Employee’s refusal to provide password justifies termination

An employee’s refusal to provide her password to a work-related computer program was enough to overcome her national origin discrimination claim, according to a recent ruling from the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers Arkansas employers).

Facts

Maria Towery, a naturalized citizen from Mexico, started working for the Mississippi County Economic Development Commission in 1997 and was the Healthy Start program director from 1998 until she was fired in June 2017. As the director, she supervised seven employees and was required to file monthly, quarterly, and annual reports with the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). She was the only commission employee who was trained and had password access to the program.

In April 2017, Towery was suspended for two weeks after swearing at her boss during a confrontation over an employee’s transfer request. While she was out, several employees submitted complaints against her alleging intimidation, harassment, and other policy violations. She was given the opportunity to respond to these complaints. When she didn’t reply, however, she was placed on probation for 90 days.

At the time, Towery was asked to provide her password to the HRSA system. She refused. She asked her contact at the federal agency if she was required to share the password, and she was told it was within her discretion. She again refused to give her superior the password and filed a discrimination charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).