Quick Summary: A white male nurse is considered a minority who can sue for discrimination, if all the necessary conditions are met.

   In general, an employee can sue for discrimination if he belongs to a protected class, was performing his duties satisfactorily, suffered adverse employment action and the circumstances give rise to an inference of discrimination.  UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT, CONNECTICUT, 1999.

   A white male nurse was fired the next day after he failed to give rimantadine to nine elderly patients under his care in a nursing home.

   He sued for discrimination because the black female nurse who relieved him on the afternoon shift also did not give the rimantadine to the same patients, and she was not even reprimanded.

   The U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut agreed with the suit in general terms because the law considers a white male nurse a minority who can sue for discrimination.

   This case, however, was not as simple as the nurse claimed in his lawsuit. According to the court, he had been having serious performance problems with patient care and abrasive interactions with other staff. These issues had been fully documented before the rimantadine incident. He had been warned and offered counseling to correct his deficiencies.

   The rimantadine incident was the culmination of a history of problems. There was a non-discriminatory explanation for how he was treated, the court ruled. Bloom v. Home Fairfield, 44 F. Supp. 2d 439 (D. Conn., 1999).