Opinion ID: 1940696
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: equal protectionsex discrimination

Text: Lee claims that he was the victim of sex discrimination and that his female superiors used this incident as a convenient way to get rid of him. He claims that they resented his take charge attitude. He further claims that the other nurse implicated in this matter, a female, was only reprimanded and not discharged, which shows that he received unequal treatment. Lee had the burden of showing that he was discharged for being male, rather than for rule violations or any other misconduct. Cedeck v. Hamiltonian Federal Sav. & Loan Ass'n, 414 F.Supp. 495 (E.D. Mo.1976). He never denied the wrongdoing. Nor did he deny the fact that dispensing the pills to a minor without the required records or a physician's approval was prohibited. The record shows that the nurse who discovered the discrepancy in Tammy's chart and brought it to the attention of Lee's supervisor was a new employee who had no conflict with Lee. It is true that the other nurse involved in the disposition of Tammy's case was a female and was not discharged. However, she was subordinate to Lee and followed his orders. She also reacted differently to the criticism by apologizing and assuring her supervisor that it would never happen again. The Clinic's Health Services Administrator testified that Lee was treated differently because he was a supervisor and was expected to handle the situation in accordance with the rules. Lee agreed that there was no discrimination by his female supervisors when he was hired and at the time he was offered a possible promotion. Therefore, Lee's equal protection argument fails because the evidence fails to show that his termination was the result of sex discrimination.