Opinion ID: 527155
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Liability--Compensatory Damages

Text: 9 Westinghouse challenges the jury's finding that Mr. Verbraeken's age was a determinative factor for his being selected to be laid off. Appellant maintains that Mr. Verbraeken's evidence of age discrimination was based on speculation and conjecture and therefore does not support the jury's verdict. 10 In a case brought pursuant to the ADEA, the plaintiff bears the ultimate burden of proving that age was a determinative factor in the employer's decision to terminate his employment. See Young v. General Foods Corp., 840 F.2d 825, 828 (11th Cir.1988), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 109 S.Ct. 782, 102 L.Ed.2d 774 (1989); Anderson v. Savage Laboratories, Inc., 675 F.2d 1221, 1224 (11th Cir.1982). Initially, the plaintiff must establish a prima facie case of age discrimination. If this is done, the defendant has the burden of going forward and articulating a legitimate, non-discriminatory rationale for the discharge. Finally, if the defendant rebuts the presumption of discrimination, the plaintiff must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the employer's asserted reason is merely a pretext for a discriminatory dismissal. 2 11 There are three methods by which a plaintiff may establish a prima facie case of age discrimination: by direct evidence of discriminatory intent; by meeting the test originally set out for Title VII cases in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973); or by statistical proof of a pattern of discrimination. Carter v. City of Miami, 870 F.2d 578, 581 (11th Cir.1989); Young v. General Foods Corp., 840 F.2d at 828; Buckley v. Hospital Corp. of America, Inc., 758 F.2d 1525, 1529 (11th Cir.1985). Mr. Verbraeken did not produce direct evidence of discrimination nor submit statistical evidence. 12 Utilizing a modified McDonnellDouglas test, a prima facie case may be established with circumstantial evidence by proving that the plaintiff (1) was a member of the protected group of persons between the ages of 40 and 70, (2) was subject to adverse employment action, (3) was replaced with a person outside the protected group, and (4) was qualified to do the job. The prima facie criteria of the McDonnell Douglas test are not intended to be rigidly applied. See Carter, 870 F.2d at 582, 583. In reduction-in-force cases such as the one at hand, the McDonnell Douglas test has been further modified by eliminating the replacement requirement; because [i]n situations involving a reduction in force, ... the employer seldom seeks a replacement for the discharged employee. Mauter v. Hardy Corp., 825 F.2d 1554, 1557 (11th Cir.1987). A plaintiff in a reduction-in-force case may establish a prima facie case (1) by demonstrating that he was in a protected age group and was adversely affected by an employment decision; (2) by showing that he was qualified for his former position or for another position at the time of being adversely affected; and (3) by producing circumstantial or direct evidence by which a factfinder might reasonably conclude that the employer intended to discriminate on the basis of age in reaching the decision at issue. Rollins v. TechSouth, 833 F.2d 1525, 1532 (11th Cir.1987); Mauter, 825 F.2d at 1557; Barnes v. Southwest Forest Industries, Inc., 814 F.2d 607, 609 (11th Cir.1987); Williams v. General Motors Corp., 656 F.2d 120, 129 (5th Cir. Unit B 1981), cert. denied, 455 U.S. 943, 102 S.Ct. 1439, 71 L.Ed.2d 655 (1982). 13 Mr. Verbraeken, at age 61, was within the protected group, and he was adversely affected by Westinghouse's offering him the choice between being laid off and accepting early retirement. With the exception of his final evaluation, Mr. Verbraeken received ratings of satisfactory or better throughout his career at Westinghouse. 3 Mr. Verbraeken testified that his knowledge of old machinery and the outdated methods of labelling diagrams of old machinery was valuable in his division that made renewal parts to maintain machinery in working order. There was sufficient evidence that he was qualified for his former position. 14 Mr. Verbraeken also presented sufficient circumstantial evidence, some of which is reviewed below, to raise an inference of age discrimination. In March 1983, Westinghouse introduced a new appraisal process, the Team Evaluation and Management System (TEAMS process), that originally was not supposed to affect employment. The TEAMS process included a team or peer evaluation resulting in a team evaluation (TE) score and a management survey producing a management score (MS). The two scores were averaged to arrive at a composite TEAMS score. For the peer review, an employee was evaluated in eight categories by his supervisor and between three and nine of his fellow employees chosen by the employee. The management portion of the TEAMS process originally was supposed to involve a one-on-one review by the employee's supervisor of the TE score and the employee's performance. The peer evaluation was completed by June 1, 1983; Mr. Verbraeken received a TE score of 47, ranking him 98th out of 119 employees evaluated at that time. 15 In the ensuing summer, Westinghouse decided that a reduction in force would be necessary to cope with its economic difficulties. It chose the TEAMS process, believed to be producing the best information available, as a tool to identify initially those employees in jeopardy of layoff. The management portion of the process was modified to provide for evaluative input from more managers. Higher-ranking managers met with subordinate managers to rank employ es; management's review focused on critical skills necessary to perform the functions that would survive the layoff. If no manager was sufficiently familiar with an employee's performance, or if the managers considered the TE score to be accurate, an employee would be given a MS equal to his TE score. Managers' scores differing from the TE score were averaged with the TE score to produce the MS. 16 A witness for plaintiff testified that Westinghouse, in an effort to reduce its work force and minimize layoffs, encouraged older employees, eligible for Westinghouse's Advanced Retirement Program II (ARP II), to retire early. ARP II began on March 1, 1983, at which time it was announced that the program would expire on September 1, 1983. ARP II provided increased and enhanced benefits for employees choosing early retirement. Mr. Verbraeken testified that he had attended an informational meeting and had been given informational literature on ARP II during the summer of 1983, but he did not believe that he was financially able to consider early retirement. Both Mr. Verbraeken and Mr. Kurt Moren, Mr. Verbraeken's immediate supervisor who also was identified for layoff, testified that Mr. Moren suggested that Mr. Verbraeken seriously consider participating in ARP II. Mr. Moren also testified that his supervisor, Mr. David Spraker, in early to mid-August asked him if he would agree that Mr. Verbraeken's and another employee's performances were less than satisfactory. Mr. Moren refused to agree; he testified that no other supervisor asked him to evaluate Mr. Verbraeken. 4 17 On August 19, the Commercial Operations Department managers met to determine employees' management scores. Mr. Verbraeken's MS was determined to be 35.5; this was 11.5 points lower than his TE score of 47. Of the approximately 130 employees evaluated at the meeting, only four others received management scores more than 5 points lower than their TE scores. Only one of those employees had a TE score near the eventual layoff cutoff. Mr. Verbraeken's MS of 35.5 was determined by averaging a score equal to his TE score of 47 and two scores of 30 given by Mr. Rosenthal and another manager, two of Mr. Verbraeken's non-immediate supervisors. The scores of 30 were lower than any employee's TE score. Mr. Rosenthal admitted that he had never personally observed Mr. Verbraeken at work and had never reviewed his personnel file. Mr. Verbraeken testified that one of the subordinate supervisors whom Mr. Rosenthal allegedly had relied on for an evaluation of Mr. Verbraeken also had never personally supervised him although he reported to him on paper, and the other was Mr. Spraker, whom Mr. Moren testified had attempted to have Mr. Moren agree that Mr. Verbraeken was an unsatisfactory worker. There was no evidence presented regarding the other manager's basis of knowledge concerning Mr. Verbraeken's critical skills and work performance. When his TE score and MS were averaged, Mr. Verbraeken received a composite TEAMS score below the eventual cutoff line, placing him in the group identified for layoff. 5 18 Mr. Verbraeken testified that on August 30, 1983 he heard a rumor that a list of those employees subject to be laid off in November, 1983 would be published on September 12th. He also heard that employees on that list who were eligible for early retirement had to apply for ARP II before it expired on September 1st. Mr. Verbraeken checked with his superiors, and Mr. Rosenthal and Mr. Spraker confirmed that Mr. Verbraeken was identified for layoff and that he had to have his ARP II application completed by the next day. Mr. Verbraeken completed the paperwork for ARP II on August 31st. Appellee maintains that because he had elected to retire early, he was not on the final list of those employees to be laid off and was not informed of the job assistance program and procedures to appeal a layoff. 6 Some employees who were identified for layoff on September 12th successfully appealed and were taken off the list of those to be laid off; others were transferred to other departments. 19 Mr. Verbraeken presented sufficient evidence to have a jury conclude that he had established a prima facie case of age discrimination. 20 Westinghouse asserted in response that Mr. Verbraeken rated poorly in comparison to other employees when evaluated according to critical skills criteria that did not take age or salary into account. This poor evaluation by peers and management was reflected in a low TEAMs score that fell below the cutoff line separating retention and layoff. Specifically regarding the low MS score given to Mr. Verbraeken, Mr. Rosenthal testified that he assigned Mr. Verbraeken a score of 30 because it was lower than the TE scores of employees considered by his subordinate supervisors to be better performers and as having more critical skills than Mr. Verbraeken. Mr. Rosenthal averred that the managers, at the time of evaluating Mr. Verbraeken and determining his MS, did not know what the cutoff score would be separating those employees to be retained and those identified for layoff. He also claimed that, at the time of the management evaluation, he did not know that Mr. Verbraeken did not wish to retire early under ARP II. Westinghouse offered other evidence that it did not discriminate based on age, including evidence that other employees eligible for ARP II received high management scores and were not identified for layoff. 21 Mindful that we may not reweigh the evidence and substitute our judgment for that of the jury, we have reviewed the record in the light most favorable to the appellee, drawing all reasonable inferences in his favor, and have concluded that there is evidence of such quality and weight that fair-minded jurors, exercising impartial judgment, could reasonably have concluded that Mr. Verbraeken's age was a determinative factor for his being discharged by Westinghouse. The district court's denial of appellant's motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict is affirmed with respect to compensatory damages.