Burnell v. Gates Rubber Co., 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 15422

Burnell, an African American employee, claimed race-based discrimination in discharge from Gates Rubber Company.
Past alleged discrimination (1993–1996) included training and promotion disparities and hostile incidents involving a white coworker, Payne.
On December 18–20, 2006, Burnell was written up for failing to turn down six tools and was ultimately fired after disputes over a commitment letter.
Burnell protested the warning as unsafe to perform and alleged management accused him of ‘playing the race card.’
The district court granted Gates Rubber summary judgment on all claims; Burnell appealed those rulings.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment on discriminatory discharge and §1981 claims but reversed on the retaliatory discharge claim and remanded.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Burnell can prove discriminatory discharge under direct method	Burnell relies on circumstantial evidence suggesting discriminatory intent.	Evidence does not directly or sufficiently indicate racial discrimination caused the firing.	No triable issue; direct-method fails.
Whether Burnell can prove discriminatory discharge under indirect method	Past discrimination and perceived unequal treatment show similarly situated persons received better treatment.	No proof that similarly situated non-protected employees were treated better.	Prima facie case not shown; summary judgment proper.
Whether § 1981 discrimination claim survives	Discrimination in discharge is asserted under § 1981 parallel to Title VII.	No discriminatory intent evidenced at discharge.	Dismissed; no § 1981 discrimination shown.
Whether Burnell's retaliatory discharge claim survives	Complaints of racial discrimination and a race-card remark by a supervisor causally relate to firing.	No direct tie shown between protected activity and discharge timing.	Survives; causation shown via past complaints and supervisor comment; remanded for proceedings on retaliation.
Overall decision on summary judgment	There are triable issues on discrimination and retaliation that preclude summary judgment.	Record lacks sufficient evidence of discriminatory motive; proper for summary judgment.	Affirmed as to discriminatory and §1981 claims; reversed as to retaliatory discharge and remanded.

Silverman v. Bd. of Educ. of City of Chicago, 637 F.3d 729 (7th Cir. 2011) (direct vs. indirect proof in retaliation contexts)
Montgomery v. American Airlines, Inc., 626 F.3d 382 (7th Cir. 2010) (discrimination claims under Title VII and §1981 analogous)
Darchak v. City of Chicago Bd. of Educ., 580 F.3d 622 (7th Cir. 2009) (circumstantial evidence may support direct-method discrimination claims)
Adams v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 324 F.3d 935 (7th Cir. 2003) (circumstantial evidence must point to discriminatory reason)
Lalvani v. Cook County, Ill., 269 F.3d 785 (7th Cir. 2001) (causation in retaliation requires evidence beyond temporal proximity)