Pretext analysis key to beating discriminatory hiring claims

A failure-to-hire case recently decided by the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers Wisconsin employers) demonstrates the importance of the pretext analysis in defeating discrimination and retaliation claims. In such cases, the 7th Circuit requires employees to prove pretext (i.e., a cover-up for discriminatory or retaliatory motives). The court focused its entire discussion on the pretext issue, finding it was determinative of the outcome of the employee’s timely discrimination and retaliation claims.

Facts

Mildred Chatman is a 63-year-old African-American woman who worked in the Chicago Public Schools for more than two decades. From 1988 to 1996, she worked as an instructor assistant. From 1997 to 2009, she served as a library assistant.

In August 2009, the Chicago Board of Education laid off Chatman because it said her position had been eliminated. Later, she learned the board had actually replaced her with a younger, non-African-American employee.

Chatman filed a discrimination charge with the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and then sued in Illinois state court. The case settled in February 2015.

Settlement agreement