Opinion ID: 763119
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Was he qualified for his particular position?

Text: 19 Godfredson claims that he was qualified for his position at the time of his termination. He specifically argues that others were at least partially responsible for the problems associated with the pet food business, that the business was poised to sign two multi-million-dollar deals at the time of its elimination, and that business losses are rarely due to a single cause. Even Bookmyer, he notes, said that he did not know who was to blame for the losses incurred by KenVet Nutritional Care. 20 On the other hand, Hess & Clark argues that Godfredson held a management position of significant responsibility when the pet food business failed, causing millions of dollars in losses. Moorman testified that Godfredson was not doing his job on the marketing of the business, the marketing of the pet food or the [KenVet products], either one. 21 In order to show that a plaintiff is qualified, [he] must prove that he was performing his job at a level which met his employer's legitimate expectations. McDonald v. Union Camp Corp., 898 F.2d 1155, 1160 (6th Cir.1990) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). The role of the court is not to review the employer's business decisions, but rather to determine if the employee was performing to the employer's reasonable satisfaction. See id. Because the district court determined that reasonable jurors could differ on this question, it held that Godfredson had presented a genuine issue of material fact as to whether he was qualified for his position. 22 Whether Godfredson was so qualified at the time of his termination is a close question. Certainly, Moorman's testimony and the significant losses suffered by Hess & Clark as a result of KenVet Nutritional Care's failure support a finding that Godfredson was not meeting his employer's legitimate expectations. Bookmyer's testimony, however, reveals that Godfredson was not necessarily the sole party at fault for this failure. Moreover, Godfredson worked satisfactorily at Hess & Clark for years prior to the pet food business's failure, and one can infer that he would not have been given significant responsibility for KenVet Nutritional Care's marketing if his performance had been unacceptable. For these reasons, we agree with the district court that Godfredson had raised a genuine issue of material fact as to this issue. 23