Opinion ID: 414195
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Burden of Proof Under Texas Dep't of Community Affairs v. Burdine

Text: 28 Even if Lee had been able to prove his qualifications as a journeyman machinist at trial, we would reverse the district court's finding of a Title VII violation. Establishing a prima facie case of discrimination is only the first hurdle for an employment discrimination plaintiff. 29 In this case, National Can responded to Lee's allegations by articulating a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for its failure to hire Lee. Lee was denied employment because Glynn discerned on June 7, 1977 that at least one of Lee's job applications had been falsified. In refusing to hire Lee, Glynn was following a nondiscriminatory company policy. 8 Lee signed each application under a certification stating that the information was true, and that, if hired, Lee would be subject to dismissal without notice for the falsification. 30 After National Can articulated this reason for its adverse action, the burden of proving a Title VII violation remained with Lee. Texas Dep't of Community Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 101 S.Ct. 1089, 67 L.Ed.2d 207 (1981). To prevail on his employment discrimination claim, Lee needed to prove that National Can's articulated reason for refusing to hire him was pretextual. Id. at 256, 101 S.Ct. at 1095. Thus, even if Lee had established a prima facie case, he would have had to go on to prove either that National Can's proffered explanation was not believable, or that National Can was more likely motivated by a discriminatory reason. Id. Yet, Lee did not introduce any rebuttal evidence, nor was the evidence introduced by Lee's case-in-chief sufficient to establish pretext. 31 The district court skirted the pretext issue by its finding that Lee was a victim of discrimination on May 10, 1977--the day he first made application for employment at the EMD. On May 10 Glynn had only one of Lee's applications to consider, and thus was unaware of any falsification of credentials. Thus, the articulated, nondiscriminatory explanation for National Can's failure to hire Lee could not effectively rebut a charge of discriminatory treatment on May 10. 32 The district court finding that Title VII was violated on May 10, 1977, however, is clearly erroneous. Glynn testified that Lee's application was considered pending on that date, while Lee testified that he was not told he would not be hired until June 7. Furthermore, Turczak's failure to interview Lee on May 10 is not the type of conduct prohibited by Title VII. 9