Employment — national origin discrimination

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United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit

Civil

Employment — national origin discrimination

Where an Arab faculty member made anti-Jewish statements to students, her termination was not discrimination.

“Columbia maintains that summary judgment was proper on the basis that Smiley was not meeting its legitimate expectations. Although Smiley denies some of Student A’s allegations, some things are undisputed. Columbia received a written complaint of some length from a student in Smiley’s class. At least four Columbia employees met with or interviewed the student and heard him confirm his allegations. Both Downs and Love met with Smiley on separate occasions. Although Smiley denies making some of the statements Student A alleges, she acknowledged that her teaching style involved goofing around with her students, teasing them, and that Student A was upset after she joked with him. It is not unreasonable for Columbia to expect that its instructors will teach classes in a professional manner that does not distress students. Cf. Vaughn v. Vilsack, ___ F.3d ___, 2013 WL 856515, at *5 (7th Cir. 2013) (explaining that even if plaintiff’s conduct did not rise to the level of actionable harassment, plaintiff did not satisfy legitimate expectations where he was not performing his job in a manner that an employer would find acceptable).”

Affirmed.

10-3747 Smiley v. Columbia College Chicago

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Der-Yeghiayan, J., Williams, J.