Opinion ID: 160034
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: False Justification for Termination

Text: 32 Kendrick contended in his deposition and affidavit that he never had physical contact with Tirrell. Kendrick argues that this evidence demonstrates that Penske's reason for his discharge is unworthy of belief. 33 We assume for purposes of this case that Kendrick's statement that he did not push Tirrell would create a genuine issue of fact as to whether or not Kendrick in fact pushed Tirrell. However, a challenge of pretext requires us to look at the facts as they appear to the person making the decision to terminate plaintiff. See Shorter, 188 F.3d at 1209 (noting that it is the manager's perception of the employee's performance, and not the employee's subjective evaluation of her performance, that is relevant in determining pretext); McKnight v. Kimberly Clark Corp., 149 F.3d 1125, 1129 (10th Cir. 1998) (finding that plaintiff failed to establish pretext where the defendant discharged plaintiff after conducting an investigation into a subordinate employee's allegations of sexual misconduct on the part of the plaintiff and believed the allegations to be true, even though plaintiff presented evidence to the district court that the allegations may have been false); Flasher, 986 F.2d at 1312 n.12 ([A] mistaken belief can be a legitimate reason for an employment decision and is not necessarily pretextual.). The undisputed evidence shows that Cash decided to terminate Kendrick based on his belief that Kendrick pushed Tirrell and then verbally abused him. There was no evidence before Cash to suggest that Kendrick had not, in fact, made physical contact with Tirrell. Kendrick conceded during his deposition that Tirrell told Levine during the meeting that Kendrick had charged him and pushed him and cursed him out, and he testified that he never disputed the charge before Levine. 34 Other circuits have recognized that a defendant may be held liable if the manager who discharged the plaintiff merely acted as a rubber stamp, or the cat's paw, for a subordinate employee's prejudice, even if the manager lacked discriminatory intent. See, e.g., Long v. Eastfield College, 88 F.3d 300, 307 (5th Cir. 1996); Kientzy v. McDonnell Douglas Corp., 990 F.2d 1051, 1057 (8th Cir. 1993); Shager v. Upjohn Co., 913 F.2d 398, 405 (7th Cir. 1990). In this case, however, Kendrick does not argue that Cash was simply a rubber stamp or conduit for an employment decision made in reality by underlings. The evidence shows that Cash did not simply act as a conduit for Tirrell's allegedly discriminatory intent. Rather, Levine conducted an investigation into Tirrell's claim that Kendrick shoved him and verbally abused him, and Cash relied on Levine's findings in deciding to terminate Kendrick's employment at Penske. Importantly, in the course of his investigation, Levine asked Kendrick to give his version of the exchange between himself and Tirrell, but Kendrick declined to do so. Kendrick has provided no evidence to show that Levine's investigation was a sham or that Tirrell's allegedly discriminatory motives influenced Levine, nor does Kendrick offer any evidence that Levine or Cash acted upon a discriminatory motive in their own right. 11 The undisputed evidence shows that Cash discharged Kendrick based on Levine's report that Kendrick had pushed and verbally abused Tirrell on March 8. We therefore conclude that Kendrick's assertion that he did not, in fact, have physical contact with Tirrell is not sufficient to establish pretext in this case. 35