Jajeh v. County of Cook
2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 8900
| 7th Cir. | 2012Background
- Dr. Ahmad Jajeh, a Muslim physician from Syria, worked at Stroger Hospital of Cook County for 16 years before a county-wide layoff in 2007.
- Cook County cut $130 million from the Bureau of Health budget, eliminating 200 physician positions including Jajeh’s.
- Jajeh had a long-running, partly personal conflict with coworker Dr. Catchatourian, who made derogatory comments about Muslims related to the disagreement.
- Jajeh submitted multiple internal complaints against Catchatourian (and later Lad) starting in 2004–2005, but these complaints generally described personality clashes, not religious discrimination.
- Jajeh filed an EEOC charge in 2006 alleging retaliation and discrimination based on religion and national origin; the district court granted summary judgment for Cook County on all counts.
- The Seventh Circuit affirmed, holding no triable issue on hostile work environment or retaliation based on the record.”
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hostile-work-environment based on religion/national origin | Jajeh suffered severe harassment by Catchatourian tied to his religion | Harassment was due to personality conflict, not religion/origin, and was not attributable to the County | No employer liability; harassment not proven to be religion-based or properly noticed to management |
| Direct method retaliation causation | EEOC complaint caused County to terminate Jajeh | No direct evidence; timing not causal; letters predate EEOC filing; no cat’s-paw link | No direct-causation evidence; termination not shown to be retaliatory |
| Indirect method retaliation pretext | Circumstantial evidence shows pretext for termination | Budget-cut criteria applied uniformly; evidence insufficient to show pretext | Insufficient pretext evidence; indirect method fails |
| Post-termination retaliation (rehire bar) | Lad’s rehire denial notation was retaliatory | No evidentiary support that notation was retaliatory and connected to EEOC filing | No post-termination retaliation shown |
Key Cases Cited
- Vance v. Ball State Univ., 646 F.3d 461 (7th Cir. 2011) (supervisor vs coworker harassment standard; supervisor liability requires power to affect terms of employment)
- Turner v. Saloon, Ltd., 595 F.3d 679 (7th Cir. 2010) (notice-pleading and hostile environment framework)
- Nat'l R.R. Passenger Corp. v. Morgan, 536 U.S. 101 (Supreme Court 2002) (scope of claims and timing for hostile-work-environment claims)
- Erickson v. Wis. Dept. of Corr., 469 F.3d 600 (7th Cir. 2006) (negligence standard for coworker harassment; notice/causation requirements)
- Rhodes v. Ill. Dep't of Transp., 359 F.3d 498 (7th Cir. 2004) (supervisor/coworker distinction and notice of harassment)
- Yancick v. Hanna Steel Corp., 653 F.3d 532 (7th Cir. 2011) (employer liability requires notice and evidence of basis for harassment)
- O'Leary v. Accretive Health, Inc., 657 F.3d 625 (7th Cir. 2011) (convincing mosaic circumstantial evidence for direct-method retaliation)