Opinion ID: 748193
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Direct Method of Proving Age Discrimination

Text: 17 Establishing discrimination by the direct method requires the plaintiff to produce evidence that the trier of fact can interpret as an acknowledgment of the employer's discriminatory intent. See Hill v. Burrell Communications Group, Inc., 67 F.3d 665, 667 (7th Cir.1995). Such evidence, therefore, must relate to the motivation of the decisionmaker responsible for the contested decision. Cheek v. Peabody Coal Co., 97 F.3d 200, 203 (7th Cir.1996). 18 The parties take conflicting approaches in establishing whether there was any discriminatory intent in the decision to terminate Chiaramonte. FBG asserts that Elting was the sole decision-maker regarding Chiaramonte's termination. Thus any direct evidence Chiaramonte presents must relate to Elting's motivation for the firing. Chiaramonte, on the other hand, asserts that Elting was not the sole decision-maker. Therefore, Chiaramonte points to statements allegedly made by Dick Singer, FBG's CEO, and Debbie Lunn, a lower-level cost manager, to establish direct evidence of age discrimination. While Chiaramonte presents no evidence that Elting made statements supporting an inference of age animus, he argues that comments from other employees may be used to establish the discriminatory intent of FBG's management. 19 We disagree with Chiaramonte's allocation of decision-making authority. The facts establish that Elting alone was responsible for Chiaramonte's termination. Elting stated in his deposition that he alone exercised the power to select the candidates for termination and to make the terminations. Chiaramonte has presented no evidence to dispute this finding. The fact that Elting forwarded the list of potential terminations to L & P's Personnel Department does not suggest that Elting was not the sole decision-maker. Elting's list was not altered, amended, or otherwise adjusted as a result of this review. He simply ensured that his decisions complied with applicable laws. Additionally, Elting alone terminated each of the employees on the list. 20 Chiaramonte also argues that Elting discussed the terminations with Singer, and therefore, Elting was not acting alone. However, Chiaramonte provides no evidence supporting the contention that Singer had any decision-making responsibility with regard to the terminations. While Elting's deposition reflects uncertainty as to whether he discussed the terminations with Singer prior to their implementation, this ambiguity does not contradict Elting's statement that he had sole responsibility for the firings. See Aungst v. Westinghouse Elec. Corp., 937 F.2d 1216, 1221 (7th Cir.1991) (finding sole decision-maker despite fact that decisionmaker consulted with others), overruled in part on other grounds by Oxman v. WLS-TV, 12 F.3d 652, 657 (7th Cir.1993). In addition, Elting's uncertainty is resolved by Singer's unequivocal statement that he did not discuss the terminations with Elting prior to their occurrence. 21 Since Elting had sole responsibility for the terminations, any direct evidence supporting the discrimination claim must relate to his motivation for the terminations. The statements of Singer and Lunn offered by Chiaramonte fall far short of demonstrating age animus on Elting's part. 22
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
25 Chiaramonte fares no better with the Lunn statement. Chiaramonte alleges that Debbie Lunn, who often socialized with Elting and others, stated that FBG was going to get rid of all you old people. Lunn, like Singer, denies making such a statement. Even if such a statement was made, it has no probative value. Lunn is a lower-level cost supervisor who had no influence over personnel decisions. Statements by inferior employees are not probative of an intent to discriminate by the decisionmaker. Aungst, 937 F.2d at 1221; see also Oxman, 12 F.3d at 659-60. Chiaramonte has failed to show that the termination decision made by Elting had any connection whatsoever to the opinion of a lower-level employee. That Lunn socialized with Elting and Cummins does not serve to make her comments any more relevant. [A]ctions and comments by employees not involved in a discharge decision cannot provide a basis for charging other employees with discrimination. Jardien, 888 F.2d at 1155. 2 26