Opinion ID: 455846
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Failure to Consider the Impact of the Man on the Job

Text: Criteria 24 In 1972, the Regional Director who preceded Mr. Caldwell recommended a reclassification of Mr. Edward L. Martin's position under the impact of the man on the job classification principle. 6 This occurred two years prior to the plaintiff becoming the Regional EEO Officer. Under this classification principle, Mr. Martin's position as Labor Relations Officer in the Atlanta Regional Office, was reclassified to a GS-14 grade. 25 During his tenure, Mr. Caldwell did not recommend an impact of the man on the job reclassification for either the plaintiff or the Labor Relations Officer. 7 At trial, Mr. Caldwell testified that the Labor Relations Officer, Mr. Martin, was properly classified as a GS-14 and that the plaintiff was properly classified as a GS-13. Record at 514. He compared and contrasted the two positions and concluded that the position of the Labor Relations Officer was more complex. For example, Mr. Caldwell testified that the Labor Relations Officer advised agencies, negotiated agreements, accumulated information and data, and regularly developed training programs along with the accompanying handouts. The plaintiff however, had a confined responsibility and was not directly involved in the implementation of affirmative action plans. The plaintiff also reviewed outlines of training programs provided by the Regional Center to assure that proper attention was given to EEO matters. Although the plaintiff occasionally served as a guest lecturer, he never developed a complete training program in the EEO area. Record at 514-518. 26 The plaintiff testified that both he and the Labor Relations Officer had three subordinates. The plaintiff's testimony regarding his duties as a Regional Equal Employment Representative was similar to Mr. Caldwell's testimony. The plaintiff acknowledged that his primary responsibility was to conduct oversight of affirmative action and EEO programs. In addition, he served as an expert lecturer in training programs, and as a consultant to the Training Center on EEO matters. He also maintained an ongoing liaison with minority and women's groups and consistently advised and provided assistance to agencies so that their programs could be conducted in accordance with the law. Record at 39-45. The plaintiff admitted, however, that he did not personally prepare EEO or affirmative action plans for the agencies. Id. at 118. 27 The district court found that the plaintiff did not establish a prima facie case. The plaintiff argues that the district court's conclusion was in error. The defendants argue that the district court properly found that the plaintiff failed to prove intentional discrimination. 28 We agree that the plaintiff failed to establish a prima facie case. First, the plaintiff did not show that he was treated differently. As the district court pointed out, Mr. Caldwell did not recommend a reclassification of any executive position during his tenure as Regional Director. 29 Assuming, as the plaintiff contends that the court's analysis caused it to improperly restrict its focus to a particular discriminating official, we nevertheless conclude that the plaintiff did not establish a prima facie case because he failed to prove that he was treated differently than a similarly situated employee. The only evidence that the plaintiff presented related to the duties of the Labor Relations Officer and the Regional EEO Representative. Since we have concluded that the Labor Relations Officer and Regional EEO Representative positions were not similar, there is no evidence that a similarly situated employee was reclassified under the impact of the man on the job principle. 30 When a plaintiff fails to establish a prima facie case he cannot prevail by claiming that the defendant has failed to articulate a legitimate nondiscriminatory reason or by showing that the proffered reason was probably not the true reason. See Nix v. WLCY Radio/Rahall Communications, 738 F.2d at 1187. The plaintiff must prove intentional discrimination. Because there is insufficient evidence to support a finding of intentional discrimination, we must affirm the district court on this issue. 8