U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Rent-A-Center East, Inc.

264 F. Supp. 3d 952
CourtDistrict Court, C.D. Illinois
DecidedSeptember 8, 2017
DocketCase No. 16-CV-2222
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 264 F. Supp. 3d 952 (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Rent-A-Center East, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, C.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Rent-A-Center East, Inc., 264 F. Supp. 3d 952 (C.D. Ill. 2017).

Opinion

ORDER

COLIN S. BRUCE, U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE

This case is before the court for ruling on the Motion for Summary Judgment (# 36) filed by Defendant Rent-A-Center East, Inc., Defendant’s Motion for Hearing (#37), and the Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (#38) filed by Plaintiff, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). This court has carefully reviewed the Motions, the parties’ Responses (#41, #42), the parties’ Replies (#43, #44) and all of the exhibits provided by the parties. Following this careful and thorough review, Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment (#36) is DENIED, Defendant’s Motion for Hearing (# 37) is DENIED, and the EEOC’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (# 38) is DENIED.

FACTS1

Megan Kerr (formerly known as Jason Kerr) was employed by Defendant beginning in May 2005.2 From May 2011 until her discharge in July 2014, Kerr worked at Defendant’s store in Rantoul, Illinois. Russell Kasper was the store manager at that location from March 2013 to December 2013. In March 2013, Jason Kerr informed Kasper that he was transitioning to a female and that he had changed his name to Megan Kerr. Kasper informed his District Manager, Jason Carnahan, about the transition in March 2013. Kasper claims that, after he informed Carnahan that Kerr was transitioning, Carnahan told him to look for ways to fire Kerr. Kasper testified that Carnahan asked him “roughly” every week about the “status” of getting rid of Kerr. Kasper was fired in December 2013 by Carnahan. Kasper has stated that he believes at least part of the reason he was fired was because he did not terminate Kerr’s employment with Defendant.

After Kasper was fired, Jason Morris was hired as store manager for Kerr’s store. On July 20, 2014, a Sunday, Kerr used a company delivery vehicle to move some furniture for Amber Shumate. Amber Shumate purchased furniture from Defendant between February and April 2014 and had the furniture in storage.3 According to Kerr, she had permission from Morris to use the vehicle that Sunday. Kerr testified that on Saturday, July 19, 2014, Morris gave Kerr the keys to the vehicle so she could use it on Sunday. Kerr’s story about her use of the vehicle that Sunday has changed dramatically over time. She maintained at one time that she used the vehicle to move homeless people from a shelter into a home. Kerr has also stated that she moved furniture for Shumate as part of a charitable event held by the Masons. Defendant insists that the evi[954]*954dence shows that the Masons were not involved in moving Shumate’s furniture. Both Kerr and Shumate testified that Russell Wiedemann, a member of the Masons, was involved in the delivery, However, Wiedemann testified that the Shumate move was not- a Mason-sponsored event.

The following Monday, July 21, 2014, Morris fired Kerr for using Defendant’s vehicle, Morris had Carnahan’s approval to fire Kerr. Morris and Carnahan maintain that Kerr was terminated for improper use of Defendant’s delivery vehicle, because they say that Kerr used the vehicle to move her own personal belongings. Defendant has a policy that prohibits store employees from “[ujsing Company property (including company vehicles) for personal use.” Kasper testified that, during his employment with Defendant, he used a company vehicle on a Sunday on occasion for charitable events. He said that, to use company property for any charitable event, an employee would need permission from the district manager.

After her termination, Kerr attempted to find a new job. She worked part-time for Demon Dawgs near Chicago from May 8, 2016 until August 30, 2016. On August 1, 2016, she obtained part-time employment at Guitar Center, which became full time employment-later in 2016,

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On July 18, 2016, the EEOC filed a Complaint (# 1) under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title I of the Civil Rights Act of 1991, to correct unlawful employment practices on the basis of sex and to provide appropriate relief to Megan Kerr, an individual who was adversely affected by such practices. Plaintiff alleged that Defendant violated Title VII when it discharged Kerr because she is trarisgender and/or because of her gender transition. On August 8, 2016, Defendant filed its Answer and Affirmative Defenses (#9).

PENDING MOTIONS

SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTIONS

On June 13, 2017, Defendant filed a Motion for' Summary Judgment, (#36), with attached exhibits. Defendant argued that Kerr “has made such, materially inconsistent and objectively unprovable statements that there is simply no way to reconcile them in order to find in the EEOC’s favor.”

Also on June 13, 2017, Plaintiff filed a Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (# 38); Plaintiff argued that it was entitled to summary judgment on Defendant’s affirmative defense ;of failure to mitigate. Plaintiff argued that the evidence in this case shows that Kerr made substantial efforts to obtain employment after her termination by Defendant, and' eventually succeeded in-finding a job. The EEOC stated that it has cut off its claim for lost wages as of when Kerr obtained employment at Guitar Center on August 1, 2016. The EEOC argued that Defendant cannot demonstrate that Kerr- failed to engage in a reasonable search for comparable employment for the two year period prior to that time.

Both motions are fully briefed and ready for ruling,

SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD

Summary judgment is appropriate “if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the rpovant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a); see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). In ruling on a motion for summary judgment, a district court “has one task and one task only: to decide, based on the [955]*955evidence of record, whether there is. any material dispute • of fact that requires a trial.” Waldridge v. Am. Hoechst Corp., 24 F.3d 918, 920 (7th Cir. 1994). In malting this determination, the court must construe the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of that party. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Singer v. Raemisch, 593 F.3d 529, 533 (7th Cir. 2010). “At summary judgment, ‘a court may not make credibility determinations, weigh the evidence, or decide which inferences to draw from the facts; these are jobs for a factfin-der.’ ” Paz v. Wauconda Healthcare & Rehab. Ctr., LLC, 464 F.3d 659, 664 (7th Cir. 2006), quoting Payne v. Pauley, 337 F.3d 767, 770 (7th Cir. 2003); see also Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

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Bluebook (online)
264 F. Supp. 3d 952, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/us-equal-employment-opportunity-commission-v-rent-a-center-east-inc-ilcd-2017.