Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA); Employment discrimination; MCL 37.2202(1)(a); McDonnell Douglas framework; Similarly situated employees; Hecht v National Heritage Acads, Inc; Retaliation; MCL 37.2701(a); Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) complaint; Causation; Hostile work environment; National origin; Statute of limitations; Garg v Macomb Cnty Cmty Mental Health

The court held that defendant-employer was entitled to summary disposition on plaintiff’s ELCRA discrimination, retaliation, and hostile-work-environment claims. Plaintiff, a Nigerian-born Detroit police officer, was terminated after an Internal Affairs investigation found he lied about being alone with another officer. The court first held that plaintiff failed to establish a prima facie discrimination claim because he did not show that similarly situated officers outside his protected classes were treated differently. It reasoned that there was “no evidence” the other officers lied during the investigation, while plaintiff changed his position after repeatedly stating he was never alone with the officer. The court also held that the other officers were not similarly situated because plaintiff was under investigation and allegedly lied “in an attempt to escape punishment,” while the others were witnesses. The court next held that plaintiff failed to establish retaliation because the Internal Affairs investigation began before he filed an EEO complaint, and once started, it “had to be completed” as standard procedure. Thus, the investigation and termination were not motivated by retaliation but by “legitimate employment reasons.” Finally, the court held that plaintiff’s hostile-work-environment claim based on accent-related comments failed. Although the comments were “in poor taste,” they were vague, mostly time-barred, not threatening, did not interfere with work performance, and plaintiff himself joked about national origin by calling others “dumb Americans.” Affirmed.