Opinion ID: 2974559
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Direct-Evidence Approach

Text: Burke-Johnson contends that McCoy’s testimony should be treated as direct evidence of discrimination. The district court properly rejected this argument. In Hopson and Carter, this Court held that allegations of race discrimination made by persons who were not involved in the employment decision do not constitute direct evidence of discrimination. Hopson, 306 F.3d 433; Carter, 349 F.3d 273. Here, Burke-Johnson concedes that McCoy had no involvement whatsoever in the hiring process for the Staff Assistant position. Second, even casting aside the “decision-maker” gloss to the direct-evidence test, BurkeJohnson ignores the well-entrenched principle that in Title VII cases, direct evidence “is evidence that proves the existence of a fact without requiring any inferences.” Grizzell, 461 F.3d at 719. Here, where McCoy did not testify that Tirone engaged in racial discrimination in her non-selection of Burke-Johnson, inferences would surely have to be drawn from what McCoy did testify to—that Tirone discriminated against McCoy, that Tirone disparaged Burke-Johnson, and that AfricanAmericans faced obstacles to advancement at the VA—to conclude that Burke-Johnson had been - 18 - No. 06-1251 Burke-Johnson v. Dep’t of Veterans Affairs denied the Staff Assistant job due to her race. The necessity of drawing inferences from McCoy’s testimony disqualifies it as direct evidence. Finally, Burke-Johnson contends that even if McCoy was not a decision-maker, this Court should extend the Hopson/Carter rule so that statements by “supervisor[s] in close contact with the decisionmakers,” qualify as direct evidence. This argument is unavailing for the reasons described above: Whether evidence is “direct” turns on whether the factfinder would have to draw any inferences to conclude that a hiring decision was attributable to unlawful discrimination. Thus, there is no need for this Court to modify the Hopson/Carter rule because McCoy’s testimony fails the threshold, i.e., “no inferences,” determination of what qualifies as direct evidence.