The Seventh Circuit explained that as to the retaliation Bagwe could not meet her burden. Defendant explained that Bagwe was fired because she demonstrated poor leadership skills, and Bagwe failed to established that such rationale was "unworthy of belief," where record showed that upper management received complaints about Bagwe's inability to work with others, and that Bagwe had been placed on performance improvement plan because of such complaints. The fact that Bagwe's job performance had no financial impact on defendant, or that some co-workers got along with Bagwe did not require different result.
Bagwe also failed to establish viable unequal pay claim, where she only identified purported comparative co-workers who had similar job titles, without establishing whether these individuals had comparable experience or qualifications. Plaintiff further failed to establish actionable retaliation claim, where: (1) plaintiff's placement on performance improvement plan, by itself, did not constitute material adverse act; and (2) record showed that plaintiff's termination was based on plaintiff's poor leadership skills.