In a federal case that began with a fired journalist’s claims that Fox News violated District of Columbia sick-leave law, a judge dismissed the last remaining issue Monday, leaving Jason Donner with no federal claims to pursue. U.S. District Judge Amir Ali ruled for Fox News on Donner’s sick-leave dispute, according to the court decision summarized by The Associated Press.
Donner’s lawsuit targeted his termination from Fox News in 2022, after he alleged that his sick-leave request and related events were protected. The case also included a separate theory that he was fired for political views and for refusing to align with how he said the network reported information during President Donald Trump’s first term.
As the judge considered the sick-leave claim, the court addressed Fox’s handling of illness call-ins. The decision said Fox requires an ill employee to contact a supervisor as soon as possible and no later than two hours after a start time, and Ali ruled that Donner’s conduct did not fall within the protections of the District of Columbia’s sick-leave law.
The suit stemmed in part from Donner’s accusation that Fox did not accept his sick-day notice. The Associated Press summary of the case said Donner was accused of failing to give proper notice when taking a sick day and of having a contentious, unflattering phone conversation with his boss about it.
Monday’s dismissal meant Donner lost the final claim in federal court in Washington. The sick-leave case had already narrowed over the course of litigation, leaving only this issue for the court to resolve at the time of the ruling.
Donner had also argued earlier in the litigation that his termination reflected more than workplace policy disputes. He said he was part of what he described as a “purge” of employees who refused to report only information that would “appease” Trump and his supporters during Trump’s first term.
The lawsuit included a claim Donner said related to his reaction after he learned Fox News referred the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol rioters as peaceful. In the Associated Press account, Donner said he had been inside the Capitol that day and called the control room to complain after learning how Fox characterized the events, while Fox denied discrimination against him.
That discrimination-related claim did not survive earlier court review. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper dismissed that portion of Donner’s case in 2024, and the Associated Press summary quoted Cooper as saying that Donner’s amended complaint suggested he might have been terminated for speaking out against Fox’s reporting but that no established public policy prevents Fox from cutting ties with an employee who objects to its editorial decisions.
With Ali’s dismissal of the remaining sick-leave claim, Donner’s lawsuit in federal court came to an end, according to the Associated Press report.