Opinion ID: 799148
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Post-Termination Retaliation

Text: Although Dr. Jajeh's retaliation claim focuses heavily on his termination, he also argues that Dr. Lad retaliated against him following his termination. As previously discussed, Dr. Lad noted in Dr. Jajeh's personnel record that he would not recommend Dr. Jajeh for rehire because he was not a team player [and has] difficulties with interpersonal relationships. Dr. Jajeh contends that this notation was itself a distinct and actionable act of retaliation because it prevented his rehire. The district court did not directly address this argument, but post-termination acts of retaliation may be actionable under Title VII. See Robinson v. Shell Oil Co., 519 U.S. 337, 117 S.Ct. 843, 136 L.Ed.2d 808 (1997) (allowing claim for bad reference to prospective employer in retaliation for filing EEOC charge). Nevertheless, we are unpersuaded. There is simply no evidence in the record from which a reasonable jury could conclude that Dr. Lad was motivated by a retaliatory animus when marking Dr. Jajeh as ineligible for rehire. As Dr. Jajeh acknowledges, Dr. Lad's feelings about him were consistent throughout their working relationship. Dr. Lad felt that Dr. Jajeh was a problem employee both before and after he filed his EEOC charge. No evidence supports the inference that Dr. Lad's opinion of Dr. Jajeh worsened because he filed an EEOC charge or that his explanation that Dr. Jajeh was not a team player was pretext for a retaliatory motive. See Brown v. Ill. Dep't of Natural Res., 499 F.3d 675, 684-85 (7th Cir.2007) (affirming summary judgment for employer on retaliation claim where performance reviews were negative both before and after protected conduct of filing EEOC charge). Accordingly, summary judgment was also appropriate for this claim.