Opinion ID: 1188881
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: EEOC and OCRC reports

Text: The plaintiff relies heavily on the reports of the administrative agencies finding probable cause that discrimination had occurred. The determination by the Ohio Civil Rights Commission is signed by a team leader and contains the Seal of the State of Ohio. The EEOC letter dated May 2, 2007 is signed by the district director and contains the agency's seal. Both of those documents are self-authenticated under Federal Rule of Evidence 902(1). See United States v. Rigsby, 943 F.2d 631, 638-39 (6th Cir.1991). The EEOC letter, however, was withdrawn by that agency and declared null and void in a letter issued one week later, signed by the same district director. The OCRC determination was offered for its truth, and therefore amounts to hearsay as defined by Rule 801(c), but it conceivably was admissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 803(8), which states: Records, reports, statements, or data compilations, in any form, of public offices or agencies, setting forth ... (C) in civil actions and proceedings and against the Government in criminal cases, factual findings resulting from an investigation made pursuant to authority granted by law, unless the sources of information or other circumstances indicate lack of trustworthiness. Fed.R.Evid. 803(8). The OCRC letter contains a recitation of facts that tracks closely the events documented in the affidavits submitted by the defendant: that the plaintiff was required to fill out a job application, but a Caucasian applicant who was offered the position the same day as the interview was not. The letter also contains conclusions beyond mere factual findings. However, the Supreme Court has held that a report that contains the agency's conclusion or opinion formed as the result of a factual investigation is admissible under this rule. Beech Aircraft Corp. v. Rainey, 488 U.S. 153, 170, 109 S.Ct. 439, 102 L.Ed.2d 445 (1988); see also Bank of Lexington & Trust Co. v. Vining-Sparks Securities, Inc., 959 F.2d 606, 616 (6th Cir.1992) (Opinions, conclusions, and evaluations, as well as facts, fall within the Rule 803(8)(C) exception.). Moreover, the Supreme Court, citing Rule 803(8), has observed that [p]rior administrative findings made with respect to an employment discrimination claim may, of course, be admitted as evidence at a federal-sector trial de novo. Chandler v. Roudebush, 425 U.S. 840, 863 n. 39, 96 S.Ct. 1949, 48 L.Ed.2d 416 (1976). The OCRC letter concludes with a finding of probable cause that unlawful discrimination occurred. The district court gave no evidentiary weight to that finding for several reasons. We do not agree with all of them, but we do concur that the letter does not establish a material fact question. The district court first cited this court's unpublished opinion in E.E.O.C. v. Ford Motor Co., 98 F.3d 1341, 1996 WL 557800 (6th Cir.1996) (table), which authorized district courts to adopt a blanket rule refusing the admission of EEOC probable cause determinations at trial. In Ford Motor Co., the court noted that an EEOC cause determination carries an evidentiary value of practically zero, and that the only plausible value of an EEOC cause determination would be that it presents the evidence of discrimination that the EEOC considered. 1996 WL 557800 at . Certainly there are reasons for excluding a probable cause determination at trial. See Cortes v. Maxus Exploration Co., 977 F.2d 195, 201-02 (5th Cir.1992) (recognizing that the district court has discretion under Rule 403 to exclude such reports if their probative value is substantially outweighed by prejudicial effect or other considerations enumerated in the rule); Ford Motor Co., 1996 WL 557800 at  10 (noting that an EEOC report may contain evidence that is properly excluded at trial, and that an attempt by the EEOC to admit those parts of the EEOC cause determination becomes a not-too-subtle attempt to end-run the Federal Rules of Evidence). However, at the summary judgment stage, the report ought to be considered for the factual material it contains to determine if a fact question is raised. The district court also discounted the letter because it was not made on personal knowledge, citing Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e). Rule 56(e) requires affidavits to be made on personal knowledge. And as a general rule, a hearsay declarant is, of course, a witness, and neither [Rule 803] nor Rule 804 dispenses with the requirement of firsthand knowledge. Advisory Committee's Note to 1972 Proposed Rules, Rule 803; see also United States v. Lanci, 669 F.2d 391, 395 (6th Cir.1982) (quoting advisory committee note and holding that hearsay exception of statement against interest requires that the declarant had personal knowledge); cf. Fed.R.Evid. 602. But the personal knowledge requirement does not extend to official reports admissible under Rule 803(8). Combs v. Wilkinson, 315 F.3d 548, 555-56 (6th Cir.2002) (rejecting argument that an official report of a prison disturbance must be based on first-hand knowledge of investigating committee, which based its report on 123 interviews and numerous documents, including all staff and inmate incident reports, as well as the investigative report completed by the Ohio Highway State Patrol). In fact, it is unlikely that the report's author(s) will have any personal knowledge of the incidents investigated. Therefore, lack of personal knowledge is not a proper basis for exclusion of a report otherwise admissible under Rule 803(8). Exclusion of an official report is warranted only if the court finds that the sources of information or other circumstances indicate lack of trustworthiness. Fed.R.Evid. 803(8); see also 2 McCormick On Evid. § 296 (6th ed.) (As the name indicates, these reports embody the results of investigation and accordingly are often not the product of the declarant's firsthand knowledge, required under most hearsay exceptions. Nevertheless, the nature and trustworthiness of the information relied upon, including its hearsay nature, is important in determining the admissibility of the report. (footnotes omitted)). Another reason the district court concluded that the letter was entitled to little weight is that the conclusions were not tied to specific facts, and it was unclear what evidence the investigator considered in reaching her conclusion. We believe that is a valid reason for finding that the OCRC letter does not support the plaintiff's prima facie case, because it assesses the circumstances relating to the trustworthiness of the report. Several courts have held that the EEOC's opinion that there is reasonable cause to believe discrimination occurred or did not occur is excepted from hearsay under Rule 803(8), unless there is an indication of a lack of trustworthiness. Coleman v. Home Depot, Inc., 306 F.3d 1333, 1342-43 (3d Cir.2002); Paolitto v. John Brown E. & C., Inc., 151 F.3d 60, 64 (2d Cir.1998); Cortes, 977 F.2d at 201; Barfield v. Orange County, 911 F.2d 644, 649 (11th Cir.1990); Johnson v. Yellow Freight System, Inc., 734 F.2d 1304, 1309 (8th Cir.1984). In this Circuit, [t]o determine whether a report is trustworthy, courts consider the following four factors: (1) the timeliness of the investigation upon which the report is based, (2) the special skill or experience of the investigators, (3) whether the agency held a hearing, and (4) possible motivational problems. Chavez v. Carranza, 559 F.3d 486, 496 (6th Cir. 2009) (citing Bank of Lexington, 959 F.2d at 616-17). This list of factors is not exclusive; any circumstance which may affect the trustworthiness of the underlying information, and thus, the trustworthiness of the findings, must be considered when ruling upon the admissibility of factual findings under this rule. In re Complaint of Paducah Towing Co., Inc., 692 F.2d 412, 420 (6th Cir.1982) (citations omitted). The trustworthiness of a factual finding is often a function of the trustworthiness of the information upon which the finding is based. Ibid. (citations omitted). In this case, there was no agency hearing, the investigation lingered for over a year before the report was completed, and there is no information in the record as to the evidence available to the agency. It appears, however, the district court considered at least all of the same evidence examined by the OCRC team leader and arrived at its own conclusion. Because the lower court considered the same facts as the agency, the differing conclusion in the agency report does not by itself establish a material issue of fact, and there is no error by the district court in not assigning evidentiary weight to that conclusion. On de novo review of the summary judgment determination, we reach the same result. There is scant evidence that the plaintiff was qualified for the job. The prima facie burden of showing that a plaintiff is qualified can ... be met by presenting credible evidence that his or her qualifications are at least equivalent to the minimum objective criteria required for employment in the relevant field. Wexler v. White's Fine Furniture, Inc., 317 F.3d 564, 575-76 (6th Cir.2003) (en banc). This rule focuses the Court's inquiry on the plaintiff's education, experience in the relevant industry, and demonstrated possession of the required general skills. Ibid. CareSource's job description amounts to evidence of the minimum job qualifications. There is no evidence as to what Alexander's qualifications for the position were, other than her unauthenticated resume. However, CareSource identified [Alexander] as a potential candidate, ROA at 60, selecting her for an interview. This is extremely weak evidence, but it would allow a fact finder to infer that the plaintiff met the minimum job qualifications. To prove that she was treated differently than similarly-situated individuals outside the protected class, the plaintiff compares herself to Wheeler and Roush, who were offered claims analyst positions for Ohio and Indiana, respectively. She argues that both of these individuals applied for a claims analyst position with CareSource contemporaneously with her application, so they must be similarly situated. Yet the assertion that she satisfies her prima facie burden because she is similarly situated to [other candidates] by virtue of the fact that they applied for the same position and their applications were reviewed by the same committee fundamentally misconceives the concept of the fourth prong of the prima facie requirement. White v. Columbus Metro. Housing Auth., 429 F.3d 232, 241-42 (6th Cir. 2005). CareSource argues that different, less satisfying answers during her interview render Alexander dissimilar to the other candidates. However, subjective impressions from an interview do not provide a valid basis for finding dissimilarity. See id. at 242 n. 6 (stating that subjective traits or other details about why the non-protected person was in fact selected over the plaintiff are not appropriate considerations at the prima facie stage of the analysis). CareSource also argues that Alexander is not similarly situated to the other candidates because she was only considered for the Michigan position, while Wheeler and Roush were offered claims analyst positions covering different states. But the fact that the alleged comparator was hired for a different position does not automatically defeat a plaintiff's claims. See Clay v. United Parcel Service, Inc., 501 F.3d 695, 705 (6th Cir.2007). The only difference between the positions offered to Wheeler, Roush, and applied for by Alexander, appears to be the region from where the claims will be processed. There is no indication in the record that the positions were otherwise different in any way, and that the qualifications sufficient for one are different for another. Missing from the record, however, is any evidence that Alexander's qualifications are comparable to those of Wheeler or Roush. Alexander's work history of claims processing only appears through her unsworn resume. The same is true for Roush. Nor is there any properly submitted evidence of Wheeler's qualifications. There is no evidence from which a reasonable jury could conclude that Alexander is similarly situated to either identified comparator, Wheeler or Roush. But even if we were to conclude that the plaintiff established a prima facie case, she has failed to produce any evidence that [CareSource's] decision was mere pretext. Ladd v. Grand Trunk Western R.R., Inc., 552 F.3d 495, 502 (6th Cir.2009). CareSource identified the reasons it treated Wheeler and the plaintiff differently and why it chose applicants other than the plaintiff. It filed affidavits establishing that Alexander was not hired based on the answers she provided in her interview, which demonstrated a lack of knowledge for a position the employer sought to fill with someone who needed minimal training or adjustment. The defendant explained why it did not require Wheeler to fill out an employment application. CareSource made known its interest in in-house applicants over outsiders. It justified its less rigorous questioning of applicants who were known to the interviewers based on prior knowledge, which obviated questions that would have elicited information the interviewers already knew. And it explained that it sought an applicant with a management style preference that was congruent with existing company practice. These explanations are legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons that shift the burden back to Alexander. White v. Baxter Healthcare Corp., 533 F.3d 381, 392 (6th Cir.2008) (quoting Texas Dept. of Comm. Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 257-58, 101 S.Ct. 1089, 67 L.Ed.2d 207 (1981)); Sutherland v. Michigan Dept. of Treasury, 344 F.3d 603, 616 (6th Cir.2003). Alexander has provided no evidence to contradict the affidavits submitted by CareSource regarding her interview answers. That failure of proof is fatal to her claim. See Hartsel v. Keys, 87 F.3d 795, 802 (6th Cir.1996).
The district court properly concluded that the plaintiff failed to come forward with admissible evidence from which a jury could conclude that race was a factor in the defendant's decision not to hire her for one of the claims analyst positions it sought to fill. The summary judgment of the district court, therefore, is AFFIRMED.