Derrick Dorrell Turner v. Arkansas Insurance Department, Mike Pickens

MAGILL, Circuit Judge.

Mike Pickens, the Insurance Commissioner for the State of Arkansas, appeals the district court’s1 denial of his motion for summary judgment on qualified immunity grounds. The issue presented on appeal is a narrow one: Whether, for qualified immunity purposes, it was “clearly established” on September 23, 1999, that 42 U.S.C. § 1981 conferred upon an at-will employee the right to be free from discharge based on racial discrimination or in retaliation for exercising his rights. For the reasons set forth below, we conclude that such a right was clearly established as of the…