Judges and juries bring a mental stopwatch to every discrimination and retaliation case. They use it to compare the time between when employees exercise their legal rights (using FMLA, voice harassment complaint, etc.) and when you took action against them. Tick, tick, tick … if you can hear it, don’t do it!

Case in Point: William and Debra Trujillo worked at a power plant in Wyoming. Their son, Charlie, had brain cancer, which required expensive medical treatment. The power plant provided a self-insured health plan, meaning the company paid the bills directly. Each year, the company discussed the past year’s health claims and the possibility of raising employees’ premiums to cover the costs.

Eleven days after Charlie Trujillo started his “high-dollar” medical treatments out of state, the company began an investigation against his father for timesheet fraud. Mr. Trujillo stated that he was suffering from depression and taking anti-depressants, which affected his memory. Therefore, he couldn’t remember the details of his time sheets from months before. He was eventually fired.

Shortly after, Mrs. Trujillo was investigated for timesheet fraud. Six weeks later, she was fired for the same reason. Their son died the following year of his cancer.

The Trujillos sued the power plant under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for “association discrimination.” The ADA prohibits employers from discriminating against a qualified individual “because of the known disability of an individual with whom the qualified individual is known to have a relationship or association.”

The power plant argued that it had a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for firing: the fraudulent timesheets. But the Trujillos said the timing was too suspicious. (Trujillo v. PacifiCorp, 5/7/08)

How did this case end … and what lessons can be learned?