Corey McNellis sued Douglas County School District in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, raising claims of First Amendment retaliation under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and religious discrimination and retaliation under Title VII and Colorado law. The district court dismissed the case under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), and McNellis appealed to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Factual Overview
Corey McNellis worked as the Athletic Director and Assistant Principal at Ponderosa High School in Douglas County for fourteen years. In October 2020, the school’s theatre director sent an email to staff about an upcoming performance of “The Laramie Project,” a play about the aftermath of Matthew Shepard’s murder. McNellis responded to the email, expressing reservations about the production and offering to add a “Christian perspective” to it.
Following this email exchange, McNellis was placed on administrative leave, investigated, and ultimately terminated. McNellis alleged that he was told he was being investigated due to his “religious comments” and that these comments were cited as the reason for his termination. He also claimed he complained to the principal and several co-workers about being investigated based on his Christian beliefs.
Nearly two years after McNellis’s termination, the former principal wrote a letter stating he believed McNellis was “railroaded” based on his political and religious views, and that the firing was unjust and unfair.
Corey McNellis worked as the Athletic Director and Assistant Principal at Ponderosa High School in Douglas County for fourteen years. In October 2020, the school’s theatre director sent an email to staff about an upcoming performance of “The Laramie Project,” a play about the aftermath of Matthew Shepard’s murder. McNellis responded to the email, expressing reservations about the production and offering to add a “Christian perspective” to it.
Legal Analysis
First Amendment Retaliation Claim: The court affirmed the dismissal of McNellis’s First Amendment retaliation claim. Applying the Garcetti/Pickering test, the court found that McNellis failed to plausibly allege that his speech about “The Laramie Project” was made as a private citizen rather than pursuant to his official duties. The court reasoned that discussing issues related to extracurricular activities was part of McNellis’s job responsibilities as a member of the Administrative Team.
Title VII and CADA Discrimination Claims: The court reversed the dismissal of McNellis’s religious discrimination claims under Title VII and the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA). While the court found that McNellis had not alleged direct evidence of discrimination, it concluded that he had sufficiently alleged circumstantial evidence to give rise to an inference of discrimination. The court noted that McNellis’s allegations that the school district repeatedly invoked his “religious comments” before investigating and terminating him provided a plausible link between his termination and a discriminatory motive.
Title VII and CADA Retaliation Claims: The court affirmed the dismissal of McNellis’s retaliation claims under Title VII and CADA. The court found that McNellis failed to allege facts establishing a causal link between his complaints about the investigation and his termination. The complaint alleged retaliation based on McNellis’s religion, not based on his complaints to colleagues about the investigation.
Concurring Opinion: Judge Hartz wrote a concurring opinion expressing his view that the McDonnell Douglas framework used in employment discrimination cases is unnecessarily complicated and distracts from the main inquiry of whether there are sufficient allegations or evidence of discrimination.
The Tenth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of McNellis’s First Amendment retaliation claim and Title VII and CADA retaliation claims, but reversed the dismissal of his Title VII and CADA discrimination claims and remanded for further proceedings.
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