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Clegg v. Ark. Dep't of Corr.

Clegg v. Ark. Dep't of Corr.

United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

March 15, 2007, Submitted; August 13, 2007, Filed

No. 06-3119

Opinion

 [*924] HANSEN, Circuit Judge.

Lori Clegg filed this suit against her employer and individual coworkers alleging race and gender discrimination, retaliation, and violations of the Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), 38 U.S.C. §§ 4301-4333. The district court 1 granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment and dismissed Ms. Clegg's claims. She appeals. We affirm.

Lori Clegg, an African-American female, began working for the Arkansas Department of  [**2] Correction (ADOC) in 1997. In 2003, Ms. Clegg was working in the Tucker maximum security unit as a Substance Abuse Treatment Program (SATP) coordinator. As a SATP coordinator, Ms. Clegg was classified as a Grade 20 employee.

In February 2003, Ms. Clegg was activated for military duty in Iraq as part of her service in the Army National Guard. She took military leave from the ADOC and served overseas until June 2004. Upon her return, Ms. Clegg notified the ADOC that she planned to return to work on September 7, 2004.

In July 2004, the administrator of the SATP program, Roger Cameron, telephoned Ms. Clegg at home to inform her of two pieces of information. The first was that state certification requirements had changed while she was on leave and that in order to remain qualified for her job and to continue to be employed by the ADOC, she needed to obtain a Certified Criminal Justice Professional credential. Cameron also told Ms. Clegg that they were considering assigning her to the Therapeutic Community (TC) counseling unit at Tucker, instead of the SATP unit, upon her return in September.

Ms. Clegg did not agree with the ADOC's tentative decision to transfer her  [*925]  to the TC program, and she  [**3] filed a complaint with her military unit's Judge Advocate General's (JAG) office and the Department of Labor. The JAG sent a letter to ADOC shortly thereafter, and Ms. Clegg was notified by ADOC on August 27, 2004, that she would be placed in her original SATP position upon her return. The Department of Labor closed its investigation and sent a closing letter to the ADOC on September 28, 2004, a month after ADOC had already notified Ms. Clegg she would return to the SATP position.

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496 F.3d 922 *; 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 19133 **; 182 L.R.R.M. 2465; 101 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 345; 90 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) P42,940

Lori Clegg, Appellant, v. Arkansas Department of Correction; Roger Cameron, in his Individual and Official Capacity as SATP Administrator; Cedric Albritton, in his Individual and Official Capactiy at SATP Leader, Appellees.

Prior History:  [**1] Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas.

Clegg v. Ark. Dep't of Corr., 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44973 (E.D. Ark., June 20, 2006)

CORE TERMS

adverse employment action, district court, training, retaliation, summary judgment, rights, military leave, benefits, allegations, reassigned, military, discrimination claim, qualified immunity, reemployment, coworkers, military service, grade, adverse action, conditions, telephone, changes

Civil Procedure, Appeals, Standards of Review, De Novo Review, Summary Judgment Review, Standards of Review, Judgments, Summary Judgment, Evidentiary Considerations, Entitlement as Matter of Law, General Overview, Labor & Employment Law, Evidence, Burdens of Proof, Burden Shifting, Discrimination, Reconstruction Statutes, Title VII Discrimination, Employment Practices, Adverse Employment Actions, Reassignments & Transfers, Scope & Definitions, Retaliation, Burdens of Proof, Elements, Adverse Employment Actions, Business & Corporate Compliance, Labor & Employment Law, Leaves of Absence, Military Leaves, Civil Rights Law, Protection of Rights, Immunity From Liability, Defenses