Kubiak v. City of Chicago

Federal 7th Circuit Court
Civil Court
First Amendment
Citation
Case Number: 
No. 14-3074
Decision Date: 
January 11, 2016
Federal District: 
N.D. Ill., E. Div.
Holding: 
Affirmed

Dist. Ct. did not err in granting defendants-City officials’ motion to dismiss plaintiff-police officer’s section 1983 action alleging that defendants violated her 1st Amendment rights by transferring her to undesirable position in retaliation for making internal complaint about fellow police officer, who had verbally assaulted and physically intimidated her over work-related report plaintiff had drafted. Plaintiff’s internal complaint did not qualify as protected speech because plaintiff did not speak on matter of public concern, but rather spoke as employee over matter that was intimately connected to her job. Moreover, Ct. noted that internal complaint focused on her personal interest in protecting herself from harassment from co-worker and found that making internal complaint about co-worker misconduct was part of her employee duties.