The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the employer on the basis that the Greengrass failed to establish a causal connection between her EEOC filing and the alleged retaliation. The 7th Circuit reversed, finding that Greengrass established a claim for retaliation as there was enough evidence for a jury to conclude that there was a causal connection. Greengrass v. International Monetary Systems, Ltd., No. 13-2901 (7th Cir., 1-12-2015).
The Seventh Circuit held that:
(1) Greengrass engaged in a protected activity by filing her charge.
(2) Listing her name as a litigant in publicly available filing is adverse employment action as post-termination retaliation that harms an employee's employment prospects is unlawful and an employee's decision to file a charge could be negatively viewed by prospective employers.
(3) A reasonable jury could conclude that the employer retaliated against Greengrass after receiving of the witness interview notice. The three-months between the notice and filing was close enough to be suspicious. Further, there was evidence of retaliatory animus in (a) an email from the employer that expressed disdain for the EEOC process and against Greengrass for filing her complaint and (b) inferred from the company's decision to forward the plaintiff's complaint to her alleged harasser. Finally, evidence of pretext existed as multiple shifts in the company's SEC filing policy raised doubt about the company's reasons for its employment decision.
Thus, summary judgment was inappropriate.