Sixth Circuit Applies Balancing Test In Retaliation Case Involving an Employee's Disclosure of Confidential Documents
A recent Sixth Circuit decision addressed the issue of whether the disclosure of confidential, proprietary documents by an employee to her attorneys constitutes a protected activity for which the employee cannot be terminated or otherwise disciplined. In 2000, numerous individuals filed a class action against the Cincinnati Insurance Company (CIC), alleging that CIC had discriminated against women in violation of the Equal Pay Act (EPA). Kathy Niswander, a claims manager at CIC, was one of the plaintiffs in the class action.
In order to respond to CIC’s discovery requests, the plaintiffs’ attorneys asked each of the plaintiffs, including Ms. Niswander, to send them any documents in their possession that related to the case or that might support their discrimination claims. In response, Ms. Niswander sent the attorneys any documents she had that could potentially be relevant, but she also submitted confidential claim-file documents that did not contain any information relevant to the alleged discrimination.
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