Girma v. Skidmore College

# Girma v. Skidmore College Summary ## What Happened A professor named Girma was not reappointed at Skidmore College and claimed the college discriminated against him based on his race, national origin, and age. He believed these illegal factors—not his job performance—caused the decision to end his employment. ## What the Court Decided The court sided with Skidmore College. The judge found that Girma did not present enough evidence to prove discrimination actually occurred. Instead, the court determined the college had legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons for not reappointing him: his poor teaching evaluations. Because the college documented performance problems, the discrimination claim failed. ## Why This Matters for Workers This case shows that employers can legally end employment based on documented job performance issues. Workers claiming discrimination must prove that illegal factors—like race or age—actually caused the termination, not poor work performance. Simply being fired doesn't automatically mean discrimination happened. However, workers should keep records of positive evaluations and communications, as performance documentation plays a crucial role in these disputes.