The company did dispute that men in managerial roles regularly made inappropriate comments and jokes to and at the expense of women employees.
Reviving the Title VII sex discrimination and retaliation claims of a female HR manager, and “serial reporter” of discrimination and harassment to her supervisor, who was fired one week after her latest retaliation complaint, the Seventh Circuit found she presented sufficient evidence in support of those claims—including of a culture of sexism at the aluminum foundry in which suggestive comments flowed freely as well as evidence of pretext—such that a reasonable jury could find in her favor. The court, however, affirmed summary judgment on her pay discrimination claim, which was too undeveloped for it to determine whether her alleged comparator was similarly situated. Judge Kirsch, dissenting in part, disagreed that her sex discrimination and retaliation claims warranted a trial (Pratt v. Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry, No. 24-1901 (7th Cir. July 23, 2026)).
The employee began working for the family-owned aluminum foundry in 2016 in the HR department and was promoted to HR manager the following year at a starting salary of $65,016. A few months later, the company hired a man to be its environmental health and safety manager, duties the employee’s predecessor had performed, and he received a starting salary of $85,328.
Early errors and complaints. Although she performed well in her first year, she made several errors in early 2018,...
Singer and actor Kim Min-jong filed a police complaint against rapper and producer MC Mong (Shin Dong-hyun) for allegedly spreading false information about him through an internet broadcast. On th...