Opinion ID: 170494
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Less-Qualified Replacement

Text: Mr. Matthews argues that the fact that his replacement is a less-qualified Caucasian man supports a finding of pretext, citing Abuan v. Level 3 Commc’ns, Inc., 353 F.3d 1158 (10th Cir. 2003). In Abuan, the plaintiff was replaced by a person that did not have the requisite technical experience for the position; this 7 We agree with the District Court that a discriminatory motive might be inferred from evidence that the defendants regularly documented similar performance problems of similarly situated employees. In this case, however, Mr. Matthews has failed to offer such evidence. See Antonio, 458 F.3d at 1182 (“Although a retaliatory motive could be inferred from a disparate application of handbook policies to similarly situated employees, Antonio identifies no such employees.”) Although Mr. Matthews points out that after his termination Ms. Biehl frequently used a standard written disciplinary form included in the manager’s handbook, the uncontroverted evidence also shows that Ms. Biehl was unaware of the form and had not used it at the time Mr. Matthews was terminated. -13- lack of experience was apparent because evidence showed the replacement’s work had to be assigned to another employee. Id. at 1169. Mr. Matthews has presented no such evidence. Rather, he contends that he is more qualified because he has nine years of credit-collections experience, compared to his replacement’s oneand-one-half years’ experience, and he has a professional certificate for training in debt collection. We note that “[w]e must proceed with caution when considering the relative merits of individual employees.” Jaramillo v. Colo. Judicial Dep’t, 427 F.3d 1303, 1308 (10th Cir. 2005). This Court is not “a super personnel department that second guesses employers’ business judgments.” Id. Accordingly, minor differences in the qualifications of two individuals do not show pretext; rather, the disparity must be “overwhelming.” Given this standard, the differences between Mr. Matthews’s qualifications and those of his replacement clearly do not support an inference of pretext.