Opinion ID: 706991
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The wage discrimination claim

Text: 56 The district court accepted the City's explanations that Allman's seniority and additional responsibilities explained the 24% pay differential between them and granted the City's motion for summary judgment on Randle's wage discrimination claim. Moreover, the district court ruled further that Randle did not offer any evidence that this reason was pretextual. Randle argues that she set out four such reasons: (1) an expert opined that the seniority differential only accounts for 6% of the differential if one looked just at the inflation factor which was utilized in some labor pay plans; (2) the City and Allman acknowledged that Randle shares 90% of the responsibilities assumed by Allman; (3) Randle and Allman share the identical job title; and (4) other white employees (i.e., the newly hired Richards and the more senior, Gilmore) were not subject to such disparities upon assuming a new position. Moreover, Randle points out that Carney initially explained that the pay differential was due entirely to Allman's seniority (the only reason for pay differential is the fact that Allman was employed for City for a year and a half longer than Randle), and now the City suggests that the differential also results from different job responsibilities--a shifting of explanations which Randle claims adds force to her pretext argument. 57 In addition to asserting its proffered non-discriminatory reasons for the wage differential, the City again argues that the: 58 burden falls on Randle to show that racial discrimination actually motivated the City. Durham v. Xerox Corp., 18 F.3d 836, 839 (10th Cir.) [, cert. denied, [--- U.S. ----] 115 S.Ct. 80 [130 L.Ed.2d 33] (1994) ]. Despite having ample opportunity, Randle has failed to do so. She can point to no comments on her race or her national origin during her employment, nor can she point to any other [direct] evidence.... 59 Br. of Aplee at 23. While it is undeniably true that at trial Randle must prove intentional race discrimination, she can do so with either direct or inferential proof. As we pointed out previously, at the summary judgment stage, Randle can establish a sufficient possible inference of discriminatory intent by demonstrating that there is a genuine dispute as to whether the reasons offered for the challenged employment decision were pretextual--e.g. that they were not the true motivating reasons defendant professed them to be. We conclude that Randle's four arguments and the evidence supporting them cast sufficient doubt on the City's proffered reasons for the wage differential so as to allow a reasonable jury to find that these explanations were pretextual--and thus, a reasonable jury might ultimately infer that these explanations were a pretext for racial discrimination. Thus, we reverse the district court's grant of summary judgment to the City on Randle's wage discrimination claim.