Employment – discrimination — retaliation

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U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

Civil

Employment – discrimination — retaliation

Where there are genuine issues of material fact surrounding an employee’s time records and the employer’s attendance policy, the district court erred in concluding in a retaliation action that the reason for the employee’s discharge is beyond dispute.

“Even if we assume that Gosey was late on July 5, Aurora’s own evidence confirms that Gosey was early on July 20 and August 17 and that on October 11 she arrived within the grace period that a former management employee said that the company recognized. On that assumption, a jury could conclude that Gosey was on time three of the four days that Aurora cited as its only basis for ending her employment. On every day that the company says that Gosey was tardy—including July 25, July 27, and October 15—the Punch Detail History shows that she was on the job within the grace period. We cannot, on review of a ruling on summary judgment, assume unfavorably to Gosey that Franckowiak was incorrect about the existence of an informal grace period. As the record stands, Franckowiak’s testimony is undisputed by the company, and even if there had been a dispute, the resolution of the disagreement would be for the trier of fact. We must also resolve in Gosey’s favor, for present purposes, the dispute over the source of the dual arrival times in the Punch Detail History. Gosey says that she did not make the second, later entry; Aurora made no effort to establish that she did, which raises the inference that the company manipulated the entries.”

Affirmed in part, and Vacated in part.

13-3375 Gosey v. Aurora Medical Center

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Randa, J., Per Curiam, J.