In Alabama, we love football. Nevertheless, at this time of year, even die hard football fans can appreciate the drama of March Madness – the NCAA Basketball Tournament. To celebrate March Madness, I found four cases where the basketball tournament was raised as an issue in employment law suits. Since three of those four cases came from Illinois, I think it’s safe to conclude that basketball is big in Mid-West.
1. The “Sore Loser” Defense. Ricco v. Southwest Surgery Center, LLC, 73 F.Supp.3d 961 (N.D. Ill.2014).
Ricco involved a claim for tortious interference with business expectancy under Illinois law. The plaintiff was terminated after a co-worker accused her of stealing a coat. She claimed that her co-worker falsely accused her “because he was angry about losing the 2013 March Madness pool and having to pay her….winnings.” The Judge allowed a jury to determine whether the co-worker’s motives were malicious.
2. The “Everybody’s Doing It” Defense. Jones v. Environmental Protection Agency, 524 Fed. Appx 598 (Fed. Cir. 2013).
In Jones, the plaintiff was terminated for engaging in an outside business during work hours and sending inappropriate e-mails. He argued that his termination was improper “because other EPA employees and supervisors misused government time and equipment by participating in an annual NCAA office basketball pool.” The Court of Civil Appeals for the Federal Circuit was not persuaded and affirmed the termination.
3. Winning Trumps Insensitivity. Leonard v. Eastern Ill. Univ, 614 F. Supp. 2d 918 (C.D. Ill. 2009).
In Leonard, the plaintiff was a Native American who complained about an interview where two interviewers wore shirts with the image of “Chief Illiniwek,” the mascot of the University of Illinois. In the course of finding no retaliation, the Court noted that at the time of the interview “the University of Illinois Fighting Illinois men’s basketball team was playing in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16… [and] was the best Illinois basketball team since the 1989 Final Four Team.”
4. “The Tournament Made Me Late for Work”. Meinke v. VHS Genesis Labs, Inc., No. 05C 3952, 2006 WL 3409159 (N.D. Ill. Nov. 21, 2006).
In Meinke, the plaintiff was terminated from employment for, among other things, excessive absences. On one occasion when the plaintiff missed work, his supervisor called “his cellular phone on March 18, 2004, at approximately 1:30p.m., and told plaintiff to turn off the NCAA basketball tournament.” The plaintiff denied watching the NCAA tournament at that time.