Opinion ID: 444533
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Procedure and Proof Under the ADEA

Text: 13 Courts have generally applied the tripartite evidentiary scheme developed in the context of Title VII litigation to suits brought under the ADEA. See Coburn v. Pan American World Airways, Inc., 711 F.2d 339, 342-43 (D.C.Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 104 S.Ct. 488, 78 L.Ed.2d 683 (1983); Cuddy v. Carmen, 694 F.2d 853, 856-57 (D.C.Cir.1982); Johnson v. Lehman, 679 F.2d 918, 922 (D.C.Cir.1982). According to the guidelines originally articulated in McDonnell Douglas, an individual plaintiff claiming disparate treatment must first make out a prima facie case--i.e., must demonstrate sufficient facts to create a reasonable inference that race, sex or age was a factor in the employment decision at issue. Once a prima facie case has been established, the employer bears a minimal burden of producing evidence tending to show that the plaintiff was denied employment or promotion for a legitimate nondiscriminatory reason. If the employer does so--and if his evidence is credible--the plaintiff must show by a preponderance of the evidence that the employer's asserted legitimate reason is a pretext for discrimination. See McDonnell Douglas, 411 U.S. at 800-02, 93 S.Ct. at 1823-24; Burdine, 50 U.S. at 252-53, 101 S.Ct. at 1093-94; Coburn, 711 F.2d at 342; see generally Segar v. Smith, 738 F.2d 1249, 1297-98 (D.C.Cir.1984) (Edwards, J., concurring). In disparate treatment cases, the ultimate burden of persuading the trier of fact that the defendant discriminated against the plaintiff remains at all times with the plaintiff. Burdine, 450 U.S. at 253, 101 S.Ct. at 1093. Moreover, the Supreme Court has recently admonished that the relevant issue on appeal of a fully litigated discrimination suit is ordinarily whether the plaintiff has met this ultimate burden, not whether one of the intermediate burdens has been met. See United Postal Serv. Bd. of Governors v. Aikens, 460 U.S. 711, 103 S.Ct. 1478, 75 L.Ed.2d 403 (1983). 14 In an ADEA case, the plaintiff's ultimate burden is to prove that age was a determining factor in the challenged employment decision. Coburn, 711 F.2d at 342; Cuddy, 694 F.2d at 857. The plaintiff must prove that age made a difference in the employer's decision, Cuddy, 694 F.2d at 857-58, in the sense that, but for the discriminatory motive, the employee would have been hired, promoted or retained. See id. at 858 & n. 23. The question of discriminatory intent, moreover, is a finding of fact subject to the clearly erroneous standard of review established in Rule 52(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. See Pullman-Standard, Inc. v. Swint, 456 U.S. 273, 288, 102 S.Ct. 1781, 1789, 72 L.Ed.2d 66 (1982); Aikens, 103 S.Ct. at 1485. The district court's ADEA ruling in this case can thus only be overturned if the court committed legal error or if we are left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed. United States v. Gypsum, 333 U.S. 364, 395, 68 S.Ct. 525, 542, 92 L.Ed. 746 (1948); see Coburn, 711 F.2d at 345. 15