Patricia Wagner v. Kevin Campbell, 779 F.3d 761

Patricia Wagner worked for over 30 years as chief dispatcher/office manager at the Merrick County sheriff’s office, handling bond funds and office ledgers.
Newly appointed Sheriff Kevin Campbell sought to change the bond-payment policy (taking bond money directly to the court) and asked Wagner to train a replacement; Wagner expressed concerns about losing the paper trail.
Campbell issued a written reprimand to Wagner on January 26, 2011, citing insubordination, failure to train, missing checkbook, derogatory conduct by a family member, and absence from work; the reprimand did not suspend, demote, or cut pay and was to remain in her file for one year.
Wagner refused to sign the reprimand, began but deleted a written response, left work that day, never returned, and filed a grievance (which the county board denied); she later sued Campbell under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Nebraska law for retaliation based on protected speech.
The case was removed to federal court; the district court dismissed some claims, granted summary judgment to Campbell on the remaining retaliation claims based on qualified immunity, and denied remand; Wagner appealed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Timeliness of removal / remand	Wagner: removal was untimely because defendants were served in state court more than 30 days before removal	Defendants: removal was timely given procedural context and consent of official-capacity defendants	Court declined to review remand denial on appeal because federal jurisdiction existed when judgment entered; affirmed overall judgment
Whether Wagner engaged in protected speech	Wagner: her objections to Campbell’s bond-policy change were speech on a matter of public concern	Campbell: disputed character/impact of the speech or relevance	Court did not decide this; resolved case on adverse-action element
Whether the written reprimand was an adverse employment action	Wagner: reprimand (and subsequent circumstances) was materially adverse and retaliatory	Campbell: reprimand caused no change to pay, duties, or status — no materially adverse action	Held: not an adverse employment action because reprimand alone, without worse consequences, did not materially alter employment; plaintiff failed prima facie retaliation case
Qualified immunity for Campbell	Wagner: constitutional rights were violated by retaliation	Campbell: entitled to qualified immunity because no clearly established violation occurred	Held: summary judgment affirmed on qualified immunity grounds because Wagner failed to show a constitutional violation

Caterpillar Inc. v. Lewis, 519 U.S. 61 (federal jurisdiction at judgment cures earlier removal defects)
Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242 (summary judgment standard; nonmoving party must show genuine dispute)
Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (qualified immunity framework)
Clegg v. Arkansas Department of Correction, 496 F.3d 922 (definition of adverse employment action)
Kim v. Nash Finch Co., 123 F.3d 1046 (examples of materially adverse employment consequences)
Elnashar v. Speedway SuperAmerica, LLC, 484 F.3d 1046 (written reprimand is adverse only if it changes terms/conditions for the worse)
Brunsting v. Lutsen Mountains Corp., 601 F.3d 813 (summary judgment burdens and quantum of evidence required)