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No. 126254
| Michigan Department of Civil |
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Thomas E. Marshall |
| Rights ex rel Burnette Burnside, |
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Claimant-Appellee, |
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vs (
Wayne - Simmons, L.) |
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| Fashion Bug of Detroit, Inc., |
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Paul C. Smith |
Respondent-Appellant. |
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Click to view briefs in Adobe format:
Claimant-Appellee's Brief in Response>>
Respondent-Appellant's Application for Leave to Appeal>>
Respondent-Appellant's Supplemental Brief>>
Respondent-Appellant's Reply Brief>>
Background
Burnette Burnside worked as a sales associate at Fashion Bug's Detroit store. Fashion Bug had a policy that employees who return merchandise must produce a receipt establishing the purchase price. One day Burnside visited the store with her sister and attempted, without success, to return some clothing that she had purchased using her employee discount. Fashion Bug ultimately fired Burnside for violating the store's employee return policy. Burnside accused the store manager who refused to allow Burnside to return the clothing of making a racially offensive remark. She also asserted that the manager, on a later occasion, refused to allow Burnside's sister to return clothing without a receipt. The manager responded that Burnside was trying to circumvent the store's return policy by giving clothing that she had purchased with her discount to her sister to return, because her sister, as a non-employee customer, could return it without a receipt. After her termination, Burnside filed a complaint with the Michigan Civil Rights Commission asserting that she was fired because of her earlier confrontation with the store manager and that the confrontation occurred because of Burnside's race. She claimed that she was similarly situated to the store manager, who was not fired despite refusing to allow a customer to return clothing without a receipt. The hearing officer who heard the testimony concluded that Burnside failed to state a prima facie case under Michigan 's Civil Rights Act. The Michigan Civil Rights Commission, however, concluded that Burnside made a prima facie claim of race discrimination under the burden-shifting analysis of McDonnell Douglas v Green, 411 US 792 (1973). Both the Wayne County Circuit Court and the Court of Appeals affirmed the commission's decision. Fashion Bug seeks leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.
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