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Segal McCambridge Attorneys, Michael Luchsinger, and Masood Ali achieved a significant victory in a discrimination case at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The case involved allegations of disparate treatment based on race, color, and gender discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, discrimination of the employment contractual relationship based on race under section 1981 and disparate impact based on race. The claims were brought against our clients, their former employer, regarding unequal terms and conditions.
During the discovery phase, the plaintiff amended the complaint, abandoning the claims of disparate treatment and instead alleging disparate impact and added state law fraud claims. Disparate treatment requires the plaintiff to prove intentional discrimination, whereas disparate impact is unintentional discrimination. For disparate impact, the plaintiff is required to show that a policy of an employer disproportionately impacts a protected class. In response to plaintiff’s amended complaint to disparate impact instead of disparate treatment, our legal team promptly filed a motion to dismiss, which the court granted for two key reasons.
Firstly, the plaintiff failed to exhaust administrative remedies properly, necessary to file a disparate impact complaint under Title VII. Secondly, the plaintiff's claims lacked sufficient evidence to support the existence of an employer policy leading to disparate impact.
The court's dismissal of the case underscores the dedication and tenacity of Segal McCambridge's attorneys in advocating for our clients' rights and achieving favorable outcomes.
