Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirms Summary Judgment for Dowd Bennett client

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently decided Engelhardt v. Qwest Corporation, affirming the summary judgment awarded to a subsidiary of CenturyLink on claims brought by a former employee.  While employed by Qwest, the plaintiff had participated in a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) lawsuit against that company.  He left the company and returned several years later as a contractor.  He alleged retaliation when the company asked that a vendor end his contract work assignment due to productivity.  The Eighth Circuit held that plaintiff could not show a genuine issue of material fact that that reason was a pretext for retaliation.  The Court therefore upheld the judgment in favor of Qwest Corporation on the plaintiff’s claims under the FLSA and the Minnesota Whistleblower’s Act and for tortious interference with prospective business relations.  Beth Carver of Dowd Bennett represented Qwest Corporation in the Eighth Circuit.