Ortony v. Northwestern University

Federal 7th Circuit Court
Civil Court
Employment Discrimination
Citation
Case Number: 
No. 12-3897
Decision Date: 
December 3, 2013
Federal District: 
N.D. Ill., E. Div.
Holding: 
Affirmed
Dist. Ct. did not err in granting defendant-employer’s motion for judgment on pleadings in instant ADEA action alleging that defendant terminated plaintiff-tenured university professor on account of his age pursuant to 2007 contract that gave plaintiff two years of paid leave of absence and required him to work three more years in exchange for plaintiff’s resignation in 2012. While defendant insisted in 2011 that he did not want to retire and had not agreed to do so, terms of contract were clear that plaintiff had agreed to resign in 2012, and ADEA otherwise allowed plaintiff to trade his right to continue to work in exchange for instant retirement package. Moreover, plaintiff’s 2011 ADEA charge of discrimination was untimely, since relevant 300-limitation period was triggered when 2007 contract was signed, rather than when plaintiff was reminded in 2011 that he had agreed to said retirement.