Court Opinion

ID: 9498159
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 17:09:43.341868+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:58:39.395359
License: Public Domain

CUDAHY, Circuit Judge,
concurring in the judgment.
I concur in the affirmance of the denial of the substitute custodian claim, because any evidence of discrimination as to this claim was the same as the evidence on the assistant painter/relief custodian claim, which was rejected by the jury. Therefore, any error in granting summary judgment with respect to the substitute custodian claim was harmless.
I do not agree, however, that there was a failure to exhaust administrative remedies with respect to the substitute custodian claim. The majority opinion argues that the omission of this claim in Geldon’s EEOC complaint deprived the EEOC and South Milwaukee of proper notice that the claim in question would be subject to litigation. But the test for exhaustion purposes is whether the substitute custodian claim was like or reasonably related to the assistant painter/relief custodian claim. See Cheek v. Western and Southern Life Ins. Co., 31 F.3d 497, 500 (7th Cir.1994). If ever there was a reasonable relation, there was one here, since both claims are based on the same evidence of discriminatory animus. The alleged discriminatory conduct occurred during the same interview process and implicated the same hiring officials. In addition, the details of the substitute custodian claim were actually presented at the trial of the other claim. This is an abundant showing of a reasonable relationship, and to hold otherwise is to elevate form over substance.