Title VII

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Ratina Bagwe v. Sedgwick Claims Management Services, Inc., et al.,

Case No.: 14-3201

Officials: FLAUM, RIPPLE, and SYKES, Circuit Judges

Practice Area: Title VII

Appellant fails to prove up allegations of retaliatory termination and discrimination.

“Finally, Ms. Bagwe claims that she was terminated for retaliatory reasons.64 A termination is undoubtedly an adverse employment action. Oest, 240 F.3d at 613. However, Ms. Bagwe has not linked her termination to her complaints of discrimination, or established that the reasons given by Sedgwick are pretextual. Rather, Sedgwick’s rationale for terminating Ms. Bagwe has been consistent and finds support in the record. The PIP laid out in detail the company’s concerns with Ms. Bagwe’s leadership skills. The investigation showed that Sedgwick took Ms. Bagwe’s complaints of discrimination seriously and that its willingness to investigate her claims cannot be characterized as a punitive action. The termination came after numerous complaints from coworkers and Ms. Bagwe’s placement on a PIP. See Langenbach, 761 F.3d at 800 (affirming summary judgment where the timing and pretext arguments relied on “unbridled speculation,” and the record presented a clear history of performance issues). Ms. Bagwe therefore has not met her burden with regard to her claims of retaliation”

Affirmed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner 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.