Thomas v. DeJoy

── Thomas v. DeJoy ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Date: April 14, 2026 Category: Civil Rights Case: 25-20297 Document: 48-1 Page: 1 Date Filed: 04/14/2026 United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ____________ United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit No. 25-20297 FILED Summary Calendar April 14, 2026 ____________ Lyle W. Cayce Clerk Babu K. Thomas, Plaintiff—Appellant, versus David Steiner, U.S. Postmaster; Todd Wallace Blanche, Acting U.S. Attorney General; John G.E. Marck, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, Defendants—Appellees. ______________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas USDC No. 4:22-CV-3157 ______________________________ Before Jones, Richman, and Southwick, Circuit Judges. Per Curiam:* Babu K. Thomas appeals from the district court’s grant of summary judgment to his former employer on claims of age, race, and disability discrimination, retaliation, and hostile workplace environment, as well as the _____________________ * This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5. Case: 25-20297 Document: 48-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 04/14/2026 No. 25-20297 court’s denial of his motion for reconsideration and assessment of bill of costs against him. We affirm. I Babu K. Thomas is an Asian-American man born in 1963. He began working for the United States Postal Service (USPS) in 2000. As early as 2007, USPS began documenting problems with his work performance. In 2010, Thomas was given a medical accommodation limiting his workday to 8 hours. However, he did not abide by the conditions of the accommodation. In June of 2014, Thomas instituted an investigation with USPS Equal Employment Opportunity (“EEO”) alleging retaliation and a hostile work environment based on race, national origin, age, and disability. Thomas stopped going to work after August 13, 2014. On September 6, 2014, USPS notified Thomas he failed to keep his supervisor informed of his status and failed to provide documentation to support his inability to work. On January 24, 2015, Thomas was informed he had been placed on Leave Without Pay status since August 13. Thomas sent several letters to USPS representatives between 2014 and 2017 asking to discuss reasonable accommodations and his claims of harassment and hostile work environment, but none include supporting medical documentation. On November 1, 2017, Thomas was ordered to “provide acceptable evidence of [his] inability to report [for work] from August 2014 to present” or be declared absent without leave and possibly terminated. USPS conducted an investigative interview with Thomas on January 12, 2018, at which Thomas declined to provide any documentation of his need to be absent from work. Thomas was terminated effective March 23, 2018. Thomas filed a charge with the EEO on April 20, 2018 asserting discrimination, harassment, and retaliation based on race, age, and disability beginning in December 2017. The EEOC issued a notice of right to sue letter 2 Case: 25-20297 Document: 48-1 Page: 3 Date Filed: 04/14/2026