Title VII of the Civil Rights Act protects an employee’s conduct of complaining about Title VII violations. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, however, has now provided the framework for when an employee’s otherwise protected conduct can lose that protection.

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Gogel v. Kia Motors, affirming summary judgment in favor of defendant-employer Kia Motors, finding that, “when the means by which an employee expresses her opposition so interferes with the performance of her job duties that it renders her ineffective in the position for which she was employed, this oppositional conduct is not protected under Title VII’s opposition clause.”