There are times when employees just can’t get along. What happens when one of them says it’s because his co-workers are biased against him?

Read the facts of this real-life case and decide: Who won?

The facts:

The employee, a native of India, was in the country on an H1B visa. While working in the company’s IT department, he never got along well with his co-workers. His manager noted in his first performance review that his technical skills were excellent, but he needed to improve his relationships with other people in the company.

Employees complained that he was rude, abusive and sent them condescending e-mails. Also, he ignored the manager’s requests that he train another staffer to serve as his backup. The company fired him, citing his poor people skills. The employee sued for national origin discrimination. He said he didn’t get along with other employees because they were biased against him, claiming he was subjected to insults about his nationality.

The employer said:

The employee was fired solely because of his behavior and attitude problems — not his status as a foreigner. If any of his co-workers had biased attitudes toward him, the employee failed to bring it to HR’s attention.

Who won the case?

Answer: The employer.

Why: The employee claimed he was subjected to derogatory comments about his national origin — but he couldn’t prove that ever occurred, and he never made a complaint about bias to HR or his boss.

Without any evidence to the contrary, the court ruled that the company legitimately fired the employee based on the way he treated his colleagues.

Cite: Andonissamy v. Hewlett-Packard Co.

Tags: discrimination, H1B, national origin