Opinion ID: 165533
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Filing a Police Report

Text: 36 Filing false criminal charges against, or the malicious prosecution of, an employee can constitute an adverse employment action. Berry v. Stevinson Chevrolet, 74 F.3d 980, 986 (10th Cir.1996). Ms. Dick alleges that Mr. Davis instructed Ms. Dick's coworkers to file a police report against her in retaliation for bringing claims of harassment and that this constitutes an adverse employment action. We agree with the reasoning of the District Court and hold that the police report in this case is not an adverse employment action. 37 In Berry, there was evidence that the employee's former supervisor caused individuals to report [a crime]. Id. We noted that criminal prosecution involving a public criminal trial would have an obvious impact on the employee's future employment prospects. Id. Unlike the plaintiff in Berry, however, Ms. Dick has not stood trial, and no formal charges have been brought against her. Rather, her coworkers simply complained to the Vernal police, allegedly at Mr. Davis's suggestion, which resulted in a police report. There is no evidence that the matter persisted beyond the filing of the report. Unlike the public criminal trial to which the plaintiff in Berry was subjected, the police report describing alleged incidents involving Ms. Dick does not carr[y] a significant risk of humiliation, damage to reputation, and a concomitant harm to future employment prospects. Id. Accordingly, the police report in this context cannot be considered an adverse employment action. 38