Russell v. Principi

The principal issue in this appeal is whether Lisa K. Russell presented a prima facie case of reverse discrimination by alleging an adverse employment action under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. s 2000e et seq. Russell alleged that the Department of Veterans Affairs engaged in reverse discrimination in violation of Title VII by awarding her a lower performance rating and a smaller cash bonus than her similarly-situated co-worker. In Brown v. Brody, 199 F.3d 446, 452 (D.C. Cir. 1999), the court rejected the argument that “poor performance evaluations are necessarily adverse actions.” Relying on Brown, the district court granted the Department’s motion for summary judgment on the ground that Russell had not shown that she suffered an adverse employment action. We hold that the loss of a bonus can constitute an adverse employment action under Title VII and, therefore, reverse the grant of summary judgment. As to Russell’s challenges to certain orders as abuses of discretion, we affirm in part and remand in part. We deny Russell’s belated request to plead a new cause of action for bad faith litigation abuse.

I.