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Sexual Discrimination

By: Derek Hawkins//June 20, 2016//

Sexual Discrimination

By: Derek Hawkins//June 20, 2016//

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7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Candice McCurdy v. David Fitts et al

Case No.: 15-1212

Officials: WOOD, Chief Judge, EASTERBROOK, Circuit Judge, and BRUCE, District Judge

Focus: Sexual Discrimination

Appellant failure to be hired due to affiliations with criminal element and financial straits did not amount to sexual discrimination.

“In this suit under 42 U.S.C. §1983, McCurdy contends that the officers who made these decisions engaged in sex discrimination. She offers two theories: first, that she would have been promoted immediately had she been a man; second, that the Group gave her background and associates more scrutiny than it does for male applicants. She does not deny that the Group had legitimate reasons for thinking that someone else would be more suitable; instead she contends that the Group would not have discovered these matters had the applicant been male. The district court, however, granted summary judgment for the defendants, ruling that McCurdy was treated the same as a male applicant would have been. The district court’s conclusion is well founded with respect to the hiring decision, because Agent Braddy testified in discovery that she investigated McCurdy exactly the same way as she investigates other applicants, and that she always checks financial details and romantic entanglements. Indeed, Braddy had investigated Craft and recommended that he not be hired because she discovered that he had financial problems and associated with people engaged in shady activities. The Group overrode her recommendation about Craft, suffered the consequences, and was determined not to make that mistake again. This has nothing to do with sex. McCurdy points to Craft as a comparator treated more favorably, but employers are entitled to learn from their errors. Given Agent Braddy’s uncontested testimony that she investigated McCurdy exactly as she investigates men who apply to be inspectors, and McCurdy’s concession that Braddy’s findings constitute sex-neutral reasons for not hiring her, summary judgment was proper.”

Affirmed in Part

Vacated and Remanded in part

Full Text


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.

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