Employment Law

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Kenneth Dunn v. Leo Schmitz

Case No.: 22-1732

Officials: Ripple, St. Eve, and Pryor, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Employment Law

While he was an Illinois State Police (“ISP”) lieutenant, Mr. Dunn was assigned to work at the Illinois Gaming Board under an inter-governmental agreement. According to his superiors, federal agents informed the ISP that he was implicated in a federal criminal investigation into mortgage fraud. In September 2014, therefore, the ISP placed him on restricted duty. He could perform administrative work but could not carry out enforcement or operational responsibilities, such as arrests. The ISP’s director sent Mr. Dunn a letter notifying him that his status would “change to restricted duty pending the completion of a criminal investigation.” The ISP placed the letter in his personnel file and sent copies to those within Mr. Dunn’s chain of command and to the ISP’s legal and administrative offices. Kenneth Dunn, a former lieutenant with the ISP believes that the ISP wrongly designated him “not in good standing” upon his retirement. This designation limits his rights to carry a concealed weapon under federal and state law. Moreover, he claims that, if prospective employers learn of his designation, he will be disqualified from future positions in law enforcement and private security. Mr. Dunn therefore brought this action against three ISP superiors for violating his right to due process under the Fourteenth Amendment by depriving him of a liberty interest in future employment. The district court entered summary judgment for the defendants.

Regardless of whether the designation is justified, Mr. Dunn lacks evidence that the defendants disclosed his designation or foreclosed his future job prospects.

Affirmed.

Decided 06/06/23

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