Gates v. Gadsden County School Board
35 Fla. L. Weekly D 1865 (1st DCA 2010)
Appellant was a former employee of the Gadsden County School Board who filed a discrimination action against the Board and thereafter resigned her employment. Following her resignation, she continued to serve a volunteer with the Board, until the Board informed her she was no longer allowed to serve as a volunteer. The circuit court granted the Board’s motion for summary judgment, finding that as a volunteer she was not eligible to bring a Title VII action for retaliation and would unable to demonstrate that she experienced a materially adverse employment action. The First DCA reversed, agreeing that volunteers are not afforded Title VII protection, but finding that as a former employee she was entitled to bring a retaliation action and that the issue of whether she experienced a materially adverse employment action was one of fact and not appropriate for disposition on Defendant’s motion for summary judgment.