Employment
Race discrimination

Racially charged remarks by other workers cannot be imputed to a decisionmaker in a discrimination case.

"Ellis next argues that the district court should not have granted summary judgment because this is one of those 'rare cases' where there is direct evidence of the employer's discriminatory intent. As direct evidence that he was fired because he is involved in an interracial relationship, Ellis points to comments Baker made that 'there are plenty of good sisters out there' and that Ellis was a 'sell-out' and Craft's purported remark that by 'dating a white girl from the phone center' Ellis was 'messing up his career.' Derogatory remarks based on an employee's race can be direct evidence of discrimination if they are made by the decisionmaker (or by a person who influences the decisionmaker), near the time of the decision to fire the employee, and in relation to the employee's discharge. See Hemsworth v. Quotesmith.com, Inc., 476 F.3d 487, 491 (7th Cir. 2007); Rozskowiak v. Vill. of Arlington Heights, 415 F.3d 608, 612 (7th Cir. 2005); Dandy v. United Parcel Serv., Inc., 388 F.3d 263, 272 (7th Cir. 2004). But Ellis put forward no evidence that Baker and Craft had influence over the decision to fire Ellis, and in any event, their remarks were made nearly a year and a half before Ellis was fired. At most they show that some coworkers were unhappy that he was dating a white woman, but Ellis did not establish they reflected Walker's views or were connected to the decision to fire him. See Ineichen, 410 F.3d at 963. These comments are merely stray remarks unrelated to Walker's decision to fire Ellis, and they are not enough to show that UPS unlawfully discriminated against him. See Nichols, 510 F.3d at 781-82."

Affirmed.

07-2811 Ellis v. UPS, Inc.

Appeals from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Young, J., Evans, J.

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