7th Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment On Race Discrimination And Retaliation Claims

On March 14, 2018, the 7th Circuit affirmed an order of summary judgment in a Section 1981 lawsuit in which the plaintiff alleged race discrimination and retaliation.  Madlock v. WEC Energy Group, Inc., No. 17-1278 (7th Cir. 3/14/2018).  The plaintiff alleged that she was transferred from one section of her employer to another as a result of racial discrimination.  She also alleged that the employer retaliated against her by disciplining her after she filed an internal discrimination complaint against her former supervisor.  The 7th Circuit stated that "[w]e recently cleaned out the 'rat's nest of surplus tests' that plagued our case law on the subject of race discrimination."

The inquiry now is whether the evidence would permit a reasonable fact-finder to conclude that the plaintiff's race, ethnicity, sex, religion, or other proscribed factor caused the discharge or other adverse employment action.  An adverse employment action is some quantitative or qualitative