Background
Tashay Myrick, an African American customer service representative at the University of Illinois Hospital and Health System, applied for a scheduling program assistant position in 2019. Although human resources had told her she was qualified, she was not selected. The hiring manager said the interview panel scored her at 52% and sought someone with surgical-scheduling experience. The hospital ultimately did not fill the position.
Myrick also sought payroll training. She was told there was no need because no positions were available, but learned that Hubert Villasenor, a non-Black male customer service specialist in a higher position, received such training. After pursuing administrative discrimination complaints without success, Myrick sued the Board under Title VII. The Cook County circuit court dismissed her amended complaint with prejudice under section 2-615.
The Court’s Holding
The appellate court affirmed. Applying Illinois fact-pleading rules to Myrick’s federal Title VII claim, it held that her failure-to-promote allegations did not state a claim because no one received the scheduling program assistant position. Myrick therefore could not allege that the position went to a less-qualified person outside her protected class.
Her training claim also failed. Although denial of job-related training can be an adverse employment action under Title VII, Myrick did not plead facts showing she and Villasenor were similarly situated. Her complaint itself alleged that Villasenor held a higher, non-equivalent position. The court also denied as moot the Board’s motion to dismiss the appeal, despite deficiencies in Myrick’s appellate brief.
Key Takeaways
- An unfilled position cannot support this pleaded failure-to-promote theory because no outside-protected-class employee received the promotion.
- A Title VII training claim requires facts showing that comparable employees outside the protected group received training denied to the plaintiff.
- Illinois state courts apply Illinois fact-pleading requirements when adjudicating Title VII claims.
Why It Matters
The decision illustrates the practical impact of Illinois’s fact-pleading standard on federal employment-discrimination claims brought in state court. A plaintiff must plead concrete facts supporting each element, rather than rely on a general assertion of unequal treatment.