Employment – discrimination – retaliation

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U.S. Court of Appeals  For the Seventh Circuit

Civil

Employment – discrimination –  retaliation

Where the employee had a lengthy history of job-related injuries, the district court properly granted summary judgment in favor of the employer on her claims that her demotion to less dangerous work was the result of discrimination and retaliation.

“The statement in the affidavit that ‘too many First Aid Visits’ are not a ‘real reason’ why a welder is demoted is hardly credible, since a high accident rate would get Jeffboat into trouble with OSHA; but in any event the affidavit does not indicate how a human resources officer would know the ‘real reason’ for demotion of a welder with injury problems. The affidavit fails also to indicate what basis the affiant had for thinking that white welders and male welders (white or black?) who made many First Aid Visits because of over-heating were not punished by being demoted, or how the affiant learned that the company’s labor relations manager was trying to fire the plaintiff in stages—did he tell the affiant that? Did she overhear him tell someone else? There is no evidence to suggest that Miller had personal knowledge of the manager’s supposed scheming.”

Affirmed.

14-2155 Ani-Deng v. Jeffboat, LLC

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Barker, J., Posner, J.

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