On August 19, 2019, the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Minneapolis Airport Commission Police Officer, Bradley Wingate, who is represented by Lucas Kaster and David Schlesinger of Nichols Kaster, PLLP. In the lawsuit, Wingate alleged that the Minneapolis Airport Commission (“MAC”) retaliated against him in violation of the Minnesota Whistleblower Act after he complained about sexually offensive behavior by one of his colleagues. Following his complaints, Wingate was denied four separate promotions despite ranking in the top three candidates after the promotion testing, and holding the top overall position after the 2017 testing.
In the opinion, the Court of Appeals reversed the district court’s decision granting summary judgment in favor of MAC and held that Wingate’s claims should proceed to trial. In doing so, the Court found that when viewing the evidence in Wingate’s favor, as is required at the summary judgment stage, a reasonable juror could find that MAC’s rationale for not promoting Wingate was false, and that retaliation was the actual reason MAC bypassed Wingate for the four separate promotions.
The case was argued before the Court of Appeals by Associate Lucas Kaster of Nichols Kaster, PLLP’s individual practice group.
The oral argument is available here and the opinion is available here.
At Nichols Kaster, PLLP, we stand with employees who suffer harassment or retaliation after they seek to enforce their legally protected rights. If you feel you have been subjected to harassment or retaliation, contact us today by calling Nichols Kaster, PLLP, at (877) 344-4628.
