Opinion ID: 795721
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Briggs's Age-Discrimination Claim

Text: 21 Briggs argues that this court should reverse the district court's dismissal of his age-discrimination claim 2 because he has demonstrated genuine issues of material fact under both a direct-evidence theory and a burden-shifting theory of discrimination. Briggs is correct that he can establish age discrimination either by presenting direct evidence of discrimination or by proceeding under McDonnell Douglas 's burden-shifting framework. See Rowan v. Lockheed Martin Energy Sys. ., Inc., 360 F.3d 544, 548-49 (6th Cir.2004). Direct evidence of discrimination is that evidence which, if believed, requires the conclusion that unlawful discrimination was at least a motivating factor in the employer's actions. Wexler v. White's Fine Furniture, Inc. 317 F.3d 564, 570 (6th Cir.2003) (en banc) (internal quotation marks omitted). In order to establish a prima facie case of age discrimination relying upon indirect evidence of discrimination under the burden-shifting framework, Briggs must establish that: (1) he is a member of the protected class, that is, he is at least forty years of age; (2) he was subjected to an adverse employment action; (3) he was qualified for the position; and (4) he was treated differently from similarly situated employees outside the protected class. Mitchell v. Vanderbilt Univ., 389 F.3d 177, 181 (6th Cir.2004). Once Briggs establishes a prima facie case of age discrimination, the burden shifts to the Postal Service to articulate a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for the adverse action. Rowan, 360 F.3d at 547. If they do so, the burden shifts back to [Briggs], who must establish that the legitimate reasons offered by the defendant were just a pretext for decisions actually motivated by an unlawful bias against age. Id. Upon review of the record, we agree with the district court that Briggs has failed to defeat the Postal Service's motion for summary judgment using either theory of age discrimination. 22 Briggs argues that Pickard's alleged statement made to him over the telephone in June 2001 is direct evidence that younger candidates were selected for the ECS positions because of their age. We disagree. As recounted in both Briggs's deposition and affidavit, Pickard's statements suggesting that he may have preselected ECS candidates based upon a consideration of whether the remaining unselected candidates could be otherwise placed within the Postal Service do not constitute direct evidence of age discrimination. Even when viewed in the light most favorable to Briggs, the statements do not refer to the subsequently selected candidates' ages, but rather to their years of service, which the Supreme Court has stated is an analytically distinct factor from age. See Hazen Paper Co. v. Biggins, 507 U.S. 604, 611, 113 S.Ct. 1701, 123 L.Ed.2d 338 (1993) (Because age and years of service are analytically distinct, an employer can take account of one while ignoring the other, and thus it is incorrect to say that a decision based on years of service is necessarily `age based.'). Briggs has been unable to present any direct evidence that the Postal Service failed to promote him to the position of ECS because of his age. 23 Briggs also argues that he has established a prima facie case of age discrimination based upon indirect evidence, and the Postal Service does not dispute that he has established a prima facie case. The Postal Service argues, however, that it gave Jendras the ECS position for the nondiscriminatory reasons that Jendras was a better overall candidate in terms of experience and education and that Briggs performed poorly during his interview. Appellee Br. at 14. The district court accepted these nondiscriminatory reasons for promoting Jendras, and concluded that Briggs failed to demonstrate that they were pretextual. 24 Briggs may show that the Postal Service's articulated reasons for hiring Jendras were a pretext for illegal discrimination in three ways. To make a submissible case on the credibility of his employer's explanation, the plaintiff is required to show by a preponderance of the evidence either (1) that the proffered reasons had no basis in fact, (2) that the proffered reasons did not actually motivate [the adverse employment action], or (3) that they were insufficient to motivate [the adverse employment action]. Manzer v. Diamond Shamrock Chems. Co., 29 F.3d 1078, 1084 (6th Cir.1994) (emphases in original) (internal quotation marks omitted). The district court considered all three methods of proving pretext, and concluded that Briggs had failed to prove any of the three. Upon review, we agree with the district court's conclusion. 25 First, the district court was correct in concluding that Jendras's higher educational attainment and her greater experience in environmental compliance are such that Briggs has not shown that the proffered reason of her overall stronger candidacy had no basis in fact. See, e.g., Sutherland v. Michigan Dep't of Treasury, 344 F.3d 603, 617 (6th Cir.2003) (finding no genuine issue of material fact as to pretext when plaintiff, who had more years of experience, had less extensive educational background than promoted employee). The undisputed facts show that Jendras had a more extensive educational background and had more years of experience in environmental compliance. While Briggs has a bachelor's degree in business administration and no graduate degree, Jendras has a bachelor's degree in environmental health and safety, as well as an MBA and a Master's degree in Public Health. Jendras has also worked in environmental-related positions since at least 1990, whereas Briggs has only worked in an environmental-related position since December 1995. 26 Briggs has also failed to show that Jendras's greater experience and education and Briggs's poor interview did not actually motivate the Postal Service's decision. Although at first blush Pickard's June 2001 telephone conversation with Briggs might appear to provide evidence of pretext about Pickard's actual motivation, the timing of the statement in relation to the selection process negates any pretextual inference. Even assuming this statement was made exactly as Briggs recounts — with Pickard indicating that he thought Jendras was less qualified and less experienced, but that she would be harder to place in a residual position because of her fewer years of service with the Postal Service — Pickard made this statement before he and the review board had a chance to compare Jendras and Briggs as ECS candidates, either on paper or through the interview process. After the written and interview process, Pickard felt that Jendras's overall interview performance, her education, [and] her experience made her a superior candidate for the Chicago ECS position compared to Briggs. J.A. at 245 (Pickard Dep. at 19). Pickard recounted, and Briggs does not dispute, that Briggs's interview went very poorly actually. J.A. at 239 (Pickard Dep. at 13). Review board chairperson Wingo-Stalinger stated that she primarily used the results of the interview to determine which candidates best met the requirements of each ECS position, and that she weighted the interview at about 75% of her assessment of the candidates. J.A. at 174, 177 (Wingo-Stalinger Dep. at 25, 28). Under these circumstances, Briggs does not present sufficient evidence such that a reasonable jury could conclude that the Postal Service's articulated nondiscriminatory reason was not its actual motivation in promoting Jendras. 27 Finally, Briggs has been unable to create a genuine issue of material fact as to pretext by showing that Jendras's greater educational and environmental experience and his poor interview were insufficient to motivate the Postal Service to promote Jendras over him. The uncontroverted evidence shows that Pickard and the review board viewed Jendras as a better fit for the ECS position because of her greater education and experience and her more successful interview. 28 Briggs places a great deal of emphasis upon two points, which he alleges constitute evidence of pretext. First, Briggs argues that the Postal Service deviated from several policies and standard procedures in the ECS selection process. Appellant Br. at 19. However Briggs himself admits that this environmental compliance reorganization process had to occur in a very short time frame. J.A. at 106 (Briggs Dep. at 39). The Postal Service has offered reasonable explanations for any minor deviations from established procedure, see Appellee Br. at 26-30, and Briggs has not explained how any of these alleged procedural irregularities prejudiced him in the selection process or indicate any dishonesty or bad faith on behalf of the Postal Service. Williams v. Columbus Metro. Hous. Auth., 90 Fed. Appx. 870, 876 (6th Cir.2004) (unpublished opinion). [T]he inconsistencies cited by [Briggs] relate entirely to matters of process and have no bearing on [defendant's] reasons for not promoting [him]. Id. at 877. Briggs also repeatedly asserts that he believes that he was more qualified than Jendras, primarily because he had worked for the Postal Service longer and because he felt his answers to the KSA's were objectively superior to hers. Appellant Br. at 35. Briggs's subjective view of [his] qualifications in relation to those of the other applicants, without more, cannot sustain a claim of discrimination. Hedrick v. Western Reserve Care Sys., 355 F.3d 444, 462 (6th Cir.2004). Briggs has not produced evidence such that a reasonable jury could conclude that the Postal Service's proffered reasons for hiring Jendras constituted a pretext for illegal age discrimination, and so we affirm the district court's grant of summary judgment to the Postal Service on Briggs's age-discrimination claim.