Applying a five-factor joint-employer test, the court found that although the department could veto a proposed hire, this manner of control was over another contracting party, not the worker herself.
Affirming a district court’s grant of summary judgment against the Title VII race and sex discrimination claims asserted by a prison mental health worker, the Seventh Circuit found that the Illinois Department of Corrections could not be considered a joint employer under the five-factor test in Knight v. United Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co., 950 F.2d 377 (7th Cir. 1991). Among other things, the court found that the department did not exercise sufficient control over the employee, noting that while the department investigated and had concluded she violated its dress code policies, its report did not impose punishment and merely substantiated a claim against her. This “most important” factor suggested that the department was not the employee’s employer (Stokes v. Illinois Department of Corrections, No. 25-1116 (7th Cir. July 31, 2026)).
The department contracted with Wexford Health Services, Inc., to provide mental-health services at its facilities, including Pontiac, a prison for men. Wexford, the “vendor,” served as an independent contractor, not an agent or employee of the department. As part of its duties, Wexford was responsible for hiring individual employees to staff Pontiac’s medical units, subject to the department’s approval.
New hire. In 2017, the employee in this...
Manhattan prosecutors asked a judge Monday to correct what they called false claims by Luigi Mangione's defense team about media access to his upcoming murder trial and remind the attorneys of the...