Real Life Story of Wrongful Discharge

Patricia, Creative Director - Hennipen County, MN

Patricia worked as a creative director for Miller Meester Advertising (MMA). She was the first woman in the history of MMA to hold a position above an associate-director level. She was promoted to the position of sole creative director, after the creative department was reorganized. During the time that she was creative director she was commended for her abilities by a vice president, and her immediate supervisor never expressed dissatisfaction with her performance. A couple months after her promotion, Patricia was terminated. The reason given was that she had a poor management style, which created morale problems for employees. However, her supervisor was unable to identify anything specific that was wrong with her work performance. After she was terminated, a male was hired to take her place. The court decided that the employer had violated the Minnesota Human Rights Act by wrongfully terminating Patricia because of her gender.

Ray v. Miller Meester Advertising, Inc. 664 N.W.2d 355, 367 (Minn. App. 2003)