I was discriminated against too! Can that testimony be used in court?

When an employee brings a bias case to court, can testimony from co-workers in other departments be used as evidence? Last week, the Supreme Court (sort of) answered that question.

The case involved a woman who was laid off by her employer. The company said it was part of a legitimate reduction in force. But she said she was included in the layoffs because of her age.

In court, her lawyers asked to introduce testimony from five co-workers who also thought they were terminated because of age. The company moved to exclude the so-called me too evidence because those employees worked in different departments, and the decisions to let them go were made by different people.

The district court agreed with the company. But the appeals court reversed, and the Supreme Court affirmed.

The reason: All the employees were terminated as part of the same RIF and were chosen based on the same criteria. So in this case, the testimony may have been useful.

But the Court didnt say if this type of evidence is admissible in all cases just that the question is fact-based and depends on many factors. So its to be decided on a case-by-case basis.

Whats it mean for HR? Its another reminder of why ALL managers need to know and understand their legal responsibilities.