Wrongful Termination – Age Discrimination and Retaliation

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Steven A. Lauth v. Covance, Inc.

Case No.: No. 16-2939

Officials: BAUER, POSNER, and SYKES, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Wrongful Termination – Age Discrimination and Retaliation

Steven Lauth was terminated from his position at Covance Central Laboratories, Inc. on October 25, 2012. He sued Covance, raising claims of age discrimination and retaliation. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Covance. The court also awarded certain costs to Covance. Lauth appeals from both orders.

Lauth also claims that Covance disciplined and terminated him as retaliation for making his AlertLine complaint and for filing charges of discrimination with the EEOC. To survive summary judgment on his retaliation claim, Lauth must establish that (1) he engaged in a protected activity; (2) he suffered an adverse employment action; and (3) there is a causal link between the protected activity and the adverse action. Hutt v. AbbVie Prods. LLC, 757 F.3d 687, 693 (7th Cir. 2014) (citation omitted). As with the discrimination claim, we no longer recognize a distinction between direct or indirect evidence, and instead consider all of the record evidence to determine whether a causal link exists. See Ortiz, 834 F.3d at 765–66.

Lauth has not cited any evidence, other than his own speculation, that might indicate Covance used the litany of complaints and the documented history of his communication issues as a cover for its retaliatory motive. That speculation is insufficient to raise a question of fact, particularly in light of the Covance’s consistent, longstanding, and progressive concerns about his behavior. See Argyropolous v. City of Alton, 539 F.3d 724, 737 (7th Cir. 2008) (mere speculation that employer lied to conceal true motives insufficient to withstand summary judgment).

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.