EEOC Claim Retaliation.

Byline: Derek Hawkins

7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Jerry L. Lewis v. Robert Wilkie

Case No.: 18-1702

Officials: FLAUM, MANION, and SYKES, Circuit Judges.

Focus: EEOC Claim Retaliation

Jerry Lewis is an employee of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (the "Agency"). Lewis worked as a cook in the Nutrition and Food Service Department from December 2008 until September 2009 and then again from December 2013 until April 2015. The four-year gap in employment from 2009 to 2013 occurred because Lewis was terminated and then, after a successful Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) complaint, was reinstated to his former position.

Lewis alleges that upon reinstatement he faced retaliation from the Agency and two supervisors for his EEO activity. The district court granted summary judgment to the Agency, holding in part that none of the alleged retaliatory actions constituted a materially adverse action. We agree with the district...