Simpson v. Chief Judge, Cir. Ct., Will County

• Decision Date: 23 March 2009
• Docket Number: No. 08-1523.,08-1523.
• Citation: 559 F.3d 706
• Parties: Laura M. SIMPSON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. OFFICE OF the CHIEF JUDGE OF the CIRCUIT COURT OF WILL COUNTY, Mike Costigan, and Doug Wilson, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

559 F.3d 706

Laura M. SIMPSON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. OFFICE OF the CHIEF JUDGE OF the CIRCUIT COURT OF WILL COUNTY, Mike Costigan, and Doug Wilson, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 08-1523.

United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.

Argued December 5, 2008.

Decided March 23, 2009.

John P. DeRose, Attorney (argued), DeRose & Associates, Hinsdale, IL, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Paul Berks, Attorney, Sunil Bhave, Attorney (argued), Office of the Attorney General, Civil Appeals Division, Chicago, IL, for Defendants-Appellees.

Before RIPPLE, KANNE, and TINDER, Circuit Judges.

TINDER, Circuit Judge.

Laura Simpson's employment as the head of the River Valley Juvenile Detention Center ("RVDC") came to an end in November 2002, when she was fired by her employer, the Office of the Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of Will County, Illinois. The Chief Judge gave a number of reasons for her termination, principally citing a report prepared by the Will County Auditor that alleged that Simpson engaged in acts of fraud and impropriety. Simpson, however, assumed a more nefarious purpose—she was fired while on medical leave—so she sued the Office of the Chief Judge and others for violations of the Family Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"). She claimed that, by firing her, the defendants interfered with her substantive FMLA rights, 29 U.S.C. § 2615(a)(1), and discriminated against her based on her taking FMLA leave, id. § 2615(a)(2). The district court sided with the Defendants, though, granting them summary judgment on all of Simpson's claims. Simpson appeals from that decision. But because Simpson fails to undermine the Chief Judge's claimed reliance on the Auditor's report (and the State's Attorney's recommendations, which echoed the Auditor's), we affirm.

I. Background

We recount the facts in the light most favorable to Simpson, the non-moving party. Ridings v. Riverside Med. Ctr., 537 F.3d 755, 760 (7th Cir.2008). Simpson worked for the Office of the Chief Judge, overseeing operations at RVDC as its Director, since 1999. She had a clean employment record, never formally disciplined or given a negative performance review. In September 2002, her title changed to "Superintendent" when Chief Judge Rodney Lechwar reorganized the office and created the Court Services Department, which encompassed the RVDC. The reorganization changed more than just her title. She previously reported directly to the Chief Judge, but under the new structure, she reported to Mike Costigan and Doug Wilson, the Director and Assistant Director of the new Department. Still, though Costigan and Wilson were technically her superiors, only Judge Lechwar retained the authority to fire her.

On the same day that Judge Lechwar informed Simpson of the new office structure, Simpson informed Judge Lechwar of her need for time off to seek medical treatment because she was having trouble walking. For many months, Simpson experienced pain and popping in her right knee. The pain intensified in August and September of 2002, and her family doctor, Dr. Clark, referred her to an orthopedic specialist, Dr. Farrell. On September 24, Simpson told Judge Lechwar about her upcoming appointment with the specialist, and after she saw Dr. Farrell, Simpson informed Assistant Director Wilson that she might need more time off for continuing treatment.

Simpson regularly reported to work until October 16, when she visited Dr. Clark and received a note excusing her from work until October 31. From the 16th through the 31st, Simpson took paid sick leave. After an orthopedic appointment on the 31st, Dr. Farrell sent Wilson a note stating that Simpson was to be "off work until further notice." Simpson elected to have surgery on her knee, which was to take place in mid-December, and she planned to continue to take paid sick leave throughout that time.

The next day, November 1, Simpson and Wilson talked on the phone. Because Simpson did not give a definite date of return, Wilson asked her to call the office every morning and report her status. Simpson felt this was unnecessary, yet Wilson remained steadfast. So, to avoid this reporting requirement, Simpson requested FMLA paperwork from Wilson. Wilson denied her request, though, telling her that she was not eligible for FMLA because she had not worked in her current position as Superintendent for more than a year. (That denial was wrong—though her title changed, Simpson was still employed by the Office of the Chief Judge, as she had been for well over one year, see 29 U.S.C. § 2611(2)(A); 29 C.F.R. § 825.110—but it proves to be inconsequential to our analysis because, as we explain, Simpson's FMLA claims are meritless.) Undeterred, Simpson then contacted the Will County Human Resources Department, but they, too, denied her request for the FMLA documents. So Simpson stayed on sick leave with no expected date of return.

At the same time Simpson was attempting to arrange her leave, the Will County Auditor's Office released a report (the "Audit Report") alleging that Simpson had engaged in fraud and other misconduct as head of RVDC. At the behest of Will County Board Member Ann Dralle, the Auditor's Office had been investigating questionable billing and payment practices at RVDC since July of 2002. Initially, the inquiry focused on a county psychologist, Dr. Amy Brown, who allegedly double-billed the county for work performed elsewhere and who spent only a fraction of her time at RVDC, despite receiving full-time pay. The Auditor's Office uncovered evidence that seemed to substantiate the allegations against Dr. Brown. But like so many public corruption scandals, the deeper the auditors dug, the broader the scope of their investigation became. It eventually reached Simpson (referred to in the Report by her maiden name, Munch), though this stage of the investigation began after Simpson began taking sick leave for her knee problem. The auditors investigated Simpson's supervision of Dr. Brown, but they didn't stop there; they examined other aspects of Simpson's work at RVDC. In the end, the investigation revealed more about Simpson than it did about Dr. Brown, and the Audit Report, released on October 30, expressly recommended Simpson's immediate termination as Superintendent of RVDC.

The Audit Report leveled multiple allegations of misconduct against Simpson. First, it alleged that Simpson knew about many of Dr. Brown's improprieties, such as Dr. Brown's limited hours at RVDC, her receiving payment from neighboring Illinois counties for psychological evaluations undertaken while on Will County's time, and her receiving payment from Will County for court-ordered evaluations for which she was already compensated as a full-time employee. The Audit Report characterized Dr. Brown's conduct as "fraudulent practice" performed with "the full knowledge of Director Munch." The Audit Report also alleged that Simpson knew that Dr. Brown personally conducted relatively few psychological evaluations of RVDC juveniles and instead left the evaluation work to RVDC staff. This was problematic, the Report concluded, because the staff occasionally used improper evaluation techniques, which "could invalidate the results thus posing a major liability to the County."

Next, the Audit Report described Simpson's relationship with an RVDC juvenile detainee, which, the Report alleged, violated RVDC policy. RVDC's "Rules of Conduct" prohibited certain RVDC staff, including Simpson, from "fraternizing" with the detainees. The Report acknowledged that, in September 2002, Judge Badger (a Will County juvenile court judge) issued an order permitting the juvenile in question to maintain her relationship with Simpson and another RVDC employee, Anthony Malito. However, the Report found that Simpson had repeated contact with the juvenile, often taking the juvenile outside RVDC's walls, beginning in July 2002, before Judge Badger ever issued the order. Consequently, the Report concluded that Simpson's conduct with the juvenile could expose Will County to liability.

The Audit Report also found that Simpson acted negligently in handling an attempted suicide at RVDC during the previous summer. The Report stated that RVDC staff contacted Simpson about the incident, but Simpson failed to come to the facility or phone the juvenile's parents immediately. Instead, the following day, Simpson allegedly instructed an RVDC supervisor to call the juvenile's parents and "be vague and the details will come." The Report again concluded that Simpson's conduct could have adverse legal ramifications for the county.

In the end, the Audit Report recommended Simpson's immediate termination. It found that Simpson "committed fraudulent acts," "violated the RVDC code of conduct," and "put the County of Will at risk for embarrassment and lawsuits." The auditors notified the Illinois State's Attorney's office, which began its own investigation.

Shortly after its release, Judge Lechwar, Costigan, and Wilson became aware of the Audit Report's allegations against Simpson. Judge Lechwar discussed it with the Auditor and the Illinois State's Attorney's Office, both of whom recommended that Judge Lechwar fire Simpson. On November 19, Costigan called Simpson, who was still on medical leave, and asked her to attend a meeting with the Auditor and the State's Attorney about the investigation. Simpson refused, citing her leave and her need for surgery. She then sent Costigan a prescription signed by Dr. Clark explaining that she would be off work until January.

Two days later, Judge Lechwar wrote Simpson directly, requesting that she come in to discuss problems with her job performance. Simpson obliged, and she and her lawyer met with Judge Lechwar and Costigan on November 26. At this meeting, Judge Lechwar fired Simpson. The judge outlined over a dozen reasons for Simpson's discharge, including the Audit Report's findings, which, as noted, included Simpson's failure to properly supervise Dr. Brown, her...