Liu v. Cook Cnty. — Mar. 2016 (Summary)

DISCRIMINATION AND RETALIATION

Liu v. Cook Cnty.
No. 14-1775 (7th Cir. Mar. 15, 2016)

The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed a lower court’s grant of summary judgment for a government hospital on claims of Title VII and section 1981 discrimination and retaliation brought by a former employed physician of Chinese descent.  The court concluded that defendants honestly believed that the employee posed a danger to patients and that reprimands were not related to her membership in any protected class.  The hospital took the challenged action based on the surgeon’s repeated refusal to operate on patients with appendicitis, which she allegedly refused to do so over several years.