Myers v. AT&T

Outcome: Reversed and Remanded for Trial

Description: In this disability discrimination case, the trial court found that the plaintiff, Lois Myers, did not have enough evidence of discrimination for a jury to even consider whether AT&T fired her because she was a survivor of ovarian cancer. The trial court dismissed Ms. Myers' case even though her Myers' immediate supervisor admitted she lowered Ms. Myers' performance rating because she perceived that, as a cancer survivor, Ms. Myers was not working as hard as her non-disabled coworker. It was also undisputed that AT&T selected Ms. Myers to be included in a mass layoff because of her lowered performance rating. On appeal, the New Jersey Appellate Division that Ms. Myers was entitled to her day in court. In fact, the Court found that the admission by Ms. Myers' supervisor was "direct evidence" of discrimination, and therefore instead of Ms. Myers having to prove that AT&T fired her because of her disability, the company would had the burden to prove that it would have fired Ms. Myers even if she never had cancer. The Myers decision is an extremely important since it makes it significantly easier for an employee to place the burden of proof on the employer in discrimination cases under New Jersey law.