Opinion ID: 772432
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Byrnie's Other Claims

Text: 41 Because we find that summary judgment against Byrnie on his disparate treatment claims is inappropriate, we do not address Byrnie's contention that, based on his affidavits and depositions, genuine issues of fact exist that the district court overlooked. Similarly, we do not reach the question whether statistical data presented by Byrnie showing that Cromwell tended to hire a lower percentage of male teachers than were hired on average statewide in Connecticut defeated summary judgment on his disparate treatment claim. 42 Byrnie also objects to the district court's dismissal of his disparate impact claim. A plaintiff makes out a prima facie case for a disparate impact claim by showing that a facially neutral employment policy or practice has a significant disparate impact. Brown v. Coach Stores, Inc., 163 F.3d 706, 712 (2d Cir. 1998). Simply gesturing towards the hiring process as a whole will not satisfy the requirement that the plaintiff identify a specific employment practice that is the cause of the statistical disparities. Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Atonio, 490 U.S. 642, 656 (1989) (quoting Watson v. Fort Worth Bank & Trust, 487 U.S. 977, 994 (1988) (O'Connor, J.) (plurality)). Byrnie contends that Cromwell's reliance upon the CCI as a guide for evaluating candidates has resulted in a hiring process that disproportionately favors younger candidates, as evidenced by the fact that the average age of teachers hired by Cromwell is 35. 6 However, as the district court pointed out, since the CCI was not developed until 1992, all teachers who received their teaching certificate prior to 1992 would apparently be adversely affected by unfamiliarity with the CCI's terminology-thereby impacting an age group extending well beyond the group protected by the ADEA. See Byrnie, 73 F. Supp.2d at 222. Accordingly, the district court appropriately dismissed Byrnie's claim of age discrimination via disparate impact. Similarly, because Byrnie fails to suggest what specific employment practice accounts for a statistically low number of males being hired at Cromwell, summary judgment was properly granted to Cromwell on that claim as well.