Zayas v. Rockford Mem'l Hosp., No. 13-2555 (7th Cir. 2014)
Annotate this CaseZayas worked at the Hospital as an ultrasound technician from 1999 until her discharge, at age 55, in 2011. Griesman, Zayas’ supervisor, was responsible for hiring and terminating Zayas and, before firng her, had warned Zayas about sending disrespectful emails. Zayas is Puerto Rican. She brought a national origin discrimination claim and a hostile work environment claim under Title VII, 42 U.S.C. 2000e, and an age discrimination claim under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 29 U.S.C. 621. Her case was based on the fact that she was the oldest technician in the department, and was replaced by a younger employee and on evidence of several incidents during which Zayas believed that Griesman or her co-workers were disrespectful. The district court granted the Hospital summary judgment on all three claims. The Seventh Circuit affirmed. Although Zayas cited a number of hostile incidents, none were related to her national origin, nor were they objectively severe enough to survive summary judgment. Although Zayas’ coworkers did not like her, it was likely the result of “workplace pettiness,” not her Puerto Rican origin.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.