Scalise v. Village of McCook, 1:22-cv-03767

Patricia Scalise, a former probationary police officer for the Village of McCook, alleges she was fired due to sex discrimination, in violation of Title VII and the Fourteenth Amendment (via § 1983).
Scalise claims that her supervisor, David DeLeshe, made sexist comments, used a derogatory nickname, and was instrumental in the decision to end her employment.
Scalise completed required field training and began solo patrol, but experienced documented issues with officer safety and procedures; her superiors then recommended her termination.
Male comparator officers with alleged comparable or worse performance/safety issues were treated less severely.
Scalise filed an EEOC complaint, received a Notice of Right to Sue, and brought this lawsuit after allegedly being coerced to resign.
Defendants moved for summary judgment, claiming administrative non-exhaustion, non-discriminatory discharge, and lack of a constitutional violation.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Administrative Exhaustion	EEOC complaint sufficiently covered her claims	EEOC complaint lacked specific legal theories	Scalise exhausted admin remedies
Adverse Employment Action	Forced resignation after Board's termination vote	She chose to resign, not terminated	Suffered adverse employment action
Sex Discrimination (Title VII)	Direct/circumstantial evidence of sex-based firing	Fired for performance; no discrimination	Sufficient evidence for trial
"Cat’s Paw" (Employer Liability for Bias)	DeLeshe's bias/facts proximately caused discharge	Board acted independently of any animus	Jury could find employer liable via "cat’s paw"
Section 1983/Qualified Immunity	Title VII and § 1983 standards align; evidence supports claim	No viable Title VII claim, so no § 1983 claim	§ 1983 claim survives; no immunity

Cheek v. W. & S. Life Ins. Co., 31 F.3d 497 (7th Cir. 1994) (EEOC charge need not precisely mirror judicial complaint; closely related claims suffice for exhaustion)
McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792 (1973) (classic burden-shifting framework for discrimination claims)
Ortiz v. Werner Enterprises, 834 F.3d 760 (7th Cir. 2016) (totality of evidence test for employment discrimination)
Staub v. Proctor Hosp., 562 U.S. 411 (2011) (cat’s paw theory: employer liable if bias motivates adverse action)
Palka v. Shelton, 623 F.3d 447 (7th Cir. 2010) (coerced resignation is equivalent to discharge for adverse action)
Pearson v. Callahan, 555 U.S. 223 (2009) (qualified immunity standard for government officials)