Opinion ID: 2641219
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Unprofessional Behavior

Text: Lobato next contends that Romero’s allegations of rudeness were pretextual. It is true that a number of current employees at NMED and Lobato traded accusations that the other was rude, driven by ulterior motives, or otherwise unpleasant. And NMED did state in its notice of dismissal that Lobato -18- was rude to Carlos Romero, Salomon Romero, Norvelle, another HR employee, and an unidentified member of the public. But we need not enter this fray and determine whether the specific allegations here are genuinely in dispute or not. Even if we assume that there is a dispute, we can still conclude that Lobato failed to meet his burden of showing pretext. NMED apparently believed the other employees’ accounts of interactions with Lobato, not Lobato’s. We see no reason—and Lobato provides none—that NMED could not have believed in good faith its employees’ complaints that Lobato was being rude. 3 Given Lobato’s probationary status, NMED was entitled to factor in these allegations as grounds for dismissal.