Opinion ID: 618944
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Prima Facie Stage

Text: In the first stage of the McDonnell Douglas analysis, Provenzano must establish a prima facie case of discrimination. To make out a prima facie case of age discrimination based on LCI's failure to promote her, Provenzano must show that (1) she is a member of the protected class; (2) she applied for and was qualified for a promotion; (3) she was considered for and was denied the promotion; and (4) other employees of similar qualifications who were not members of the protected class received promotions at the time the plaintiff's request for promotion was denied. White v. Columbus Metro. Hous. Auth., 429 F.3d 232, 240 (6th Cir.2005) (citing Nguyen v. City of Cleveland, 229 F.3d 559, 562-63 (6th Cir.2000)); cf. Brennan v. Tractor Supply Co., 237 Fed.Appx. 9, 16 (6th Cir.2007). [2] Provenzano's burden at the prima facie stage is not onerous and poses a burden easily met. Cline, 206 F.3d at 660 (citing Burdine, 450 U.S. at 253, 101 S.Ct. 1089). The prima facie case is meant simply to force a defendant to proceed with its case. Id. at 660 (citation omitted). We would do well to pause here and admit that while the burden-shifting analysis of McDonnell Douglas was created to assist in the presentation of a discrimination case, it often fails to fulfill its purpose. That failure is particularly pronounced in the context of summary judgment where the burden-shifting analysis can obfuscate the appropriate questionwhether there exists a genuine issue of material fact. Even if that overarching question is given its due, opportunities abound for confusion in applying the three stage formula to the evidence in a case. While the discrete stages are meant to facilitate litigants and courts in reaching and resolving that ultimate question of discrimination, when misapplied, they tend to distract courts from the central issue. Cline, 206 F.3d at 660. One common misapplication is the tendency to push all of the evidence into the prima facie stage and ignore the purpose for and application of the three stages. Such was the problem here. The district court merged its analysis of the second (nondiscriminatory justification) and third (pretext) stages of the McDonnell Douglas test into its evaluation of Provenzano's prima facie case. [3] This is clear from the one-sentence analysis of the latter two stages: For the same reasons that Plaintiff cannot establish the fourth element of a prima facie case of age discrimination, Plaintiff cannot establish pretext. Provenzano v. LCI Holdings, Inc., No. 08-15295-BC, 2010 WL 1462937 at  (E.D.Mich. Apr. 12, 2010). This was error. We now turn to analysis of the evidence appropriate to the prima facie stage of this failure to promote case. We begin by examining Provenzano's qualifications in both the second (qualification) and fourth (comparison to promoted employee) prongs. White, 429 F.3d at 242-43. However, this evaluation must be conducted independently of LCI's proffered nondiscriminatory reason and must not conflate the prima facie and pretext stages of the McDonnell Douglas test. Id. at 242. An important function of the prima facie test is to eliminate the most common nondiscriminatory reasons for the employer's action. See Burdine, 450 U.S. at 253-54, 101 S.Ct. 1089. Therefore, a general weighing of the qualifications of Provenzano and Babcock is necessary at the prima facie stage; however, this light review must be distinguished from the more rigorous comparison conducted at the later stages of the McDonnell Douglas analysis. See Burdine, 450 U.S. at 255, 101 S.Ct. 1089 (after the defendant raises a legitimate nondiscriminatory reason, the factual inquiry proceeds to a new level of specificity). As noted in White, this careful distinction is especially necessary in cases such as this one, where the employer asserts as its nondiscriminatory reason for failing to promote the plaintiff that it chose to hire a candidate it considered more qualified. See White, 429 F.3d at 247 (Moore, J., concurring). There is no dispute that Provenzano satisfied the first three elements of the prima facie stage; only the fourth element is at issue. Provenzano contends that the fourth element of the prima facie case should be satisfied by showing merely that a younger person was promoted to a position instead of Provenzano. This Court directly considered and rejected Provenzano's argument in White, holding that it is insufficient for a plaintiff in a failure to promote [discrimination] case merely to point to [a non-protected person] who received the job in satisfying the fourth prong. White, 429 F.3d at 241. This Court emphasized that it is incumbent upon the plaintiff to establish that she and the non-protected person who ultimately was hired for the desired position had similar qualifications. Id. at 242. In a failure to promote claim, the emphasis in the fourth element is on the relative qualifications of the plaintiff and the employee who actually received the promotion. White, 429 F.3d at 240-41. The prima facie burden is not intended to be onerous, Cline, 206 F.3d at 660 (citing Burdine, 450 U.S. at 253, 101 S.Ct. 1089), and Provenzano is not required to establish that she and Babcock had the exact same qualifications. Requiring a plaintiff to show identical qualifications to another individual is not realistic from a human standpoint. We recognized this practical reality in Ercegovich, rejecting an exact matching requirement for similarly-situated comparators in an ADEA claim. 154 F.3d at 352-53. Instead, what is required in a failure to promote case is for the plaintiff to show she possesses similar qualifications to the employee who received the promotion. A comparison of Provenzano and Babcock reveals that Provenzano presented sufficient evidence to permit a reasonable trier of fact to conclude that she and Babcock were similarly qualified for the position of assistant manager. Provenzano had more experience and education than Babcock; she had been a supervisor longer, had helped in other stores, and held a high school diploma and associate's degree. In contrast, Babcock had a stronger performance record, without any written or verbal warnings in comparison to Provenzano's multiple counselings. Although their strengths and weaknesses were in different areas, Provenzano's experience and education made her similarly qualified to Babcock. This is the extent of the inquiry at the prima facie stage and Provenzano satisfied it.