Minor v. Centocor, Inc. - 457 F.3d 632 (7th Cir. 2006)

Rule:

The plaintiff in employment-discrimination litigation bears the burden of establishing the prima facie case, which entails proof of unequal treatment.

Facts:

Appellant employee alleged that a new sales manager required her to work between 70 and 90 hours per week and that, as a result, she developed depression and heart problems. In this present litigation, appellant contended that the sales manager’s demands reflected both age and sex discrimination, violating the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The district court concluded that the employee had not established a prima facie case for discrimination under the indirect method of proof because the employer did not take any "adverse employment action" against her. Appellant sought review of the district court’s decision. 

Issue:

Did the employee establish a prima facie case for discrimination? 

Answer:

No.

Conclusion:

On review, the court concluded that requiring an employee to work more hours because of her status in a protected group constituted an adverse employment action. However, the employee failed to show that male employees or younger employees were not required to work as many hours. In fact, the evidence showed that the manager required all sales representatives under his supervision to visit their customers every other week. Further, while other sales representatives may have had more compact territories, nothing in the record suggested that the employee's geographically distant accounts were assigned to her because of her sex or age. Accordingly, the court affirmed the district court’s judgment.