Gunvant D. SHAH, Appellant, v. MT. ZION HOSPITAL AND MEDICAL CENTER, a Non-Profit Corporation, Appellee

Gunvant Shah sued Mt. Zion Hospital and Medical Center (Mt. Zion), claiming that the conditions of his employment and his termination after a short period of employment were discriminatory. Prior to trial, the district court granted partial summary judgment for Mt. Zion on Shah’s 42 U.S.C. § 1981 claim, and dismissed his requests for a jury trial, emotional distress damages, and punitive damages. At trial, the court dismissed his Title VII (42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq.) claims. Shah appeals from the pretrial orders and trial dismissal. We affirm.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Mt. Zion hired Shah, an East Indian male, as a payroll clerk. The hospital hired him subject to a written ninety-day probationary period. Shah alleges that his co-workers, both female Filipinos, treated him in a discriminatory fashion by failing to train him adequately, and by speaking to him in Tagalog, their native language. Shah does not understand Tagalog. Shah further claims that this conduct was facilitated by his immediate supervisor, a male Filipino, who not only failed to remedy the situation but actually encouraged it.

Mt. Zion terminated Shah pursuant to the probationary agreement, because of his inability to…