Opinion ID: 194852
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Jesus Garcia Delgado

Text: Garcia was dismissed from his regular position, as a Computer Operator I, in November 1985. Defendants contended that Garcia, who possessed an associate degree in computer programming, did not have the required year of experience in a related field at the time he was appointed in 1978. Even so, he had accumulated seven years' experience by the time he was dismissed, and plainly met all qualifications for the position long before his dismissal. As the jury could have inferred that the justification offered for the dismissal was pretextual, there was enough evidence to shift the burden of persuasion to defendants. 12At oral argument, defendants contended that plaintiffs' trial testimony regarding their replacements was too conclusory and lacked factual foundation. However, at trial the defense did not object to plaintiffs' testimony based on lack of foundation. Thus, the jury was entitled to resolve these issues on the basis of its credibility determinations and weighing of the evidence. As the evidence was not challenged at trial, and there has been no showing of plain error, Doty v. Sewall, 908 F.2d 1053, 1057 (1st Cir. 1990), we reject their claim on appeal. 21