Basil v. CC Services, Inc.

116 F. Supp. 3d 880, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94299, 2015 WL 4467079
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedJuly 20, 2015
DocketNo. 12 C 1341
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 116 F. Supp. 3d 880 (Basil v. CC Services, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Basil v. CC Services, Inc., 116 F. Supp. 3d 880, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94299, 2015 WL 4467079 (N.D. Ill. 2015).

Opinion

Memorandum Opinion and Order

Honorable Thomas M. Durkin, United States District Judge

Plaintiff Dennis A. Basil alleges that his former employers, defendants CC Services, Inc. (“CCS”) and the Illinois Agricultural Association (“IAA”), fired him because he was over 40-years old, in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”), and in retaliation for filing a workers’ compensation claim, in violation of Illinois law. He also claims that the defendants failed to accommodate his disability in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). The defendants have moved for summary judgment on all three claims. For the following reasons, the Court grants the defendants’ motion.

Background

CCS employs individuals who work at various companies comprising Country Financial, which sells insurance among other financial products. R. 138 ¶ 1. CCS is headquartered in Bloomington, Illinois, and has offices in 14 states. Id. Basil worked for CCS as an at-will employee in its Joliet, Illinois office from June 3, 1985 to June 9, 2011. Id. ¶2.1 From approximately 1998 to 2008, Basil worked as a “Field Property Specialist II,” and as a “Claims Representative Ill-Field” from May 2008 until his termination. Id. ¶ 6. Employees in both positions are generically referred to as “claims representatives,” and are “responsible for inspecting losses, meeting with insured[s], writing out payments when appropriate, maintaining files on all of [their] cases, and maintaining current and accurate summaries of [their] work and the status of [them] cases in CC [883]*883Service’s Shared Online Activity Log (OAL) system.” Id. ¶ 8. They are also instructed to use a “Bring Up” system that “alerts and reminds the representatives of upcoming deadlines and important items on the representatives’ to-do list such as sending out notice and updates to insureds or following up on the status of claims after a certain amount of time has passed.” Id. ¶ 10. The primary difference between the two positions is that a Field Property Specialist II handles more complex claims than a Claims Representative Ill-Field. Id. ¶ 7. Larger, more complex losses entail a “much greater” amount of administrative work than smaller claims “that can be resolved at the time of the initial inspection, or relatively shortly thereafter.” Id. ¶ 8. Claims representatives report to a Claims Supervisor, who is responsible for managing the office, assigning claims to representatives, and tracking the representatives’ performance and workload. Id. ¶ 11. Claims Supervisors, in turn, report to Regional Directors who are responsible for assisting and supporting Claims Supervisors to help them achieve CCS-imposed performance goals. Id.

I. Basil’s Job Performance and Workers’ Compensation Claims

A. Basil’s Performance Reviews During the Period 1998-2004

CCS has included in its summary judgment materials Basil’s year-end “Performance Reviews,” prepared by his Claims Supervisors, for the period 1993 to 2010. His reviews for the years 1993 to 1999 were generally positive, with some criticisms of his organizational skills. See R. 124-3 (Performance Reviews 19932002); see also R. 124-5 at 5 (2003 Performance Review) (“He needs to document his files and keep them up to date to not only show his efforts but to keep files up to date in case he is out of the office.”). He filed his first workers’ compensation claim on January 26, 2000 for injuries he sustained in August 1999 when he fell off of an insured’s roof. R. 149 ¶ 12. He injured his right knee in the fall, and missed “several days” of work after undergoing arthroscopic surgery. Id. Basil’s Performance Reviews for the years 2000-2003 were comparable to his prior reviews. See R. 124-3 at 21 (2000 Performance Review: “Dennis contacts his insured[ ]s in a timely [manner], meeting our Best Practices. He inspects losses in a timely fashion.”); see also id. at 22 (noting that his organizational skills were “improving”); Id. at 25-33 (2001 and 2002 Performance Reviews); R. 124-5 (2003 Performance Review). His 2004 Performance Review also contained positive comments, but the overall tone of the review is more critical. See, e.g., R. 124-6 at 3 (2004 Performance Review) (“Lack of organization continues to be an issue for Dennis. This has been a fault for several years____”).

B. Basil’s Performance Reviews During the Period 2004-2009

After 2004, CCS’s criticisms of Basil’s performance became more pointed. In May 2005, it placed Basil on a “Performance Action Plan,” which listed tasks the company required him to perform “[i]n order to meet and maintain the expected level of performance.” R. 124-7; 138 ¶ 21. On November 7, 2005, CCS gave Basil a written warning regarding his performance. See R. 124-8 at 2 (“Dennis’[s] performance continues to be below the expected level.”). His Performance Review for 2005 reflects the company’s dissatisfaction. See, e.g., R. 124-9 at 6 (“His lack of organization prohibits him from taking ownership of customer concerns and delays his ability to work to resolve these problems.”). CCS verbally extended its prior written warning to Basil on February 2, 2006. R. 138 ¶ 21.

[884]*884On September 29, 2006, Basil received a “Provisional Rating.” Id. Receiving such a rating “reflects an unacceptable level of employee performance or behavior. Previous-discussions with the employee have not resulted in appropriate corrective action. This rating represents a final warning that performance .or behavior must, change.” See R. 124-10 at 2 (2006 Provisional Rating).

On October 2, 2006, Basil was injured when he stepped on a nail, and was later hospitalized with an allergic reaction to the antibiotics he received. R. 140-4 ¶ 17 (Basil Aff.). He missed a “few” days of work in connection with his hospitalization, but did not file a workers’ compensation claim. Id.

Basil received another Provisional Rating on February .8, 2007, see R. 124-12 (2007 Provisional Rating), which the company removed in May 2007 because he-had “improved his performance to an acceptable level.” R. 124-13 at 2; see also R. 138 ¶ 23. In June 2007, John Butkus, CCS’s Regional Director for the region including the Joliet office where Basil worked, received a complaint' from an insured regarding Basil. Id. ¶ 24; R. 149 ¶6. The insured complained that Basil “failed to adequatély explain his role to her after a fire loss, failed to take her questions and -concerns seriously, -failed to timely .return her telephone calls and failed to timely process her claim.” R. 138 ¶ 24. Basil’s 2007 Performance Review acknowledged his improved performance in some areas, see R. 124-15 at 3 (noting that he had “improved his. customer service results”), but continued to criticize his organizational skills:

Dennis has weaknesses and inconsistencies in the maintenance of an active-file bring-up system, organization of his , workload, complete file documentation, follow up contacts, following company procedures, following up on Supervisor and Home Office recommendations and working proactively.

Id.

On February 13, 2008, CCS gave Basil another Provisional Rating. R. 138 IT 21; R. 124-16 (2008 Provisional Rating).

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116 F. Supp. 3d 880, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94299, 2015 WL 4467079, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/basil-v-cc-services-inc-ilnd-2015.