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Plaintiff's Discrimination Claim Based On Bankruptcy Dismissed
In Cipolla v. HMS Host Corp. (U.S.D.C Case no. 25-7-1841, Hochberg, U.S.D.J.), the judge granted the defendant-employer's motion for summary judgment, dismissing plaintiff's complaint alleging that he was discriminated against in the workplace for filing bankruptcy in violation of the Bankruptcy Code and N.J. common law prohibiting termination of employment that is contrary to a clear mandate of public policy.
A routine rehire background check on plaintiff resulted in a 'red flag' -- 'cannot hire' -- and a subsequent review of plaintiff's credit history showed late debt payments and a bankruptcy filing. The director of loss prevention, without knowing who the job candidate was, indicated that the red flag meant the person could not be hired. After reviewing the credit report, he chose not to exercise his discretion to change the flag color, because he saw nothing warranting such a change.
Although the bankruptcy was evidence that plaintiff was attempting to deal with his debts, the bankruptcy was not taken into account in the scoring criteria, and plaintiff's poor credit history was cited as the reason for termination. The judge concluded that the plaintiff cannot prove that his bankruptcy filing was the 'sole reason' for his termination, and cannot dispute his poor credit history. The defendant also consistently enforced its background check and red-flag policy.