Fields v. Bd. of Educ. of Chi. & Chad P. Weiden — 928 F.3d 622 (2019) · United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 2019

United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 2019-06-27

42usc1981: author: Flash2 · QA: FIX (Fable, neov2/cases/TRIAGE-Flash.md)

Case and law context

42 U.S.C. § 1981

Role: applied; posture: civil; Section 1981 (and ADEA) race discrimination and retaliation by a public-school teacher; summary judgment for school board and principal affirmed by CA7 for want of an adverse employment action; result: claimant-lost; claim:

Uncertainty

other: the defendants are a public school board and its principal, but the opinion never discusses the state-remedial-route (Section 1983 / Monell); no block is recorded for it.

Element contractual-impairment: route: the block covers both the constructive-discharge theory and the reviews/improvement-plans theory; the menu has no constructive-discharge route, and materially-adverse-change lists discharge as out of scope.

Misfit

None recorded

B · Case × element grid

Top-level elements follow claim order in panels of up to six elements. Case rows repeat across panels. Every recorded block retains its holding and basis; multiple blocks are not merged into a case-level verdict. ✓ satisfied · ✗ not satisfied · ○ not reached · · not addressed. Muted blocks are not counted. Sub-element evidence remains on case and element pages.

Elements 1–6 of 15

42 U.S.C. § 1981
Case	Persons protected by equal contractual rights	Plaintiff has rights in an existing or proposed contract	Formation performance termination or contractual benefits	Judicial intentional-race-discrimination requirement	Judicial but-for causation of contractual injury	Nongovernmental impairment
Fields v. Bd. of Educ. of Chi. & Chad P. Weiden — 928 F.3d 622 (2019) · United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 2019 (42usc1981: author: Flash2 · QA: FIX (Fable, neov2/cases/TRIAGE-Flash.md))	✓ satisfied · conceded	✓ satisfied · conceded	✗ not · no-evidence	· not addressed	· not addressed	· not addressed

Elements 7–12 of 15

42 U.S.C. § 1981
Case	Judicial section 1983 remedial route for state-law impairment	Opposition to racial impairment of contract rights	Judicial defendant-knowledge requirement for retaliation	Judicial material-adversity requirement for retaliation	Judicial causation requirement for retaliatory injury	Contract and retaliation scope with noncontract clauses identified
Fields v. Bd. of Educ. of Chi. & Chad P. Weiden — 928 F.3d 622 (2019) · United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 2019 (42usc1981: author: Flash2 · QA: FIX (Fable, neov2/cases/TRIAGE-Flash.md))	· not addressed	· not addressed	· not addressed	✗ not · no-evidence	· not addressed	· not addressed

Elements 13–15 of 15

42 U.S.C. § 1981
Case	Judicial hostile-environment threshold and attribution	Claim-specific limitations and accrual	Compensatory equitable punitive and fee remedies
Fields v. Bd. of Educ. of Chi. & Chad P. Weiden — 928 F.3d 622 (2019) · United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 2019 (42usc1981: author: Flash2 · QA: FIX (Fable, neov2/cases/TRIAGE-Flash.md))	· not addressed	· not addressed	· not addressed

Instances and excluded annotation blocks

Annotation blocks, including explicitly excluded context
Case	Element	Holding and scope	Pattern	Exact source quotations
Fields v. Bd. of Educ. of Chi. & Chad P. Weiden — 928 F.3d 622 (2019) · United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 2019 — not · no-evidence (42usc1981: author: Flash2 · QA: FIX (Fable, neov2/cases/TRIAGE-Flash.md))	Formation performance termination or contractual benefits	not Counted merits instance applied / merits basis: no-evidence	retirement-claimed-as-constructive-discharge-after-improvement-plans-and-mediation-without-discipline	The Board's opening position was that Fields could retire with a "do not hire" designation, preventing her from being rehired. Source: `docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_928.jsonl#/f3d/928/0622-01`; Unicode character offsets [2858:2984] (end exclusive); SHA-256 `7ec7a61801e1d993e5372359ff01b2cc26028b4beb3d7228164155fae15c66c7`. Evidence kind: fact; polarity: supports; absent flag: 0; quoted-rule flag: 0 (1 = tagged; 0 = not tagged) Based partly on Weiden's observations, Chicago Public Schools rated Fields's job performance for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 school years as "developing," which ranks below a "proficient" rating. Source: `docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_928.jsonl#/f3d/928/0622-01`; Unicode character offsets [1357:1548] (end exclusive); SHA-256 `7ec7a61801e1d993e5372359ff01b2cc26028b4beb3d7228164155fae15c66c7`. Evidence kind: fact; polarity: supports; absent flag: 0; quoted-rule flag: 0 (1 = tagged; 0 = not tagged) And here, the mediation resulted in no punitive measures, and Weiden provided sworn testimony that he did not oppose Fields receiving no discipline because he wanted her performance to improve. Source: `docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_928.jsonl#/f3d/928/0622-01`; Unicode character offsets [9374:9567] (end exclusive); SHA-256 `7ec7a61801e1d993e5372359ff01b2cc26028b4beb3d7228164155fae15c66c7`. Evidence kind: fact; polarity: cuts-against; absent flag: 0; quoted-rule flag: 0 (1 = tagged; 0 = not tagged) She retired in May 2016 without ever returning to work. Source: `docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_928.jsonl#/f3d/928/0622-01`; Unicode character offsets [3346:3401] (end exclusive); SHA-256 `7ec7a61801e1d993e5372359ff01b2cc26028b4beb3d7228164155fae15c66c7`. Evidence kind: fact; polarity: cuts-against; absent flag: 0; quoted-rule flag: 0 (1 = tagged; 0 = not tagged) She also has no evidence that her working conditions were objectively intolerable. Source: `docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_928.jsonl#/f3d/928/0622-01`; Unicode character offsets [7868:7950] (end exclusive); SHA-256 `7ec7a61801e1d993e5372359ff01b2cc26028b4beb3d7228164155fae15c66c7`. Evidence kind: fact; polarity: cuts-against; absent flag: 1; quoted-rule flag: 0 (1 = tagged; 0 = not tagged) The second occurs when an employer acts in a manner that would make clear to a reasonable employee that she will be immediately fired if she does not resign. Source: `docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_928.jsonl#/f3d/928/0622-01`; Unicode character offsets [7302:7459] (end exclusive); SHA-256 `7ec7a61801e1d993e5372359ff01b2cc26028b4beb3d7228164155fae15c66c7`. Evidence kind: rule; polarity: not recorded; absent flag: 0; quoted-rule flag: 0 (1 = tagged; 0 = not tagged) Fields cannot show that she was constructively discharged. Source: `docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_928.jsonl#/f3d/928/0622-01`; Unicode character offsets [7539:7597] (end exclusive); SHA-256 `7ec7a61801e1d993e5372359ff01b2cc26028b4beb3d7228164155fae15c66c7`. Evidence kind: held; polarity: not recorded; absent flag: 0; quoted-rule flag: 0 (1 = tagged; 0 = not tagged) Fields also suggests that the negative performance reviews and performance improvement plans constitute adverse employment actions. She is incorrect. Source: `docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_928.jsonl#/f3d/928/0622-01`; Unicode character offsets [9834:9983] (end exclusive); SHA-256 `7ec7a61801e1d993e5372359ff01b2cc26028b4beb3d7228164155fae15c66c7`. Evidence kind: held; polarity: not recorded; absent flag: 0; quoted-rule flag: 0 (1 = tagged; 0 = not tagged)
Fields v. Bd. of Educ. of Chi. & Chad P. Weiden — 928 F.3d 622 (2019) · United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 2019 — satisfied · conceded (42usc1981: author: Flash2 · QA: FIX (Fable, neov2/cases/TRIAGE-Flash.md))	Plaintiff has rights in an existing or proposed contract	satisfied Counted merits instance applied / merits basis: conceded	public-school-teacher	Fields was a teacher at Edgebrook Elementary School from 2002 until May 2016, when she retired. Source: `docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_928.jsonl#/f3d/928/0622-01`; Unicode character offsets [624:719] (end exclusive); SHA-256 `7ec7a61801e1d993e5372359ff01b2cc26028b4beb3d7228164155fae15c66c7`. Evidence kind: fact; polarity: supports; absent flag: 0; quoted-rule flag: 0 (1 = tagged; 0 = not tagged)
Fields v. Bd. of Educ. of Chi. & Chad P. Weiden — 928 F.3d 622 (2019) · United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 2019 — satisfied · conceded (42usc1981: author: Flash2 · QA: FIX (Fable, neov2/cases/TRIAGE-Flash.md))	Persons protected by equal contractual rights	satisfied Counted merits instance applied / merits basis: conceded	african-american	Gloria Fields, a 63-year-old African-American woman, retired in 2016 from her job as a teacher with Chicago Public Schools. Source: `docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_928.jsonl#/f3d/928/0622-01`; Unicode character offsets [12:135] (end exclusive); SHA-256 `7ec7a61801e1d993e5372359ff01b2cc26028b4beb3d7228164155fae15c66c7`. Evidence kind: fact; polarity: supports; absent flag: 0; quoted-rule flag: 0 (1 = tagged; 0 = not tagged)
Fields v. Bd. of Educ. of Chi. & Chad P. Weiden — 928 F.3d 622 (2019) · United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 2019 — not · no-evidence (42usc1981: author: Flash2 · QA: FIX (Fable, neov2/cases/TRIAGE-Flash.md))	Judicial material-adversity requirement for retaliation	not Counted merits instance applied / merits basis: no-evidence	pre-meeting-notices-improvement-plans-and-mediation-without-discipline-after-suit	The notices stated that Fields could receive a "formal warning" or a "final warning" after the meetings, or that Weiden could recommend her dismissal to the Board. Source: `docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_928.jsonl#/f3d/928/0622-01`; Unicode character offsets [2467:2630] (end exclusive); SHA-256 `7ec7a61801e1d993e5372359ff01b2cc26028b4beb3d7228164155fae15c66c7`. Evidence kind: fact; polarity: supports; absent flag: 0; quoted-rule flag: 0 (1 = tagged; 0 = not tagged) The pre-meeting notices, which warned that discipline was possible, and the mediation, which resulted in no discipline, did not affect Fields's career prospects or salary. Source: `docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_928.jsonl#/f3d/928/0622-01`; Unicode character offsets [10993:11164] (end exclusive); SHA-256 `7ec7a61801e1d993e5372359ff01b2cc26028b4beb3d7228164155fae15c66c7`. Evidence kind: fact; polarity: cuts-against; absent flag: 0; quoted-rule flag: 0 (1 = tagged; 0 = not tagged) Weiden did not object because he wanted Fields to improve her performance, so Fields received no discipline as a result of the performance-improvement plans. Source: `docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_928.jsonl#/f3d/928/0622-01`; Unicode character offsets [3096:3253] (end exclusive); SHA-256 `7ec7a61801e1d993e5372359ff01b2cc26028b4beb3d7228164155fae15c66c7`. Evidence kind: fact; polarity: cuts-against; absent flag: 0; quoted-rule flag: 0 (1 = tagged; 0 = not tagged) To survive summary judgment Fields needed evidence that would permit a reasonable factfinder to conclude that her engagement in protected activity caused a materially adverse employment action. Source: `docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_928.jsonl#/f3d/928/0622-01`; Unicode character offsets [10291:10484] (end exclusive); SHA-256 `7ec7a61801e1d993e5372359ff01b2cc26028b4beb3d7228164155fae15c66c7`. Evidence kind: rule; polarity: not recorded; absent flag: 0; quoted-rule flag: 0 (1 = tagged; 0 = not tagged) And she did not experience anything else that rises to the level of a materially adverse employment action. Source: `docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_928.jsonl#/f3d/928/0622-01`; Unicode character offsets [10885:10992] (end exclusive); SHA-256 `7ec7a61801e1d993e5372359ff01b2cc26028b4beb3d7228164155fae15c66c7`. Evidence kind: held; polarity: not recorded; absent flag: 0; quoted-rule flag: 0 (1 = tagged; 0 = not tagged) And the performance improvement plans, even though they had the potential to lead to termination or other discipline, are not enough. Source: `docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_928.jsonl#/f3d/928/0622-01`; Unicode character offsets [11227:11360] (end exclusive); SHA-256 `7ec7a61801e1d993e5372359ff01b2cc26028b4beb3d7228164155fae15c66c7`. Evidence kind: held; polarity: not recorded; absent flag: 0; quoted-rule flag: 0 (1 = tagged; 0 = not tagged)