By: Storrs W. Downey
In the Seventh Circuit Court’s decision in Emerson v. Dart, No. 23-3029 (7th Cir. 7/26/24), the Court held that for a former employee to establish a potentially viable retaliatory discharge claim they had to present more evidence than just an ongoing active workers’ compensation claim at the time the employee was terminated. Further, where such an employee was terminated while off for a work-related injury, this was insufficient alone to establish an inference of a retaliatory motive by the employer.