Opinion ID: 2995207
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: See Fyfe v. City of Fort Wayne, 241

Text: F.3d 597, 602 (7th Cir. 2001) (When a plaintiff proceeds under the direct proof method, allegedly discriminatory statements are relevant only if they are both made by the decisionmaker and related to the employment decision at issue.) (quotation omitted). Therefore, she must pursue her claim through the burden-shifting framework provided in our case law. Under this framework, Rizzo must establish a prima facie case of retaliation by demonstrating that: (1) she engaged in a statutorily protected activity; (2) she suffered an adverse employment action subsequent to her filing the complaint against Mahon; and (3) there was a causal link between the adverse action and the protected activity. See Dunn v. Nordstrom, Inc., No. 00-2958, 2001 WL 898757, at  (7th Cir. Aug. 10, 2001); Sanchez v. Henderson, 188 F.3d 740, 745-46 (7th Cir. 1999). If Rizzo is able to prove these elements by a preponderance of the evidence, then the burden shifts to Sheahan to present a legitimate, non- discriminatory reason for Rizzo’s termination. See Hoffman-Dombrowski, 254 F.3d at 653. Once Sheahan provides such a reason, the burden shifts back to Rizzo who must then demonstrate that Sheahan’s stated reason for terminating her was merely a pretext for retaliation. See Alexander v. Wisc. Dep’t of Health and Family Services, No. 00-2603, 2001 WL 965938, at  (7th Cir. Aug. 27, 2001). A plaintiff may establish that the reasons offered for her termination were a pretext for retaliation by presenting either direct evidence indicating that the defendant was ’more likely than not motivated by a discriminatory reason,’ or indirect evidence showing that the defendant[’s] stated reasons are not credible. Id. (quoting Sarsha v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 3 F.3d 1035, 1039 (7th Cir. 1993)). Because Rizzo has provided no direct evidence of retaliation in this case, she must rely on indirect evidence to demonstrate that Sheahan’s stated reasons were pretextual. To do so, Rizzo must prove one of the following: (1) Defendant’s explanation of Plaintiff’s discharge had no basis in fact, or (2) the explanation was not the ’real’ reason, or (3) at least the reason stated was insufficient to warrant the [allegedly retaliatory action]. Johnson v. Nordstrom, Inc., No. 00-3827, 2001 WL 818874, at  (7th Cir. July 20, 2001) (quotation omitted). Rizzo has met the first two requirements of her prima facie case: she engaged in a statutorily protected right when she filed a complaint against Mahon for sexual harassment and she was terminated after she filed this complaint. It is not as clear, however, that Rizzo has shown a causal link between her termination and her filing the complaint against Mahon. To prove a causal link, the plaintiff is required to show that the employer would not have taken the adverse action ’but for’ the plaintiff’s engagement in the protected activity. Id. (citing McKenzie v. Ill. Dep’t of Transp., 92 F.3d 473, 483 (7th Cir. 1996)). The district court shared our concern with this aspect of Rizzo’s prima facie case; however, it aptly recognized that even assuming argu endo that Rizzo has established her prima facie case, she still cannot prevail. See Rizzo v. Sheahan, No. 97 C 3995, 2000 WL 679982, at -24 (N.D. Ill. May 22, 2000). Sheahan has provided two legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons for Rizzo’s termination by offering the reasoning of the Merit Board’s decision: (1) Rizzo violated the Board’s rule requiring a high school diploma or a certification of equivalent formal education in order to qualify for the position of deputy sheriff and (2) she misrepresented on her employment application and questionnaire that she graduated from Gage Park High School in 1977 and misrepresented on her questionnaire that she received a GED certificate from Daley College in 1978- 79. Thus, Rizzo would be required to prove that these legitimate, non- discriminatory reasons for her termination were a pretext for retaliation. See Alexander, 2001 WL 965938, at . A review of Rizzo’s allegations reveals that she has failed to meet this burden. Rizzo argues that the following allegations demonstrate that her termination was an act of retaliation and that Sheahan’s stated reasons for her termination were a pretext for that retaliation: Mahon threatened to have Rizzo fired if she did not withdraw her complaint; Chief Dioguardi told Rizzo that she would lose her job if she continued to pursue her complaint; she received phone calls threatening that she and her family would suffer if she did not drop her complaint; Mahon interfered with her ability to take a lunch break; Mahon made her work overtime; she received two disciplinary warnings; she was transferred out of the E.M.U.; she was suspended without pay while other individuals under investigation were permitted to continue working or were suspended with pay; and she was terminated. We cannot agree that these allegations establish pretext. Although pathetic, Mahon and Dioguardi’s threats, as well as Mahon’s actions designed to inconvenience Rizzo at work, fail to demonstrate that the stated reasons for Rizzo’s termination were a pretext for retaliation. Rizzo has not presented any evidence linking Mahon or Dioguardi to any aspect of the investigation of her educational background or the Cook County Merit Board’s decision to terminate her. Thus, without more, these allegations are insufficient to undermine the stated reasons for Rizzo’s termination. Likewise, the phone calls Rizzo received suggesting that she and her family would suffer if she did not drop her complaint fail to establish pretext. Rizzo implies that Mahon made these telephone calls; however, she provides no evidence to support this assertion. Furthermore, even if Mahon did make these calls, there is simply no evidence indicating that any of the individuals involved in the decision to terminate Rizzo had any knowledge of these calls or that they affected the Merit Board’s decision in any way. The investigation of Rizzo’s educational background also fails to prove that Sheahan’s legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons were a pretext for retaliation. Although Rizzo correctly points out that Investigator Beckman did not conduct a personal interview with her regarding her educational background until after she had given a statement to Investigator Bennett pertaining to her sexual harassment complaint, this fact does not prove that Rizzo was terminated for her decision to file a complaint. It is undisputed that the department-wide investigation of individuals suspected of having improper educational credentials began in early September of 1992, over six months before Rizzo filed her complaint of sexual harassment. It is also undisputed that Rizzo, by way of a different last name, was on the initial list of suspected employees compiled in the fall of 1992. Furthermore, over five months elapsed between Rizzo’s interview with Bennett regarding her complaint and her interview with Beckman about her educational background. Additionally, the fact that Investigator Beckman was present during Rizzo’s interview with Investigator Bennett does not suggest that the grounds provided for Rizzo’s termination were a pretext for retaliation. While Beckman’s knowledge of Rizzo’s complaint seems to exceed the limits of the Sheriff’s confidentiality policy, this fact, in the context of the actual situation offers no evidence of pretext. Investigator Beckman, along with other investigators from the Sheriff’s Inspector General’s Office, was instructed to begin investigating some one hundred individuals, including Rizzo, in September of 1992, six months before Rizzo filed her complaint. Finally, Rizzo’s transfer to a different facility and her subsequent suspension without pay do not prove that Sheahan’s stated reasons for her termination were a pretext for retaliation. Despite her allegation that this transfer was somehow Mahon’s doing, the only relevant evidence in the record indicates that this transfer in January of 1994 was temporary, pending the Merit Board’s review of the investigation of Rizzo’s educational background. Rizzo has failed to provide any evidence that this transfer was related to her decision to file a complaint against Mahon. Likewise, the record indicates that Rizzo’s suspension without pay was also a temporary step taken in connection with the investigation of her educational background and that it was unrelated to her sexual harassment complaint. Here again Rizzo fails to rebut this evidence. We are not persuaded by Rizzo’s unsupported assertion that other employees who were also under investigation were either allowed to continue to work or were suspended with pay. Although we are to view the facts in the light most favorable to Rizzo, drawing all reasonable inferences in her favor, we are not required to infer that she was terminated because she filed a complaint against Mahon based only on her unsubstantiated statement that other individuals under investigation were treated more favorably. See Frost Nat’l Bank v. Midwest Autohaus, Inc., 241 F.3d 862, 868 (A court’s obligation to draw all reasonable inferences in favor of a non-moving party . . . does not require that court to stretch existing evidence to reach conclusions or bolster arguments it could not otherwise support.). Therefore, we will affirm the district court’s grant of Sheahan’s motion for summary judgement on Rizzo’s claim that her termination was in retaliation for her having filed her complaint. D. Rizzo’s Claim of Pre-Termination Retaliation Rizzo’s final claim on appeal alleges that she was subjected to various acts of retaliation in violation of Title VII before she was terminated. This claim asserts that each individual allegation she offered as evidence that her termination was an act of retaliation is, in and of itself, a violation of Title