Opinion ID: 780868
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Whether Kroger's explanation was a pretext to hide racial discrimination

Text: 27 Because Johnson has failed to present any direct evidence of discrimination, the burden-shifting approach first set forth in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973), and later refined by Texas Department of Community Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 101 S.Ct. 1089, 67 L.Ed.2d 207 (1981), applies to the present case. Johnson v. Univ. of Cincinnati, 215 F.3d 561, 572 (6th Cir.2000). Under the McDonnell Douglas framework, the plaintiff faces the initial burden of presenting a prima facie case of unlawful discrimination. Id. The establishment of a prima facie case creates a rebuttable presumption of discrimination and requires the defendant to articulate some legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for taking the challenged action. Id. at 573 (internal quotation marks omitted). If the defendant is able to satisfy this burden, the plaintiff must then prove that the proffered reason was actually a pretext to hide unlawful discrimination. Id. 28 Kroger concedes that Johnson established a prima facie case of discriminatory discharge. Likewise, Johnson concedes that Kroger articulated a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for terminating his employment; namely, the inability to satisfactorily perform his duties as a comanager. The disposition of this case thus hinges upon Johnson's contention that the justification proffered by Kroger was a pretext designed to mask racial discrimination. 29 A plaintiff can refute the legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason articulated by an employer to justify an adverse employment action by showing that the proffered reason (1) has no basis in fact, (2) did not actually motivate the defendant's challenged conduct, or (3) was insufficient to warrant the challenged conduct. Dews v. A.B. Dick Co., 231 F.3d 1016, 1021 (6th Cir.2000). Regardless of which option is used, the plaintiff retains the ultimate burden of producing sufficient evidence from which the jury could reasonably reject [the defendants'] explanation and infer that the defendants intentionally discriminated against him. Braithwaite v. Timken Co., 258 F.3d 488, 493 (6th Cir.2001) (alteration in original) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). 30 Johnson does not dispute that Noyes and other Kroger employees working under her supervision documented instances of unsatisfactory conditions in the Wheelersburg store, even after he had been told about the problems. Thus, the first potential method of challenging an employer's explanation — contesting its factual basis — is not available to Johnson. 31 In contrast, both the second and the third methods of establishing that Kroger's explanation was a pretext intended to hide illegal discrimination are relevant in the present case. A plaintiff using the second option admits the factual basis underlying the employer's proffered explanation and further admits that such conduct could motivate dismissal, but attempts to indict the credibility of his employer's explanation by showing circumstances which tend to prove that an illegal motivation was more likely than that offered by the defendant. Manzer v. Diamond Shamrock Chems. Co., 29 F.3d 1078, 1084 (6th Cir.1994) (emphasis in original). The third possibility generally consists of evidence that other employees, particularly employees not in the protected class, were not fired even though they engaged in substantially identical conduct to that which the employer contends motivated its discharge of the plaintiff. Id. 32 Johnson presented the testimony of many of his coworkers in support of his contention that Kroger treated him differently than Caucasian comanagers. Several of the department heads at the Wheelersburg store, for example, said that Johnson fulfilled his responsibilities as well as Caucasian comanagers who had not been reprimanded, much less discharged. Gaines and Kirkbridge, both of whom had previously worked with Johnson as comanagers, were of the opinion that Johnson was quickly learning the paperwork responsibilities that Noyes identified as one of his shortcomings. Similarly, McCauley noted that the Wheelersburg store's sales improved in the months following Johnson's arrival. McCauley's deposition testimony also supports Johnson's contention that he was treated differently than Caucasian managers, because Johnson was not given the opportunity to transfer to a different store, nor was he placed on probation or under a corrective action plan prior to being discharged. 33 The above evidence regarding Kroger's treatment of Caucasian managers relates to the third method of disproving what would otherwise be a legitimate, nondiscriminatory explanation for discharging an employee. But Kroger contends that because none of the allegedly comparable employees with whom Johnson seeks to contrast his treatment were supervised by Noyes, their experiences while working for Kroger are not relevant. In addition, Kroger notes that McCauley recognized that each zone manager handles personnel problems differently. The most relevant consideration, according to Kroger, is that although Noyes supervised dozens of managers and comanagers, Johnson has not identified any Caucasian managers under her authority who exhibited shortcomings similar to his own but who received more favorable treatment. Moreover, several other African-American comanagers who were supervised by Noyes testified in their depositions that they had no reason to believe that Noyes discriminated against them or against anyone else because of their race. 34 This court has explained that the plaintiff and the employee with whom the plaintiff seeks to compare himself must be similar in all of the relevant aspects in order for the two to be similarly-situated. Ercegovich v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 154 F.3d 344, 352 (6th Cir.1998) (emphasis in original) (internal quotation marks omitted). In the context of personnel actions, the relevant factors for determining whether employees are similarly situated often include the employees' supervisors, the standards that the employees had to meet, and the employees' conduct. Id. (noting that [t]hese factors generally are all relevant considerations in cases alleging differential disciplinary action). But the weight to be given to each factor can vary depending upon the particular case. Id. (explaining that courts should make an independent determination as to the relevancy of a particular aspect of the plaintiff's employment status and that of the non-protected employee). 35 Johnson relies upon Ercegovich to support his argument that his treatment should be compared not only with the managerial-level employees supervised by Noyes, but also with managers supervised by McCauley, her predecessor as zone manager. But the employees supervised by Noyes undoubtedly provide the most appropriate group of people with which Johnson's treatment should be compared. Moreover, McCauley's acknowledgment that zone managers handle personnel matters differently further supports the propriety of concentrating on managers whom Noyes supervised when comparing Johnson's experiences with those of other Kroger managers. We therefore conclude that Johnson has failed to identify any similarly-situated employees who were treated differently for exhibiting managerial problems comparable to his own. 36 A more promising avenue from Johnson's point of view goes back to the second method of challenging Kroger's explanation for discharging him — that the nondiscriminatory reason given did not actually motivate the defendant's challenged conduct.... Dews v. A.B. Dick Co., 231 F.3d 1016, 1021 (6th Cir.2000). The record contains several instances that Johnson contends support a finding that Kroger was more likely than not motivated by illegal racial animus. For example, he points to Newman's concern that having an African-American comanager would have an adverse effect on the Wheelersburg store's business. Johnson also notes that several employees at the Wheelersburg store testified that Newman told them to cease telling racial jokes, and that some employees at the location had made racial slurs in the past. 37 Moreover, the record supports a finding that Newman treated Johnson less favorably than he had treated Caucasian comanagers. Johnson and other employees testified by deposition that Newman refused to mentor or train Johnson, and instead ignored him. They also said that Newman did not introduce Johnson to department heads, criticized him in public, and blamed him for errors that occurred in areas that were the responsibility of other employees. 38 Kroger seeks to minimize this evidence by emphasizing that Noyes was the decisionmaker, so that any bias exhibited by Newman was irrelevant. Although remarks made by an individual who has no authority over the challenged employment action are not indicative of discriminatory intent, the statements of managerial-level employees who have the ability to influence a personnel decision are relevant. Ercegovich, 154 F.3d at 354-55 (concluding that the plaintiff presented a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the manager in question was involved in the employer's decision to eliminate the plaintiff's position without giving him the opportunity to transfer elsewhere). Newman not only supervised Johnson on a daily basis, but also spoke with Noyes about the problems she identified during her store visits in late 1995, assisted Noyes in preparing Johnson's performance review in January of 1996, and consulted with Noyes prior to her ultimate decision to offer Johnson a new but diminished position. Based upon these facts, we conclude that a jury could reasonably find that Newman played a significant role in Noyes's decisionmaking process. 39 Kroger also contends that Newman's concern about having an African-American comanager was an isolated statement that cannot support a finding of racial discrimination. See id. at 355 (Isolated and ambiguous comments are too abstract, in addition to being irrelevant and prejudicial, to support a finding of age discrimination.) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). But Newman's comment does not stand alone. Instead, the manner in which several employees observed him behave towards Johnson — behavior that was claimed to be distinct from his interaction with Caucasian comanagers — reinforces the possibility that Newman's comment might have reflected racial animus. Id. at 356 ([W]hen assessing the relevancy of an allegedly biased remark where the plaintiff presents evidence of multiple discriminatory remarks or other evidence of pretext, we do not view each discriminatory remark in isolation, but are mindful that the remarks buttress one another as well as any other pretextual evidence supporting an inference of discriminatory animus.). 40 Newman's statement must also be viewed in connection with the evidence concerning racial jokes and slurs prior to Johnson's arrival at the Wheelersburg store. Kroger emphasizes that Newman did not listen to racial jokes, but instead told the department heads not to tell them, and that he never heard the racial slurs that other employees reportedly heard. A reasonable juror, however, could infer that Newman's awareness of racial jokes prior to Johnson's arrival at the store indicates that he harbored racially discriminatory views. 41 In addition to the evidence pertaining to the relationship between Johnson and Newman, the record is silent as to whether Noyes disciplined any employees at the Wheelersburg store other than Johnson. These employees admittedly were not similarly situated to Johnson because, with the exception of Newman, they did not have the same responsibilities or occupy managerial-level positions. But if Noyes blamed Johnson for the problems at the store without reprimanding other potentially blameworthy employees, this differential treatment, especially when viewed in conjunction with Newman's treatment of Johnson, would permit an inference that racially discriminatory views were the actual reason that Kroger terminated Johnson's employment. 42 This is admittedly a close case. We are of the opinion, however, that Johnson has presented sufficient evidence to enable a reasonable jury to conclude that Johnson would not have been discharged but for his race. Kroger, on the other hand, has produced substantial evidence that Johnson lost his job because he was not performing effectively. But the ultimate decision of whether Kroger's proffered reason for discharging Johnson was legitimate or only a pretext intended to hide racial discrimination is a matter for the jury to determine. Based upon the record before us, we are of the opinion that the issue cannot be decided as a matter of law. 43 We note, however, that the dissent has reached the opposite conclusion. Although well-written and carefully analyzed, we cannot agree with its assertions that [t]here is not a shred of evidence that Newman's conduct was racially motivated (Dissenting Op. at 875), and that Newman provided no input into Noyes's decision beyond his ability to observe Johnson's day-to-day performance.... (Dissenting Op. at 878). The record, we believe, is not so one-sided that [Kroger] must prevail as a matter of law. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). 44 In the end, this case comes down to a judgment call about whether Johnson presented enough evidence to create a genuine issue of material fact. Even the dissent acknowledges that there is a scintilla of evidence that Newman was racially biased. (Dissenting Op. at 878). We would simply point out that one judge's scintilla is another's genuine issue of material fact that requires consideration by a jury.