Opinion ID: 748193
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Singer Statement

Text: 23 Chiaramonte alleges that after receiving his termination notice from Elting, he spoke with Singer. During that conversation, Chiaramonte asserts that Singer, in suggesting reasons for the firing, stated, Well, there's age. Singer denies making any such statement, and Chiaramonte does not corroborate his recollection of the conversation. Additionally, Chiaramonte's own recollection was unclear; during his deposition testimony Chiaramonte stated that Singer said, Age had to be a factor ... but I don't know. Chiaramonte submitted no evidence suggesting that Singer would have knowledge of Elting's motivations for the terminations, and Singer's admission that he didn't know demonstrates that he was simply speculating as to Elting's motivations. 1 Singer was not the decision-maker, and his speculations do not provide a basis for charging Elting with discrimination. See Jardien v. Winston Network, Inc., 888 F.2d 1151, 1155 (7th Cir.1989). Statements by a non-decision-maker that amount to mere speculation as to the thoughts of the decision-maker are irrelevant to our inquiry. Therefore, Singer's alleged statement does not provide the kind of smoking gun evidence required for a direct inference of discriminatory intent. See Oxman, 12 F.3d at 659-60 (rejecting as direct evidence statement of non-decision-maker); Monaco v. Fuddruckers, Inc., 1 F.3d 658, 660 (7th Cir.1993) (finding that plaintiff failed to show sufficient connection between statement of nondecision-maker and adverse employment decision to support case under direct method). 24