The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to review the case of Peter Gumm, a former steel company manager who claimed he was fired for speaking out against racial bias, not for alleged misconduct. The decision leaves in place a lower court ruling favoring his former employer, AK Steel Corp., which Gumm accused of weaponizing false accusations to silence his complaint.
As is customary, the high court gave no explanation for its denial of Gumm’s July petition for certiorari, effectively closing the door on a three-year legal battle that tested the boundaries of workplace retaliation and judicial deference to employer investigations.
Fired After Speaking Out
Gumm filed suit in October 2021 under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, alleging that AK Steel opened a baseless internal probe to justify firing him. He said the retaliation came shortly after he objected to the company’s decision to hire a white supervisor over a more qualified Black candidate he had recommended.
The former Dearborn, Michigan, manager contended that his firing reflected a pattern of unequal treatment within AK Steel, where Black employees were allegedly held to stricter standards. He cited incidents in which white workers were reinstated after misconduct while Black employees were not.
