Opinion ID: 1389898
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Owoseni's, Smith's, and Nichols's Retaliation Claims

Text: Owoseni, Smith, and Nichols also assert that the district court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of the University on their claims that the University retaliated against them for speaking out against the racial discrimination. Specifically, they allege that the University retaliated against them by terminating Owoseni's and Smith's employment, and by subjecting Nichols to unwarranted disciplinary proceedings and placing him on paid administrative leave pending the results of his fitness-for-duty psychological examinations. Like the plaintiffs' other Title VII claims, Owoseni, Smith, and Nichols may prove retaliation by using either the direct method or the indirect, burden-shifting method. Tomanovich v. City of Indianapolis, 457 F.3d 656, 662 (7th Cir.2006). Under the direct method, Owoseni, Smith, and Nichols must show that (1) they engaged in statutorily protected activity; (2) they suffered an adverse action taken by the University; and (3) there was a causal connection between the two. Id. at 663. Under the indirect method, Owoseni, Smith, and Nichols must establish a prima facie case of retaliation by showing that: (1) they engaged in a statutorily protected activity; (2) they met the University's legitimate expectations; (3) they suffered an adverse employment action; and (4) they were treated less favorably than similarly situated employees who did not engage in statutorily protected activity. Id. If they succeed in establishing a prima facie case, then the burden shifts to the University to produce a non-discriminatory reason for its employment action. Id. If the University meets its burden of production, then the burden of proof remains with Owoseni, Smith, and Nichols to demonstrate that the University's proffered reason is pretextual. Id. Owoseni, Smith, and Nichols assert on appeal that they presented sufficient evidence to avoid summary judgment under both the direct and indirect methods. We again examine each in turn.
Owoseni and Smith first argue that they presented sufficient evidence under the direct method that the University retaliated against them by terminating their employment. We note, however, that the Merit Board, rather than the University or the Department, actually terminated Owoseni's and Smith's employment pursuant to the Civil Service Act. Following hearings before Merit Board hearing officers, during which both Owoseni and Smith had the opportunity to be represented by counsel, introduce evidence, call their own witnesses, and question the University's witnesses, the Merit Board terminated their employment upon finding, inter alia, that Owoseni and Smith made numerous false accusations against their fellow officers. Specifically, the Merit Board discharged Smith based on: (1) his recurring gross insubordination and disobedience to management directives, including personal use of a police squad car; (2) his making and spreading of false statements concerning fellow officers and the chief of police; (3) his writing of an improper letter to the University's president in December 2002; and (4) his failure to cooperate reasonably with a police investigation regarding a newspaper article. The Merit Board stated that it discharged Owoseni based on: (1) his recurring gross insubordination and disobedience to management directives and his disrupting the efficient operations of the Department during November and December 2002, and January and February 2003; (2) his making and spreading of false statements concerning fellow officers and superior officers; (3) his writing of an improper letter to the University's president containing false information in December 2002; and (4) his failure to reasonably cooperate with a police investigation and attempts by the Department to help him resolve his employment problems and complaints. Thus, the Merit Board's discharge decisions were based on, among other things, Owoseni's and Smith's baseless allegations against fellow officers. Significantly, those allegations were separate and distinct from Owoseni's and Smith's potentially actionable allegations that the Department discriminated against them in its assignment and upgrade practices. The latter discrimination allegations played no role in the Merit Board's decisions. [T]his Court has consistently stated that utterly baseless claims do not receive protection under Title VII. Mattson v. Caterpillar, Inc., 359 F.3d 885, 890 (7th Cir.2004) (citing cases). Further, neither Owoseni nor Smith has presented any evidence to impugn the Merit Board's credibility or motivation, and thus they cannot establish a nexus between their discrimination complaints and the Merit Board's decision to terminate their employment. In short, the Merit Board decided to terminate Owoseni's and Smith's employment upon finding that they made numerous objectively baseless allegations against their colleagues, in addition to other offenses, and not because they made allegations that the Department discriminated against them.
Owoseni and Smith also argue that they established that the Merit Board terminated their employment because they complained about discriminatory practices under the indirect McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting method. While Owoseni and Smith may be able to satisfy the first three elements of their prima facie case, they are unable to show, however, that any similarly situated employee made numerous baseless allegations against fellow Department employees and was not terminated by the Merit Board. See Little v. Ill. Dep't of Revenue, 369 F.3d 1007, 1012 (7th Cir.2004) (A similarly-situated employee must have been disciplined, or not, by the same decisionmaker who imposed an adverse employment action on the plaintiff. (citing Patton v. Indianapolis Pub. Sch. Bd., 276 F.3d 334, 338 (7th Cir.2002); Radue v. Kimberly-Clark Corp., 219 F.3d 612, 617-18 (7th Cir.2000))). Even if Owoseni and Smith had succeeded in identifying such an employee, they also would have to show that the employee engaged in other misconduct similar to that in which the Merit Board found that Owoseni and Smith had engaged, such as gross insubordination and disobedience to management directives and failing to cooperate with a police investigation. Because Owoseni and Smith have not put forth competent evidence that they were treated differently than a similarly situated employee outside of their protected class, they failed to establish a prima facie case for their retaliation claim. Accordingly, the district court did not err in granting summary judgment in favor of the University on this claim. Next, Nichols argues that the district court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of the University on his claim that the University retaliated against him for complaining about discriminatory practices by placing him on paid administrative leave pending the results of his fitness-for-duty psychological examinations. As discussed above, the Department put Nichols on paid administrative leave after he used force to restrain a mentally unstable woman and placed her on the ground and handcuffed her following a commencement ceremony. Regardless of whether Nichols attempts to proceed under the direct method or indirect method, he must show that he suffered a materially adverse action. Pantoja v. Am. NTN Bearing Mfg. Corp., 495 F.3d 840, 848-49 (7th Cir.2007). The alleged adverse action at issue here is the Department's placement of Nichols on paid administrative leave. Nichols does not claim that his position, salary, or benefits were impacted by the paid administrative leave, and he concedes that the Department reinstated him to active duty upon receiving the results of his fitness-for-duty psychological examinations. While this circuit has not had an opportunity to address whether an employer's placement of an employee on paid administrative leave pending the conclusion of an investigation constitutes a materially adverse action, our sister circuits have concluded that it does not. See Breaux v. City of Garland, 205 F.3d 150, 157-58 (5th Cir.2000) (finding that a police officer did not suffer any adverse action by being required to undergo a psychological examination following an altercation with a colleague or by being placed on paid administrative leave when he retained his job and had not been demoted or transferred to a less desirable position); see also Singletary v. Mo. Dep't of Corrs., 423 F.3d 886, 891-92 (8th Cir. 2005) (finding that corrections officer did not suffer a materially adverse action when his employer placed him on administrative leave pending a departmental investigation); Von Gunten v. Md., 243 F.3d 858, 869 (4th Cir.2001) (finding that an employer's placement of an employee on short administrative leave with pay to allow time for internal investigation of complaint in accordance with procedures was not an adverse action), abrogated on other grounds by Burlington N. & Santa Fe Ry. Co. v. White, ___ U.S. ___, 126 S.Ct. 2405, 165 L.Ed.2d 345 (2006). We agree with our sister circuits, and find that the Department's placement of Nichols on paid administrative leave pending the results of his fitness-for-duty psychological examinations did not constitute a materially adverse action. Nichols's retaliation claim thus fails under either the direct method or indirect method. Accordingly, the district court did not err in granting summary judgment in favor of the University on this claim. Finally, Nichols asserts a retaliation claim based on the written notice he received requiring him to appear at disciplinary hearings held in response to the letter he had sent to the University's president. That claim was not addressed in the district court's opinion, and the University did not address it in its brief and argument before this Court. Nevertheless, the district court did not err in granting summary judgment on it for the same reason as it granted summary judgment on Nichols's other retaliation claim, namely that Nichols has failed to demonstrate how the notice was materially adverse, especially in light of the fact that the disciplinary proceedings were instituted in response to the plaintiffs' unsubstantiated allegations against other officers. Cf. Roney v. Ill. Dep't of Transp., 474 F.3d 455, 462 (7th Cir.2007) (An employer's truthful report to the police about an employee is not an adverse action. (citing Aviles v. Cornell Forge Co., 241 F.3d 589, 593 (7th Cir.2001)) (emphasis in original)).