hrowaway64759;920269]Thanks for clarifying. I believe the minority employee questioned a decision of the higher-up which the higher-up perceived as a challenge to their authority. Seems that higher-up has singled him out since and looked for some way to get rid of him. The reason given was performance.
So, was there actually a performance issue, one that can be supported by others within the company?

We are in at-will state so we thought it was fine.
there are still laws against discrimination that are applicable in all states. There are laws against other forms of discrimination as well. It sounds like your management is due for some training on actual discrimination and perceived discrimination so this sort of thing doesn't happen again.

Since the employee is the only racial minority in the department and the only one who received a mid-year performance appraisal (for alleged performance issues), we fear that it may be inferred as motivated by racial animus in court, even if it's just coincidence.
sometimes the coincidence is enough to hang you, especially if it appears to not be so coincidental, such as the only person to receive a mid year evaluation, even if it is for what appears to be a valid reason. If no other employees have received mid year evaluations, especially if there was some with issues, it really looks like this employee was targeted. that in itself is not illegal but given it is the only racial minority, it starts to become damning.



The higher-up is new to the company and has been with the company for less time than the minority employee. AFAIK we've never heard overt discriminatory remarks but the minority employee is the only one who was discharged by this individual. Everyone else in the department is white.

Would you recommend speaking to the higher-up to rescind the decision and allow reinstatement as per the employee's attorney's request? How should we resolve this?
Reversing the decision does not cure the action. As well, it may set a precedent to show that you did believe it was racial in nature and as such, puts it in the record that the manager does have a racial bias. That could be important in the future for any discrimination claim. If the discharge was justified, it may be better to stick to your guns and fight this. This is really the time to speak with company counsel.