Source: cases/42usc2000e-2/f-supp-3d-375-117-evans-v-staples.case
Case source: https://www.neochart.com/catalog/cases/f-supp-3d/volume_375/0117_01/index.html
Title VII does not provide for individual employee liability.
Accordingly, Plaintiff's Title VII claims against Ms. Dagg are dismissed.
Her employer took an adverse action against her by terminating her employment earlier than expected.
Plaintiff is a member of a protected class.
It is plausible that she was qualified for her position since Ms. Dagg hired her after reviewing her credentials and conducting a phone interview.
Her employer took an adverse action against her by terminating her employment earlier than expected.
Taking these allegations as true, it is plausible that Plaintiff was treated differently, and ultimately fired, because of her race.
casedsl 1.2
# author: Flash2 (gemini-3.8-flash-high)
# triaged-by: Fable (2026-11-10)
case /f-supp-3d/375/0117-01
name Evans v. Staples, Inc.
cite 375 F. Supp. 3d 117 (2019)
# IR court field says: United States District Court for the District of Columbia
court United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
date 2019-04-22
url catalog/cases/f-supp-3d/volume_375/0117_01/index.html
source ir/caselaw/f_supp_3d_375.jsonl sha1=54f1092cfb4cade19402f4e2f82181b55be10a65 chars=16802
opinion order : order by Hillman @0..16802 controlling
law 42usc2000e-2 (a)
role applied
posture civil; pro se Title VII race-discrimination (disparate treatment) claim by a temporary worker; Rule 12(b)(6) motion granted as to the individual supervisor and denied as to Staples (D. Mass.); state c. 151B claims dismissed as time-barred
result mixed
party individual-supervisor-jessica-dagg : Jessica Dagg, individual supervisor
party corporate-employer-staples : Staples Contract & Commercial LLC
element employer : not-satisfied [law]
party individual-supervisor-jessica-dagg
route individual-liability
pattern supervisor-who-hired-and-fired-plaintiff-sued-personally
fact @10372..10437 [cuts-against] | Ms. Dagg was an employee of Staples and not Plaintiff's employer.
rule @10175..10236 | Title VII does not provide for individual employee liability.
held @10438..10511 | Accordingly, Plaintiff's Title VII claims against Ms. Dagg are dismissed.
element employer : satisfied [pleaded]
party corporate-employer-staples
route private-employer
pattern temp-agency-worker-placed-with-client-company
fact @799..987 [supports] | On April 13, 2015, Kforce Professional Staffing ("Kforce") placed Plaintiff in a temporary assignment with Staples to assist Ms. Dagg's project team with clean-up of procurement databases.
held @13766..13866 | Her employer took an adverse action against her by terminating her employment earlier than expected.
gloss Not contested: the court treats Staples as "her employer" without discussing the staffing-agency placement.
? holding: Staples' status as employer of an agency-placed temp is assumed by the court, never analysed; recorded as pleaded because the court's own analysis calls Staples "her employer".
element protected-class : satisfied [pleaded]
route race
pattern person-of-color
fact @1142..1365 [supports] | When she began her employment, and Ms. Dagg learned Plaintiff's race, Plaintiff was placed at a "countertop space" to work with the only other person of color in the office even though there were several cubicles available.
held @13575..13618 | Plaintiff is a member of a protected class.
element qualified : satisfied [pleaded]
route performance-and-expectations
pattern hired-after-credential-review-and-phone-interview
fact @1061..1141 [supports] | Plaintiff was initially interviewed for the position over the phone by Ms. Dagg.
fact @1678..1785 [cuts-against] | On May 22, 2015, Ms. Dagg terminated Plaintiff's contract, purportedly due to her lack of technical skills.
held @13619..13765 | It is plausible that she was qualified for her position since Ms. Dagg hired her after reviewing her credentials and conducting a phone interview.
element adverse-action : satisfied [pleaded]
route discharge
pattern early-termination-of-temporary-placement
fact @988..1060 [supports] | According to Plaintiff, this assignment was meant to end in August 2015.
held @13766..13866 | Her employer took an adverse action against her by terminating her employment earlier than expected.
element because-of : satisfied [pleaded]
route temporal-proximity
pattern segregated-workspace-and-ostracism-once-supervisor-learned-race-then-early-termination
fact @14077..14175 [supports] | Finally, Plaintiff alleges that after Ms. Dagg learned her race, she was ostracized in the office.
fact @14176..14299 [supports] | Her emails were ignored, she was never trained to do her job, and she was made to work in a separate and smaller workspace.
rule @14511..14646 [quoted] | At this stage, a "plaintiff must allege a series of facts which at the very least gives rise to an inference of discriminatory animus."
held @14378..14510 | Taking these allegations as true, it is plausible that Plaintiff was treated differently, and ultimately fired, because of her race.
? route: the inference rests on the change in treatment after the supervisor learned plaintiff's race (timing relative to disclosure) together with the segregated seating; no narrower route covers "differential treatment without a named comparator".