Opinion ID: 618944
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: ELCRA Claim

Text: In addition to her discrimination claim under the ADEA, Provenzano also brings suit under the ELCRA. In contrast to the ADEA's but-for causation burden, under the ELCRA a plaintiff must ultimately prove that the defendant's discriminatory animus was a substantial or motivating factor in the decision. Sniecinski v. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mich., 469 Mich. 124, 666 N.W.2d 186, 192-93 (2003) (citing Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, 490 U.S. 228, 244, 109 S.Ct. 1775, 104 L.Ed.2d 268 (1989) (plurality opinion)). To determine whether a plaintiff has met this burden based on circumstantial evidence, Michigan has adopted the McDonnell Douglas analysis. Cicero, 280 F.3d at 584 (citing Lytle v. Malady, 458 Mich. 153, 579 N.W.2d 906, 914-15, 915 n. 19 (1998)); Hazle v. Ford Motor Co., 464 Mich. 456, 628 N.W.2d 515, 521 (2001). Therefore, the same three-step framework analyzed above is applicable to Provenzano's ELCRA claim. The district court applied the McDonnell Douglas test as articulated in the Michigan Supreme Court's decision in Lytle v. Malady, 458 Mich. 153, 579 N.W.2d 906 (1998), and noted that, in age discrimination cases, the fourth element of the prima facie stage can be established with evidence that the defendant treated the plaintiff differently than persons of a different age class who engaged in the same or similar conduct. See Town v. Michigan Bell Telephone Co., 455 Mich. 688, 568 N.W.2d 64, 68 (1997). Although this test looks for same or similar conduct and the Nguyen test for an ADEA claim looks to similar qualifications, the same evidence applies to both standards. Michigan courts have held that a comparison of qualifications is not required under the ELCRA, but they have recognized that evidence of relative qualifications satisfies the fourth prong of the prima facie burden. Hazle, 628 N.W.2d at 524-25. Therefore, Provenzano's evidence of similar qualifications also satisfies her prima facie burden under the ELCRA. However, for the reasons discussed in the ADEA analysis, Provenzano did not establish that LCI's proffered nondiscriminatory reason was pretextual. This failure is fatal to her ELCRA claim. Provenzano has not carried her ultimate burden of showing a disputed question of material fact existed that LCI's discriminatory animus was a substantial or motivating factor in its decision to promote Babcock instead of Provenzano. For these reasons, the district court correctly found that Provenzano had not proven pretext under the ELCRA and properly granted LCI's summary judgment motion on Provenzano's ELCRA claim.