In the fall of 2001, the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County (Metro) hired Dr. Gene Hughes as the employee relations director for the Metro School District. In May 2002, an attorney for the Metro Legal Department contacted the Human Resources Department after Jennifer Bozeman, an attorney with Metro Legal, learned from another employee that several employees had expressed concern about specific incidents of inappropriate behavior by Hughes. Because Hughes would ordinarily be responsible for investigating sexual harassment complaints, Metro assigned Veronica Fraser, the assistant director of human resources, to investigate the complaint. Fraser contacted employees who worked with Hughes, including Vicky Crawford, a thirty-year employee, and asked them to come to her office so that she could interview them. During her interview, Crawford told the investigators that Hughes had sexually harassed her. Fraser’s investigation concluded that Hughes had engaged in inappropriate and unprofessional behavior, although not to the extent of Crawford’s allegations. No disciplinary action was taken against Hughes, but the investigators recommended education and training for the staff. After the Hughes investigation was concluded, all three employees who made statements against Hughes were immediately investigated and promptly discharged. Crawford was terminated in January 2003, after being accused of embezzlement and drug use, charges that were ultimately found to be unfounded. Crawford filed a charge of retaliation with the EEOC and, after receiving her notice of right to sue, filed a lawsuit.
Crawford claimed that her actions during the internal investigation constituted both opposition to a practice made unlawful by Title VII and participation in an investigation under Title VII, within the meaning of Section 704(a) of Title VII, but her employer asserted that she was not protected by Title VII because she did not file a claim of discrimination. How will the court decide? [Crawford v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, 211 F.3d 373 (6th Cir. 2006), cert. granted, 128 S. Ct. 1118 (2008).]