Eckerty v. Eastern Illinios Foodbank

Plaintiff sued defendant alleging that it unlawfully terminated his employment for exercising his rights under the Workers’ Compensation Act. The trial court granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment and plaintiff appealed arguing that circumstantial evidence created a genuine issue of material fact. The appellate court affirmed, finding that the “uncontroverted” evidence in the record established that the defendant did not know plaintiff intended to file a workers’ compensation claim or that he had been seeking medical attention for a work accident or injury and, as such, there was no genuine issue of material fact regarding causality. (CAVANAGH and STEIGMANN, concurring)