⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The Seventh Circuit hears Nicole Tao's discrimination case against Simplex Investments, her former employer. The dispute centers on a coding error in an automated trading program. It treated trading fees as one hundred times their proper size, causing it to pass up potentially profitable trades. Simplex blamed Tao for not detecting the problem while monitoring the strategy. After reviewing other aspects of her work, the firm fired her. Tao, a Chinese-American woman, will argue that comparable errors by male, non-Chinese traders brought less severe treatment. Simplex will respond that the relevant employees, mistakes, supervisors and knowledge of those mistakes were not comparable. The district court entered summary judgment for Simplex, ending the discrimination claims without a trial. It also excluded her expert's opinion that the coding error wasn't her fault, finding that opinion irrelevant to whether the firm honestly believed its stated reason. The appeal asks whether the evidence permits a reasonable jury to infer discrimination. Listen for the difference between criticizing a business decision and showing that its explanation is a cover for unlawful bias. Also ask which employees provide a meaningful comparison, and whether technical expert evidence could help answer that question.

Zongzong Tao v. Simplex Investments LLC (No. 26-1676) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, argued November 5, 2026.