Freeman United Coal Mining Co. v. Human Rights Commission

Petitioner, Freeman United Coal Mining Company (hereinafter Freeman), appeals from a decision of the Human Rights Commission finding that complainant, Sotero Agoot, had established a prima facie case of national origin discrimination and that Freeman’s articulated nondiscriminatory reason for terminating Agoot’s employment was pretextual. We reverse the decision of the Human Rights Commission for the reason that its finding of pretext is against the manifest weight of the evidence.

Sotero Agoot, bom and raised in Hawaii, is of Japanese-Philippino ancestry. He is officially classified as an…