Opinion ID: 1434460
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: EEOC Determination, Internal Investigation and the Promotion of Williams

Text: The next issue raised by Lewis concerns the district judge's decision under Rule 403 to exclude evidence pertaining to the EEOC determination, the City's internal investigation, and the promotion of Williams. Although administrative findings may be admissible under Federal Rules of Evidence 803(8)(C) and 801(d)(2), the district court retains significant discretion as to whether [the determinations] ought to be admitted. Halloway v. Milwaukee County, 180 F.3d 820, 827 n. 9 (7th Cir. 1999). The EEOC decision into Lewis's claims stated only that it determined that the evidence obtained in the investigation establishes reasonable cause to believe that Respondent denied Charging Party an overtime and training opportunity and retaliated against Charging Party by reassigning her in violation of Title VII. This states only a conclusion and does not provide much additional probative information, as the district judge found. Lewis, 563 F.Supp.2d at 919. It merely presents the question the jury was tasked with answering. And it could have confused the jury into thinking that the issue was already decided. Tulloss v. Near N. Montessori School, Inc., 776 F.2d 150, 153-54 (7th Cir.1985) (finding no abuse of discretion where lower court excluded EEOC determination because its consideration was tantamount to saying this has already been decided and here is the decision.). The same is true of the City's internal investigation, which actually exonerated Williams. The judge was persuaded that admitting either of the prior investigations in evidence would create a substantial risk that the jury would adopt the earlier conclusions. So he exercised his discretion, chose to remain consistent and excluded both. Lewis, 563 F.Supp.2d at 920 n. 4. This was not an abuse of discretion. Lewis had argued the internal investigation was relevant because the exoneration of Williams served as a retaliatory measure against Lewis herself. But Lewis was not pursuing a claim based on a continuing hostile work environment, as was the case in Velez v. City of Chicago, where a failure to remedy was discussed as grounds for liability. 442 F.3d 1043, 1047 (7th Cir. 2006) (An employer is liable for a hostile work environment claim if ... the employer was `negligent either in discovering or remedying the harassment.') (quoting Mason v. S. Ill. Univ., 233 F.3d 1036, 1043 (7th Cir.2000)). Lewis had the burden of proving the discrete acts of retaliation. Even under Lewis's failure to remedy theory, this evidence does not go very far in proving her case for retaliation. A judge and jury would face difficulties if forced to navigate through a record muddled between intersecting and partially overlapping pieces of evidence presented during the investigation and the trial, submitted under differing evidentiary standards. The judge was free to conclude that the risk of confusion outweighed the probative value. Lewis also challenges the exclusion of evidence pertaining to the promotion of Williams which occurred after she lodged her gender discrimination complaint. She claims that the City has a policy to reconsider the promotion of officers after they receive sustained allegations of discrimination, and since no such reconsideration occurred, she should have been able to use the promotion as a signal of discriminatory and retaliatory intent. She says the cover-up served as further retaliation and that a jury could infer it was done to protect Williams, a high-ranking officer with the Department. The promotion of Williams offered little insight into the City's discriminatory and/or retaliatory treatment of Lewis herself, which was the actual matter at issue. So the evidence had very little probative value. By the same token, it would have been time-consuming to present. And it would also have shifted the focus from the actions taken against Lewis to the competing merits of Williams and whether he actually deserved a promotion. See Manuel v. City of Chicago, 335 F.3d 592, 597 (7th Cir.2003) (finding speculative testimony about a supervisor's previous acts of racism to be unfairly prejudicial). Excluding the evidence concerning the merits of promoting Williams was well within the district judge's discretion.