Cervantes v. Group

Cervantes began working as an Ardagh pallet loader in 1991. He was promoted to forklift driver, then to electro‐mechanic in 2000. On June 20, 2015, after completing his shift, he remained at the Ardagh facility to assist his father, an Ardagh employee, with fixing a machine. Supervisor Stewart unsuccessfully attempted to call Cervantes on his radio. When Stewart located Cervantes, he explained that he had not responded because he was not working a second shift. Stewart stated that if he was not accepting second shift assignments, he must leave. He eventually complied. Cervantes was written up for insubordination and temporarily suspended. Following an investigation, Ardagh demoted Cervantes to forklift driver. Cervantes filed a charge with the Illinois Department of Human Rights, claiming only “Retaliation.” He did not check boxes for race, national origin, or any other basis of discrimination. The IDHR dismissed the charge. Cervantes sued under Title VII, 42 U.S.C. 20003 and the Illinois Human Rights Act, claiming Ardagh failed to promote him, issued him performance warnings, and demoted him based on his race and national origin and in retaliation for his previous complaints about harassment and discrimination. The district court granted Ardagh summary judgment. The Seventh Circuit affirmed. Cervantes did not exhaust his administrative remedies for his discrimination claims. His retaliation claim fails because there is no evidence of a causal connection between any protected activity by Cervantes and an adverse employment action by Ardagh. View "Cervantes v. Group" on Justia Law