"Associational Retaliation" Actionable, But Claim Still Booted

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted a company summary judgment on an "associational retaliation" claim brought under Title VII by a temporary worker claiming the company ended her assignments because her (late) husband, who was an employee of the company, complained of discrimination.  Wilcox v. The Allstate Corp., No. 11-cv-814 (N.D. Ill. Dec. 17, 2012).   This case shows that associational discrimination claims are continuing to be pursued following U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Thompson v. North American Stainless, No. 09-cv-291 (Jan. 24, 2011), but are susceptible to dismissal where:  (i) the plaintiff is not an employee of the defendant company and the defendant did not have a hand in the challenged adverse action; (ii) there is doubt as to whether the person with whom the plaintiff was affiliated actually engaged in protected activity; and (iii) the causal nexus between the affiliate's protected activity and plaintiff's adverse