Military museum, fire taxes approved by Terrebonne voters
November 25, 2015
Boil water advisory for North Lafourche
November 30, 2015
A federal appeals court has overruled part of a lower court’s decision to toss out a sexual harassment and discrimination case brought against the Houma-Terrebonne Housing Authority.
A three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal in New Orleans has reinstated a claim by Tyrikia Porter, a former housing authority employee, that the agency violated federal employment laws by not allowing her to rescind the resignation she tendered prior to testimony she gave against HTHA director Wayne Thibodeaux.
Not allowing Porter to remain on the job, the court ruled, was consistent with her claim of retaliation for testifying in court.
The decision means that Porter is free to continue pursuing the retaliation claim in U.S. District Court.
“I am happy that she and I will have our day in court,” said Thibodeaux, when asked about the decision.
Porter’s fiancé, former HTHA employee Troy Johnson, who figured prominently in the initial litigation, said she is “very happy” with the decision.
Porter herself declined comment.
“I want it known that I don’t hate Wayne Thibodeaux,” Johnson said.
Magistrate Judge Daniel Knowles III had thrown out the sexual harassment claims in the case, as well as the retaliation claim.
Reinstatement of that claim does not mean the court has determined it is valid, only that there is likelihood that at trial, Porter could prevail.
The decision not to rescind Porter’s resignation was ultimately Thibodeaux’s call, even though housing authority commissioners recommended that he accept the reversal.
Thibodeaux’s action in Porter’s case was the first time he had overruled a board recommendation about terminating an employee, the court noted. Further, Porter had identified four employees who were allowed to rescind resignations in the past.
That less than seven weeks had passed between Porter’s testimony and Thibodeaux’s decision not to allow her to reverse her resignation, the court panel commented, gave credence to the suggestion that retaliation had occurred.
“Thibodeaux, who had been present at the hearing in which Porter testified against him, acted within his sole discretion to reject Porter’s rescission,” the decision reads. “Porter has raised issues about his credibility, and about the truth of his assertion that she was unhappy in the position. He acted unusually, based on his prior behavior, in rejecting her letter of rescission. These circumstances create “‘a conflict in substantial evidence on the question of whether the HTHA would not have taken the action ‘but for’ Porter’s protected activity.”
After the sexual harassment allegations surfaced, the HTHA Board of Commissioners censured Thibodeaux, and mandated sexual harassment training. •
Houma-Terrebonne Housing Authority Director Wayne Thibodeaux was accused of sexual harrassment by an employee. A federal appeals court found that a retaliation accusation may stand, with others dismissed.
