Carolyn Mascow and Local 571 of the Illinois Federation of Teachers v. Board of Education of Franklin Park School District No. 84

Summary

The Seventh Circuit held that a tenured teacher had a property interest in her job under Illinois law, and the district court erred by applying the "bitter with the sweet" doctrine to deny her due process claim for a hearing before layoff. The court affirmed summary judgment against her First Amendment retaliation claim because she failed to show causation between her union speech and her unsatisfactory rating. The case was remanded for determination of what process is due under *Mathews v. Eldridge* for contesting the rating that triggered her layoff and loss of recall rights.

Holdings

1. The district court erred by applying the 'bitter with the sweet' approach from Arnett v. Kennedy, which is not the law. Under Loudermill, if state law creates a legitimate claim of entitlement (property interest), federal law determines whether a hearing is required. The dismissal is vacated and remanded for further proceedings.
2. Summary judgment was proper because Mascow failed to show a causal connection between her protected speech and the adverse employment action. The timing alone (post hoc ergo propter hoc) is insufficient to establish retaliation.
3. The union's claims are treated as abandoned because its joint brief does not make any argument on the union's behalf.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the district court erred in dismissing Mascow's due process claim on the pleadings
2. Whether the district court erred in granting summary judgment to defendants on Mascow's First Amendment retaliation claim
3. Whether Local 571's claims were abandoned on appeal

Disposition

affirmed_in_part_vacated_in_part_remanded