Termination Upheld for Refusal to Complete DE&I Training Requirements
By Storm B. Larson, Brian P. Goodman, Mai Chao Chang and Aiyanah Simms
The Seventh Circuit recently ruled against a former employee on his retaliation claim against his employer who fired him for failing to complete mandatory DE&I training. In Vavra v. Honeywell Int'l, Inc., 106 F.4th 702, (7th Cir. 2024), Honeywell’s DE&I office rolled out an Unconscious Bias Awareness initiative, which included mandatory, online unconscious bias training to all its employees. The plaintiff employee, Charles Vavra, never clicked on the link to access the training and never completed the training despite direct instructions from his superiors. Vavra sent an email detailing his objections to the training. The HR office responded to Vavra’s objections and shared his concerns with others in HR. Upon a final request for him to complete the training, he refused and was subsequently terminated. Vavra sued Honeywell for retaliation by Title VII, arguing that his opposition to the unconscious bias training requirement was protected activity.
Under federal law, an employee’s opposition to an employer’s required action is protected from retaliation when the employee has an objectively reasonable belief that the action he is opposing violated the law. Here, Vavra’s belief that the training requirement violated the law was baseless because he did not even know what the training consisted of because he never even looked at the training.
The Seventh Circuit agreed with the lower court’s decision, finding that because Vavra never clicked on the link, he did not know what he was opposing and therefore, his belief is not objectively reasonable. Vavra previously assumed that the training would “vilify white people and treat people differently based on their race.” However, that assumption was purely speculative.
Employees cannot simply refuse to comply with DE&I training requirement because they disagree with the requirement, and then claim retaliation after termination. However, employers should still carefully evaluate the circumstances before terminating an employee who refuses to complete mandatory training. Among other things, being consistent with all employees regarding the obligation to complete the training is key.
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