10-2977 Silverman v. Board of Education of the City of Chicago

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Employment
Pregnancy discrimination

Summary judgment was properly granted an employer on an employee’s claim of pregnancy discrimination , where the employee presented no factual dispute that she was the least effective employee.

“The district court concluded, and we agree, that Silverman’s disagreement with Karvelas’s evaluation does not present a genuine issue of material fact about the reasons for the Board’s decision not to renew her contract. Though the Board admits Silverman performed well enough to meet the expectations of her job, the situation changed when Karvelas was told she had to choose one of the probationary special education teachers for non-renewal. That situation makes this case different from Duncan v. Fleetwood Motor Homes of Indiana, the case on which Silverman relies. In Duncan, the employer argued both that the employee was performing up to its expectations, and also that he was unable to meet the physical demands of the job. We held that those contradictory positions could not withstand scrutiny and concluded the employer’s stated reason could be deemed pretextual. 518 F.3d at 491. Here, by contrast, the Board has not advanced a contradictory rationale for its decision not to renew Silverman’s employment. In light of the difficult financial situation, Karvelas was required to select one special education teacher for non-renewal. The Board’s position that all the teachers, including Silverman, were meeting the Board’s expectations, but that Silverman was the least effective among them, is not internally inconsistent.”

Affirmed.

10-2977 Silverman v. Board of Education of the City of Chicago

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Manning, J., Hamilton, J.

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