Opinion ID: 786106
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Other 2001 Incidents

Text: 14 In addition to the 1997 and January 2001 incidents, Mr. Lucas detailed the following actions in his charge of discrimination and retaliation. First, Mr. Lucas alleges his supervisor, Roadmaster Emiliano Escorcia, discriminated against him by imposing discipline for going to the credit exchange during the hours of 7-9 a.m. Mr. Lucas contends that he was singled out for discipline while others were permitted this liberty. In describing the discipline he received, Mr. Lucas stated that he was written up, Appellant's Br. at 13, and he alone was issued a caution and instruct [sic] by Escorcia to create a paper trail, Appellant's Reply Br. at 15. 3 15 Next, Mr. Lucas asserts he and his co-worker Quintana were given written warnings for returning late from lunch when other employees were not similarly disciplined. Mr. Lucas offered, as an example, Francisco Garcia, a co-worker, who went and arrived back from lunch at the same times, but who was not similarly disciplined. In his reply brief, Mr. Lucas explained that he was docked thirty minutes of pay for this incident. 16 In a third event, Mr. Lucas asserts he was singled out for refusing to go onto the tracks to remove a pushcart during the rush-hour period while others were not disciplined for also refusing the order. Mr. Lucas explains that CTA employees were instructed not to enter the tracks during rush hour unless there was an emergency. Therefore, when Mr. Lucas and three other employees were asked to remove the cart, no one complied. Mr. Lucas does not contest that he was the only employee who called this order stupid and idiotic. R.20 ¶ 109; R.26 ¶ 109. After a Track Maintenance Department investigation of the matter, Mr. Lucas was suspended for one day for showing disrespect. 17 Finally, Mr. Lucas asserts that there also was evidence of a racially hostile working environment. Mr. Lucas does not provide dates or even a time frame in his appellate brief indicating when many of the statements occurred. In Mr. Lucas' statement of uncontested facts before the district court, he indicated that his supervisor, Escorcia, regularly demeaned African-Americans with comments and slavery gestures from 1999 through 2002. R.28-1, Ex.11 ¶ 8. Mr. Lucas quotes a few of Escorcia's alleged racial slurs, only noting that the slurs and gestures were common phrase[s]. R.28-1, Ex.13 at 92. Mr. Lucas also contends that African-Americans were asked to work longer sections of the track and were written up for reasons for which non-African-Americans were not written up. Mr. Lucas offers, as an undated example, an African-American worker who was asked to go into a tunnel without a flashlight when non-African-Americans were not so required. Finally, Mr. Lucas contends, further evidence of a hostile work environment is Escorcia's discipline of Mr. Lucas after he refused Escorcia's order to remove the pushcart from the tracks.