Silva v. State of Wisconsin, Dept. of Corrections

Dist. Ct. erred in granting defendant-employer’s motion for summary judgment in plaintiff-prison employee’s Title VII action, alleging that defendant terminated plaintiff on account of his race and national origin, after defendant conducted internal investigation into claim that plaintiff had used excessive force against inmate. Dist. Ct. erred in finding that plaintiff’s proposed comparative was not suitable comparative, where record showed that said comparative was similarly accused of using excessive force on inmate and received only one-day suspension. Fact that there were distinctions between circumstances leading up to each officer’s use of force and way each officer used force did not require different result, since both officers used force on inmates who were violating defendant’s rules. Moreover, defendant’s reasons for plaintiff’s termination shifted throughout history of case and were based on incorrect factual premises. As such, plaintiff raised triable issue as to whether defendant’s reasons for his termination were pretext for discrimination based on his race and national origin.