Title VII – Americans With Disabilities Act

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Civil

7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Officials: WOOD, Chief Judge, and FLAUM and EASTERBROOK, Circuit Judges

Title VII – Americans With Disabilities Act

No. 14-3309 Mark Swanson v. Village of Flossmoor, Illinois

Failure to make a Title VII claim within the prescribed 300 day period is moot if claimant cannot demonstrate that he suffered an adverse employment action on account of his membership in a protected class. Moreover, clear indications from an individual, claiming violations under the ADA, which convey that they are completely unable to work can be fatal to relief.

“Moreover, because Swanson never returned to work after his second stroke, he never experienced the demotion about which he complains. Therefore, he never actually suffered an adverse employment action at all. No financial consequences flowed from this potential job change either. His disability pension was based on his salary as of his last day of active work (September 30, 2009), so he felt no monetary impact from his possible reassignment to a different division.3 As we have said, “not everything that makes an employee unhappy will suffice to meet the adverse action requirement. Rather, an employee must show that material harm has resulted from … the challenged actions.” Traylor v. Brown, 295 F.3d 783, 788–89 (7th Cir. 2002) (alteration in original) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). Here, Swanson falls far short of demonstrating that he suffered an adverse employment action on account of his membership in a protected class. Therefore, even if his claims were not time-barred, he could not make out a Title VII violation under either the direct or indirect method of proof”

Affirmed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing attorney at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.