Johnson v. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Edna Johnson (plaintiff) was working for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) (defendant) as a payroll and benefit staff counselor when she was terminated at the age of 59. UWM contended that Johnson was terminated because of her work performance. Johnson initially argued that she was terminated in retaliation for her son taking legal action against UWM following his own termination. Johnson appealed her termination through an arbitration procedure. An arbitrator found that Johnson was not terminated for retaliation or age discrimination, but that she was terminated without just cause. The arbitrator ordered that Johnson be reinstated. Johnson then applied for unemployment benefits, which resulted in a contested hearing before the Appeal Tribunal of the State of Wisconsin Department of Industry, Labor and Human Relations (the tribunal). The tribunal ruled that Johnson was entitled to unemployment benefits and had been subject to formal disciplinary proceedings by UWM, much of which was contrived. The hearing examiner did not explicitly state the reason behind this contrived activity. Johnson then filed a suit in federal district court alleging age discrimination in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA). A jury found that Johnson’s age was not a factor in her termination. Johnson appealed the denial of her motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. On appeal, Johnson argued that she should have been able to present evidence that UWM retaliated against her because of her son’s legal action, to show that UWM’s proffered reason for terminating her was pretextual.