Opinion ID: 757800
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Proving Pretext Under the ADA

Text: 28 An employee can show pretext by offering evidence that the employer's proffered reason had no basis in fact, did not actually motivate its decision, or was never used in the past to discharge an employee. Kocsis v. Multi-Care Management, Inc., 97 F.3d 876, 883 (6th Cir.1996). In challenging an employer's action, an employee must demonstrate that the employer's reasons (each of them, if the reasons independently caused [the] employer to take the action it did) are not true. Kariotis v. Navistar Int'l Trans. Corp., 131 F.3d 672, 676 (7th Cir.1997) (emphasis added). 29 In this case, Smith has marshalled the above-mentioned evidence in an attempt to fit within all three methods of proving pretext. Despite this attempt to neatly segregate his proof, all of it ultimately boils down to a single argument challenging the decisional process Chrysler followed in deciding to fire him. The essence of this argument is as follows: If Chrysler had made an attempt to probe further when conducting its investigation, such as by talking to Smith or reading medical literature on the nature of sleeping disorders, then it would have learned that Smith did not have narcolepsy or suffer from unusual fatigue and, hence, did not lie on his job forms. Alternatively, Smith notes that he disclosed up front that he was narcoleptic when he first applied for a job at Chrysler; so if Chrysler had conducted a more in-depth inquiry, it would have learned that the impact of his false responses on the job forms was muted by this earlier disclosure. The discriminatory linchpin to Smith's argument is that Chrysler consciously refused to make an effort to uncover this evidence because it wanted to fire him after it learned he had a disability. The basis for this sticking its head in the sand argument is that the investigation was conducted almost immediately after Smith requested an accommodation for his disability and that the facts uncovered were judged using stereotyped assumptions. 30 Chrysler responds to this argument by urging us to adopt the so-called honest belief rule. This rule, as developed in a series of Seventh Circuit decisions, provides that so long as the employer honestly believed in the proffered reason given for its employment action, the employee cannot establish pretext even if the employer's reason is ultimately found to be mistaken, foolish, trivial, or baseless. See Kariotis, 131 F.3d at 676; McCoy v. WGN Continental Broad. Co., 957 F.2d 368, 373 (7th Cir.1992); Pollard v. Rea Magnet Wire Co., 824 F.2d 557, 559-560 (7th Cir.1987). The rationale behind the rule is that the focus of a discrimination suit is on the intent of the employer. If the employer honestly, albeit mistakenly, believes in the non-discriminatory reason it relied upon in making its employment decision, then the employer arguably lacks the necessary discriminatory intent. In other words, arguing about the accuracy of the employer's assessment is a distraction because the question is not whether the employer's reasons for a decision are 'right but whether the employer's description of its reasons is honest.'  Kariotis, 131 F.3d at 677 (quoting Gustovich v. AT & T Communications, Inc., 972 F.2d 845, 848 (7th Cir.1992)). 31 The Seventh Circuit, however, apparently does not require an employer to demonstrate that its belief was reasonably grounded on particularized facts that were before it at the time of the employment action. Instead, for the rule to apply, the employer need only provide an honest reason for firing the employee, even if that reason had no factual support. See Pollard, 824 F.2d at 559 (noting that if you honestly explain the reasons behind your decision, but the decision was ill-informed or ill-considered, your explanation is not a 'pretext.' ). We find such an abstract application of the rule to be at odds with the underlying purpose behind the Act--i.e., that employment actions taken regarding an individual with a disability be grounded on fact and not on unfounded fear, prejudice, ignorance, or mythologies. 136 Cong. Rec. S 7422-03, 7437 (daily ed. June 6, 1990) (statement of Sen. Harkin). To the extent the Seventh Circuit's application of the honest belief rule credits an employer's belief without requiring that it be reasonably based on particularized facts rather than on ignorance and mythology, we reject its approach. 32 Although this circuit has not previously addressed whether the version of the honest belief rule articulated by Seventh Circuit should be applied in the ADA context, a variant of the rule has been applied in the Rehabilitation Act context. See Pesterfield v. TVA, 941 F.2d 437, 443-44 (6th Cir.1991). Because [t]he analysis of claims under the ADA roughly parallels those brought under [the Rehabilitation Act], Monette, 90 F.3d at 1177, we find the form of the honest belief rule employed in Pesterfield to be particularly relevant in the ADA context. 33 In Pesterfield, an employee sued his employer for its refusal to clear him as medically able to return to work after he was hospitalized for the treatment of a psychological disability. After losing below, the employee argued on appeal that he had proved that the employer's reason for firing him was discriminatory. The employee claimed that the basis for the employer's decision (its interpretation of a letter it had received from the employee's treating psychologist) was mistaken. As support for his argument, the employee introduced the testimony of his treating psychologist. The psychologist testified that his letter had been misinterpreted by the employer and that the employee was in fact fully able to return to work at the time he wrote the letter. The employer responded that its good faith reliance on its interpretation of the psychologist's letter precluded a finding that it had discriminated against the employee. 34 This court agreed. In analyzing the employee's argument, the court noted that [t]he question is thus not whether TVA's decision that plaintiff was not employable due to his psychiatric condition was correct measured by 'objective' standards. What is relevant is that TVA, in fact, acted on its good faith belief about plaintiff's condition based on Dr. Paine's opinion, and, as the district court pointed out, there is no proof to the contrary. Pesterfield, 941 F.2d at 443 (emphasis added). In deciding whether the employer's reason for its employment decision was made in good faith, this court stressed that the employer had a reasonable basis for reaching its conclusion. As noted by the court: 35 TVA's medical staff reasonably relied upon the medical report of plaintiff's private psychiatrist and reasonably interpreted its contents. Plaintiff has failed to prove that TVA's decision to terminate him was based upon a stereotyped attitude toward persons with psychological handicaps rather than upon a reasoned and medically supported judgment that plaintiff could not be returned to work safely under any accommodation that TVA could make. 36 941 F.2d at 443-44. 37 Thus, according to Pesterfield, in order for an employer's proffered non-discriminatory basis for its employment action to be considered honestly held, the employer must be able to establish its reasonable reliance on the particularized facts that were before it at the time the decision was made. If the employer is unable to produce such evidence to support its employment action, then the honest belief rule does not apply. Even if the employer is able to make such a showing, the protection afforded by the rule is not automatic. As was noted in Pesterfield, once the employer is able to point to the particularized facts that motivated its decision, the employee has the opportunity to produce proof to the contrary. 941 F.2d at 443. As one court noted in a similar context, if the employer made an error too obvious to be unintentional, perhaps it had an unlawful motive for doing so. Fischbach v. District of Columbia Dept. of Corrections, 86 F.3d 1180, 1183 (D.C.Cir.1996) (holding that the plaintiff failed to establish that the employer's proffered nondiscriminatory reason was pretextual). 38 In deciding whether an employer reasonably relied on the particularized facts then before it, we do not require that the decisional process used by the employer be optimal or that it left no stone unturned. Rather, the key inquiry is whether the employer made a reasonably informed and considered decision before taking an adverse employment action. Cf. Texas Dept. of Community Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 256, 101 S.Ct. 1089, 67 L.Ed.2d 207 (1981) (explaining that an employee establishes pretext by showing that the employer's proffered explanation is unworthy of credence.). Although courts should resist attempting to micro-manage the process used by employers in making their employment decisions, neither should they blindly assume that an employer's description of its reasons is honest. When the employee is able to produce sufficient evidence to establish that the employer failed to make a reasonably informed and considered decision before taking its adverse employment action, thereby making its decisional process unworthy of credence, then any reliance placed by the employer in such a process cannot be said to be honestly held. 39 Applying these principles to the facts in the present case, we find that Chrysler reasonably relied on the particularized facts at hand when it determined that Smith had falsely stated on his Driver's License Examination form that he was not narcoleptic. Chrysler had before it letters from Smith's treating physician stating that Smith was being treated for narcolepsy, the medical opinion expressed by Dr. Organek during his telephone conversation with Dr. Rood that Smith suffered from narcolepsy, and Dr. Rood's medical notes indicating that Smith himself admitted to suffering from narcolepsy since 1989. The burden of production thus shifted to Smith to demonstrate that Chrysler's reliance on those facts was unreasonable. This Smith has been unable to do. 40 Chrysler's conclusion that Smith suffered from narcolepsy was based on its consideration of the medically informed opinions of those with knowledge about narcolepsy in general and Smith's disorder in particular--Smith himself and his treating physician. Given the amount and the source of information that the investigation uncovered, we are satisfied that Chrysler was diligent in investigating the matter. Nor can we say that Chrysler's reliance on or interpretation of the medical opinion from Smith's own treating physician was unreasonable. Just as the employer's reliance on the treating psychologist's letter in Pesterfield was found to be reasonable, so too was Chrysler's reliance on the medical opinion provided by Smith's treating physician that Smith was narcoleptic. 41 The same cannot be said, however, about Chrysler's belief that Smith lied when he put on his Self-Administered Medical History form that he had never suffered from unusual tiredness or fatigue. Chrysler's belief that Smith lied in this regard was not the result of any particularized facts uncovered during its investigation; rather, it was based solely on Michael's personal opinion that people with narcolepsy suffer from unusual fatigue. The only stereotype-free basis upon which Michael could have formed such an opinion is the single communication from the union representative that Smith complained of falling asleep while driving home after work. 42 In fact, Smith did not fall asleep at the wheel as that phrase is commonly understood. The essential characteristic of narcolepsy is that afflicted individuals suddenly and uncontrollably lapse into a sleep-like state for a brief interval, typically when their mind is not focused on some task or activity. See HARRISON'S PRINCIPLES OF INTERNAL MEDICINE 129 (9th ed.1980). Fatigue, in contrast, is defined as weariness or exhaustion from labor, exertion, or stress. MERRIAM WEBSTER'S COLLEGIATE DICTIONARY 424 (10th ed.1997) (emphasis added). Similarly, the word tiredness appears to be nothing more than a synonym for fatigue. The dictionary confirms that tiredness means drained of strength and energy: fatigued often to the point of exhaustion. MERRIAM WEBSTER'S COLLEGIATE DICTIONARY 1237 (10th ed.1997) (emphasis added). Tiredness and fatigue, thus defined, do not even remotely cover the situation experienced by narcoleptics. Finally, in her conversations with Dr. Rood, Michael never attempted to validate her personal opinion by inquiring about whether narcoleptics suffer from unusual fatigue. 43 The essential question, however, is not whether narcoleptics suffer from unusual fatigue, but whether Chrysler had a reasonable basis to believe that Smith had lied when he checked no to the question Have you ever had or have you now unusual tiredness or fatigue? Given the general understanding of the terms tiredness and fatigue as defined in the dictionary, as opposed to the unknown etiology of narcolepsy and its accompanying symptoms, we find that Chrysler could not have reasonably believed that Smith had lied (based solely on the comment of the union representative) without further investigation. 44 Chrysler, on the other hand, seeks to provide factual support for Michael's belief by pointing to the medical questionnaire that Smith completed when he first sought treatment at the sleep disorder clinic. Specifically, Chrysler notes that Smith stated in the questionnaire that he struggled to stay awake and had to fight sleep while driving. While Smith's own answers to the clinic's medical questionnaire would certainly provide a reasonable basis for Michael's belief, Chrysler overlooks one essential detail: Michael did not have the information contained in the questionnaire before her when she made her decision. Just as Smith may not take advantage of the private conversations he had with his treating physicians in challenging Chrysler's belief that he lied when he said he was not narcoleptic, Chrysler cannot use the 20/20 hindsight provided by the clinic's questionnaire to buttress its own belief that Smith lied when he stated he had never suffered from unusual fatigue. 45 Without the benefit of any particularized facts to support its belief that Smith lied when he filled out the Self-Administered Medical History form, Chrysler is left with Michael's own incorrect, stereotyped assumption that all narcoleptics suffer from unusual fatigue. As noted earlier, the ADA requires an employer to make a stereotype-free assessment based on facts rather than mythology in reaching employment decisions. Having failed to do so with respect to its reason for believing Smith had lied on the medical form in question, it cannot be said that Chrysler's belief was honestly held as to this alternative justification for its employment action. 46 Despite Chrysler's misplaced reliance on Smith's Self-Administered Medical History form, it did have a reasonable basis to believe that Smith had lied on his Driver's License Examination form for the reasons previously stated. Smith has thus been unable to overcome one of Chrysler's nondiscriminatory reasons for firing him. See Kariotis v. Navistar Int'l Trans. Corp., 131 F.3d 672, 676 (7th Cir.1997) (An employee must demonstrate that the employer's reasons (each of them, if the reasons independently caused [the] employer to take the action it did) are not true). 47 On the other hand, we wish to point out that an employer's strategy of simply tossing out a number of reasons to support its employment action in the hope that one of them will stick could easily backfire. There may be cases in which the multiple grounds offered by the defendant for the adverse action of which the plaintiff complains are so intertwined, or the pretextual character of one of them so fishy and suspicious, that the plaintiff could withstand summary judgment. Russell v. Acme-Evans Co., 51 F.3d 64, 70 (7th Cir.1995). Thus a multitude of suspicious explanations may itself suggest that the employer's investigatory process was so questionable that any application of the honest belief rule is inappropriate. 48 Such a concern, however, is not present in the case before us. The doubt raised over Chrysler's second alternative justification for firing Smith does not translate into an inference that the true motivation behind Smith's discharge was his disability. The two justifications and the sources from which they were derived were separate in nature: one related to whether Smith suffered from narcolepsy, which was answered by reasonably relying on the opinions of Smith himself and his treating physician, while the other involved a more specific judgment on the disorder's particular symptoms that was based on the employer's own subjective opinion. Chrysler's misjudgment as to the latter does not drag down its more general and medically supported conclusion concerning the former. The district court therefore did not err in granting summary judgment in favor of Chrysler due to Smith's inability to show pretext. III. CONCLUSION 49 For the foregoing reasons, we AFFIRM the judgment of the district court. _______________________ CONCURRENCE 50