KATHERINE T. WALLACE, PH.D., APPELLANT, v. ECKERT, SEAMANS, CHERIN & MELLOTT, LLC, APPELLEES., 57 A.3d 943

Summary

The court of appeals held that the evidence the employee offered failed to support her claim that the employer fired her in violation of public policy. The employer provided affidavits and the employee's deposition testimony to support its claim that it terminated her employment because of her unacceptably low rate of productivity. The employee offered no admissible evidence that compliance with the employer's productivity goals caused or would require foreign language document reviewers to violate the law or the Rules of Professional Conduct. The trial court properly relied upon federal case law and Equal Employment Opportunity regulations in interpreting the meaning of disability under the Act, D.C. Code § 2-1401.02(5A) (2001). Under that reasonable interpretation, the employee's foot surgery, for which she reported a recovery period of only a few months and the ability to work from home, did not qualify as a disability. The employer applied the same productivity standard to Dr. ...