Docket
Associated Press
Saturday, January 6, 2007; A03

The Supreme Court yesterday added seven cases to its docket, including a discrimination case in which a Coca-Cola bottling company fired a black employee.

The lawsuit involves allegations that a supervisor of employee Stephen Peters was motivated by racial bias and influenced a human resources manager to fire the worker. Coca-Cola fired Peters for insubordination after he refused a request to work on a weekend during his scheduled days off.

A federal appeals court said that a federal judge who dismissed the case placed too much emphasis on the fact that Peters's immediate supervisor made no express recommendation to fire him.

Coca-Cola asked the Supreme Court to consider whether an employer may be held liable for intentional discrimination if the person who fired an employee harbored no discriminatory bias.

The case is BCI Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of Los Angeles v. EEOC, No. 06-341.