BREWER v. CABARRUS PLASTICS, INC

Civil Rights; Employer and Employee — racial discrimination — retaliatory discharge — instructions

The decision of the Court of Appeals holding that there was reversible error in the trial court's instructions in an action in which plaintiff alleged that defendant employer discriminated against him on the basis of race and as retaliation for filing a complaint with the EEOC is reversed for the reasons stated in the dissenting opinion that the trial court's instructions using the phrases "on account of" and "because of" when stating the law to be applied in a pretext case did not constitute reversible error.

PER CURIAM.

For the reasons stated in the dissenting opinion, we reverse that portion of the decision of the Court of Appeals; we also conclude that our order allowing defendant's petition for discretionary review of an additional issue was improvidently allowed.

The result in the Court of Appeals did not require it to reach other issues properly preserved and raised on appeal. Because we now reverse the Court of Appeals' decision as to the only issue it addressed, on remand, that court should also consider plaintiff's remaining issues.

REVERSED IN PART; DISCRETIONARY REVIEW IMPROVIDENTLY ALLOWED IN PART.