Stinnet v. City of Chicago, 09-3626

Racial discrimination in employment against City of Chicago

Stinnet v. City of Chicago, 09-3626, concerned an African-American plaintiff's Title VII suit against the City of Chicago, claiming that its failure to promote him to field officer in the fire department's emergency medical services division discriminated against him because of his race.


In affirming the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the city, the court held that, although the district judge's ruling that plaintiff was not similarly situated to the white employees and therefore his case fails at the threshold takes too narrow a view of what it means to be similarly situated, in the terminology of McDonnell Douglas, the facts do not show that the decision to make further promotions from a new eligibility list was a pretext designed to conceal racial discrimination.

Related Link:

• Read the Seventh Circuit's Full Decision in Stinnet v. City of Chicago, 09-3626