Opinion ID: 1460562
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Middleburg Heights Position

Text: In its order denying Moss's motion to reconsider, the district court determined that Moss could not make a prima facie case with respect to the Middleburg Heights position because Moss and Ruddy were seeking two different positions. According to the district court, the two customer-counter-clerk positions in Wadsworth were distinct, in that one was reserved for an Akron employee and one was reserved for a Middleburg Heights employee. Because Moss was an Akron employee, the district court explained, she was seeking only the Akron position. We interpret the district court's finding to mean that it did not consider Moss and Ruddy as similarly situated. The district court provided no citation to the record in support of its factual findings. We have found nothing in the record which establishes that the Middleburg Heights position was reserved for an employee from the Middleburg Heights facility. UPS cites Mike Mick's (Mick) Declaration and the intent sheet which was posted in Akron as evidence that the position filled by Ruddy was open only to Middleburg Heights employees. But those documents do not establish that this was the case. The Mick Declaration states that UPS filled one position out of the Middleburg Heights hub and the other from the Akron facility. J.A. at 125 (Mick Decl. at ¶ 13). This explains only who eventually received these positions, but it does not establish that one of the positions was reserved for a Middleburg Heights employee. [4] The intent sheet posted in Akron does have Akron-Wadsworth written on the top, but that does nothing to establish that only one customer-counter-clerk position was reserved for an Akron employee. J.A. at 745. Based on the lack of evidence indicating that Moss was not eligible for both customer-counter-clerk positions at Wadsworth, the district court erred in determining that Moss was not similarly situated to Ruddy. As the parties concede that the other three elements of Moss's prima facie case are met, the burden shifts to UPS.
UPS has not given any reason for giving the position to Ruddy (who had less seniority than Moss) other than its allegation that the position was not available to Akron employees. This could constitute a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for not giving the position to Moss, if it was supported by admissible evidence. See Burdine, 450 U.S. at 255-56, 101 S.Ct. 1089. As explained above, UPS's citations to the record do not clearly set forth, through . . . admissible evidence, the reasons why Moss was ineligible for the Middleburg Heights position. The Mick Declaration merely states what did happen; the Akron intent sheet only establishes that UPS posted an intent sheet in Akron. UPS has not cited any affidavits or other evidence that states that UPS intended to fill one customer-counter-clerk position from the Akron facility and one from the Middleburg Heights facility. Because UPS has failed to meet its burden of articulation as set forth in Burdine, we reverse the judgment of the district court with respect to Moss's disparate-treatment claim based on the Middleburg Heights position.