7th Circuit Court Reports Archive 

Teacher Fired for Harassing Student Lacks Bias Claim Applicant Properly Disqualified Because of Lifting Restrictions Ostracism and Petty Mistreatments Can Add Up to Hostile Work Environment No FMLA Violation for Timely Reinstatement Fired Principal Lacks First Amendment Claim E-mail to No-Show Employee Was Not ‘Medical Inquiry’ Chicago Police Clerk’s Religious Bias Claim Fails Discharge of Attorney Was Not Due to Discrimination Worker with Wrist Injury Not Regarded as Limited in Major Life Activity Job Reassignment Was Required by ADA $3.5 Million in Punitive Damages Awarded for Hostile Environment Employee’s Casual Comments Were Insufficient FMLA Notice ADA Does Not Require Accommodation for Disabled Daughter Supervisor’s Use of Epithets Supports Harassment Verdict Doctor’s Visit for Prescription Refill Not ‘Treatment’ Classroom with Windows Was Reasonable Accommodation Factory Workers Not Entitled to Compensation for Clothes Changing or Travel Time Title VII Does Not Recognize ‘Alienage’ as Protected Class Pharmaceutical Sales Reps Administratively Exempt from FLSA Fired Indian Teacher Loses Bias Claim Failure to Develop Alternate Theory of Discrimination Precludes Appeal of Denial of Class Certification Equal Pay Act Places Burden on Employer to Justify Salary Divergence White Employee Fails to Show Her Termination Was Reverse Discrimination No ERISA Violation When Employees Lost Some Benefits ‘100 Percent Healed’ Policy Arguably Not Disability Discrimination Court Expands Employee’s Ability to Use Evidence of Comparators 7th Circuit: Employer Not Liable Under FLSA for Employee’s Off-the-Clock Work 7th Circuit: Offensive Comments Never Equaled Title VII Violation 7th Circuit: ‘Admissions’ by Managers Admissible in Discrimination Lawsuit 7th Circuit: Supervisor’s Ill-Considered E-Mail Forms Basis of FMLA Lawsuit 7th Circuit: Employee Must Meet Legitimate Job Expectations to Support ADA Claim 7th Circuit: Court Allows Reduction of Retiree Benefits Under ERISA 7th Circuit: Court Holds No ‘Token Exception’ in Title VII Discrimination Case 7th Circuit: Termination of Pregnant Employee Raises Multiple Potential Legal Claims 7th Circuit: Court Rejects Exemption Argument in FLSA Case 7th Circuit: Acrophobic Bridge Worker Protected by ADA 7th Circuit: EEOC Continues to Enforce Broad Subpoena Powers Against Employers 7th Circuit: Benefit Plan Administrators May Have Violated ERISA 7th Circuit: Ledbetter Fair Pay Act Applies Retroactively 7th Circuit: Class Action Against Rolls-Royce Dismissed 7th Circuit: Oral Agreement Insufficient to Modify ERISA Plan Provisions 7th Circuit: Employment Contract Extends Discrimination Law Protections to Non-Citizen 7th Circuit: Shifting Explanations for Employee’s Termination Warrant Trial of Retaliation Claim 7th Circuit: Ignoring Employer’s Telephone Calls Can Defeat FMLA Claim 7th Circuit: Termination Within Reach of ‘Cat’s Paw’ 7th Circuit: Union Employers’ Access to Federal Courts Limited 7th Circuit: FMLA and ADA Claims Fail Where Employee Violated Company’s Substance Abuse Policy 7th Circuit: Door to Wage and Hour Liability Continues to Open Wider 7th Circuit: Medical Evidence of Employee’s Physical Limitations Not Required 7th Circuit: Mixed-Motive Claims Require Direct or Circumstantial Evidence of Discrimination 7th Circuit: Discrimination Laws Still Do Not Protect Underperformers 7th Circuit: Applicant Fails to Show Racial Hiring Bias 7th Circuit: Employer Liable Where Supervisor Effectively Controlled Reporting and Investigating Employee 7th Circuit: Employer Potentially Liable for Taping Employee Conversation 7th Circuit: Similarly Situated Employees Defined Narrowly 7th Circuit: Actionable Hostile Work Environment Can Be Based on Single Action 7th Circuit: Title VII Trumps Patient’s Request for White-Only Health Care Providers 7th Circuit: Inconsistent Application Undermines Safety Reasons for Discharge 7th Circuit: No ‘Cat’s Paw’ Liability from Non-Decision-Maker’s Information if It Makes No Difference 7th Circuit: Title VII Claims Are Procedurally Barred, Retaliation Claim Fails 7th Circuit: Damages Award to Nursing Home Housekeeper for Retaliation Upheld 7th Circuit: Title VII Retaliation Claim Denied in American Indian Bias Case 7th Circuit: Summary Judgment for Employer Affirmed in Title VII Case 7th Circuit: Former Corrections Officer Was Not Constructively Discharged 7th Circuit: Court Grants NLRB’s Petition for Enforcement of CBA 7th Circuit: Employer Not Required to Maintain an Existing Position to Accommodate Employee 7th Circuit: Sexual Harassment Against Male Subordinate Is Actionable 7th Circuit: Changes to Communication Policies Violated NLRA 7th Circuit: No Religious Discrimination Against Those Not Meeting Performance Standards 7th Circuit: Mandatory Meetings with Religious Group Violated Establishment Clause 7th Circuit: Compliance Measure Does Not Violate ‘Anti-Cutback’ Amendment 7th Circuit: Higher Standard Cannot Derail Thomas the Tank Engine’s Photographer 7th Circuit: Sworn Testimony for Disability Benefits Thwarts ADA Claim 7th Circuit: ADA Amendments Act Not Retroactive 7th Circuit: Sunlit Classroom May Have Been Required Accommodation 7th Circuit: Your Benefits Plan Need Not Say ‘Discretion’ if You Mean It 7th Circuit: Company Lawfully Requested Return of Keys from Manager on Leave 7th Circuit: Prompt Reaction to Noose Precludes Liability 7th Circuit: Termination for Obsolete Skill Set Does Not Constitute Age Discrimination 7th Circuit: Retiree’s Attempt to ‘Whipsaw’ Employer in Pension Battle Fails 7th Circuit: No Discretion in a Benefits Plan Means No Limitations on Review 7th Circuit: Members of National Guard Had No Right to Reschedule Shifts 7th Circuit: Company Cannot Retroactively Terminate Benefits Following FMLA Leave 7th Circuit: Altering Certification Grounds to Deny FMLA Leave 7th Circuit: Extended Travel Time Is Not Enough to Trigger Relocation Clause 7th Circuit: Court Upholds Officers’ Right to Use Comp Time 7th Circuit: FMLA Lets Employer Base Discharge on Problems Discovered During Leave 7th Circuit: ERISA Claim Arose from Withheld Internal Documents 7th Circuit: Union Hijinks Justify Railway Labor Act Injunction 7th Circuit: Plan Sponsor Has No Duty to Disclose Sharing of Fees 7th Circuit: Court Upholds EEOC Subpoena of Employer Records 7th Circuit: Deference Given to Parties’ Intent in Dispute over Classification N.D. Ill.: Ineligible Employee’s Request for FMLA Leave When Eligible Protected 7th Circuit: Discrimination Can Be Found Even if No One Else Treated Better 7th Circuit: State Law Guaranteeing Rest Period Pre-Empted 7th Circuit: Exhausting Internal Union Remedies Required 7th Circuit: Title VII ‘Supervisor’ Definition Clarified 7th Circuit: Consensual Sexual Relationship May Not Support Retaliation Claim 7th Circuit: Employers May Refuse To Reinstate Striking Workers 7th Circuit: Calling In Sick Without More Information Did Not Trigger FMLA 7th Circuit: Failure to Follow Up on Complaint Opens Door to Unexpected Liability 7th Circuit: FMLA’s 1,250-Hour Requirement Strictly Enforced 7th Circuit: Union May Force Arbitration of Changes to Medical Benefits for Retirees 7th Circuit: Failure To Turn In Paperwork Bars FMLA Claims 7th Circuit: Corrections Officers Prove Sex Bias 7th Circuit: Designation as ‘Joint Employer’ Requires Some Control over Work 7th Circuit: Failure To Keep Accurate FLSA Time Records Shifts Burden to Employer 7th Circuit: Inclusion of FMLA Benefits in Handbook May Bind Company 7th Circuit: Promise To Provide Neutral Reference Might Have Been Breached 7th Circuit: Underpaid Filipino Nurses Entitled to Back Pay 7th Circuit: Allegations of Political Infighting Do Not Preclude Bias Claims 7th Circuit: Displaced Older Teacher’s ADEA Claim Goes to Trial 7th Circuit: Age Discrimination Suit Rejected Because of CBA 7th Circuit: Demotion While on Intermittent FMLA Leave Results in Retaliation Claim 7th Circuit: Prayerful Guidance Counselor Loses Title VII, First Amendment Claim 7th Circuit: Clear Plan Language Trumps HR’s Misstatements 7th Circuit: USERRA Plaintiffs Need Not Prepay Filing Fees in Federal Actions 7th Circuit: Damage Appraisers Are Exempt 7th Circuit: Absence Attributable to Drinking Did Not Qualify for FMLA 7th Circuit: FMLA Retaliation Claims Hinge on Employee Perceptions 7th Circuit: Untimely Claim Finds New Life as Evidence in Later Discrimination Lawsuit 7th Circuit: Hospitals Interfered With Nurses’ Right to Organize 7th Circuit: Adequate Response Shields Employer from Liability for Alleged Assault 7th Circuit: ADA Prohibits Association Discrimination Against Employees 7th Circuit: Officer Fired After Controversial Arrest Loses Claim 7th Circuit: Employee Complaint Mechanism Must Be Clear to Teens 7th Circuit: Unusual Behavior Alone Can Constitute FMLA Notice 7th Circuit: Denial of Overtime Work May Be Adverse Action 7th Circuit: Retaliation Claim Survives 7th Circuit: Foundry Worker with Trouble Standing Had No ADA Disability 7th Circuit: Wal-Mart Could Fire Pharmacist Who Refused To Speak with Customers 7th Circuit: Bar on Former Employee's Use of Confidential Information Enforced 7th Circuit: Driver Discharged for Condition Loses ADA Challenge 7th Circuit: Timing of Company's Sale May Trigger WARN Act Obligations 7th Circuit: FMLA Does Not Excuse Bargaining Obligations 7th Circuit: Layers of review insulated employer from discrimination claim 7th Circuit: Surgery did not excuse job abandonment 7th Circuit: RIFed worker loses retaliation challenge 7th Circuit: Nurse involved with union was unlawfully threatened 7th Circuit: Medical history was enough to put employer on FMLA notice 7th Circuit: Homeland Security Overstepped Its Authority in Denying Eligibility 7th Circuit: Female Park Manager Lost Equal Pay Act Claim 7th Circuit: Lower Pay for Light-Duty Worker Did Not Violate FMLA 7th Circuit: Company Is Jointly Liable for Unpaid Wages More...