Opinion ID: 3001570
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Comparatively Small Pay Raise

Text: Ms. Maclin contends that she suffered an adverse employment action when she was given a smaller pay raise than Gentilini, her white, male coworker. Because Ms. Maclin abandoned this claim in the district court, she 12 No. 07-1751 cannot pursue it on appeal. Keck Garrett & Assocs. v. Nextel Commc’ns, Inc., ___ F.3d ___, No. 07-1350, 2008 WL 451300, at  (7th Cir. Feb. 21, 2008). Ameritech moved for summary judgment on Ms. Maclin’s pay raise claim on two grounds: (1) Ms. Maclin could not show that anyone outside her pro- tected classes was both similarly situated to her and more favorably treated, and (2) Ms. Maclin could not show that Ameritech’s proffered reasons for giving Gentilini a comparatively larger salary increase were pretextual. In her response to Ameritech’s motion for summary judgment, Ms. Maclin failed to defend her claim against these arguments. See id. She therefore abandoned the claim. Id. Even if Ms. Maclin had not abandoned her claim, however, summary judgment for Ameritech would be appropriate. As noted by the district court, Ms. Maclin failed to establish at least one necessary element of her claim: that she was similarly situated to Gentilini. Raymond, 442 F.3d at 610. Ms. Maclin’s only evidence that she is similarly situated to Gentilini is her own perceptions about her work performance, which cannot suffice to establish this element of her case. See Millbrook v. IBP, Inc., 280 F.3d 1169, 1181 (7th Cir. 2002). Because she failed to demonstrate the existence of an issue of material fact on a necessary element, summary judgment on the pay raise claim was appropriate. Moreover, even if Ms. Maclin had succeeded in establishing her prima facie case, she has failed to prove that Ameritech’s proffered reasons for awarding her a comparatively small pay raise were a pretext for discrimination. Raymond, 442 F.3d at 610. Ameritech contended that it had determined Ms. Maclin’s and Gentilini’s raises in No. 07-1751 13 accordance with the company’s non-discriminatory matrix. The matrix takes into account two factors, the employee’s salary relative to her pay range and the employee’s performance review, and, based on those factors, it determines the total raise and bonus for which the employee qualifies. Ms. Maclin has offered no evidence that this explanation is a pretext for discrimination. She therefore has failed to carry her burden of proving that Ameritech’s justification for its pay raise was pretextual, and her claim must fail. See id.