Opinion ID: 149766
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Prima Facie Case .Disparate-Treatment Claim

Text: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits an employer from discriminat[ing] against any individual ... because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(1). A Title VII plaintiff may satisfy his burden of establishing such discrimination either by presenting direct evidence of discriminatory actions by the defendant or by showing the existence of circumstantial evidence that creates an inference of discrimination. Direct evidence, if believed, requires a conclusion by the fact-finder that unlawful discrimination was at least a motivating factor for the employer's actions. See Wexler v. White's Fine Furniture, Inc., 317 F.3d 564, 570 (6th Cir.2003) ( en banc ). In this case, the only direct evidence of discrimination alleged in Younis's complaint consisted of the few disparaging comments made to Younis by Harvell, his flight instructor, and by Harvey, his subordinate first officer. Because the record wholly fails to link them in any way to the decision to terminate Younis, we conclude that those remarks do not constitute direct evidence of discrimination sufficient to prove a Title VII violation. To establish a claim of discrimination indirectly, i.e., by circumstantial evidence, a plaintiff must demonstrate (1) that he is a member of a protected class; (2) that he suffered an adverse employment action; (3) that he was qualified for the position; and (4) that a similarly-situated employee outside the protected class or classes was treated more favorably than he. See McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). The district court concluded that Younis was a member of a protected class and that he had suffered an adverse employment action. Without ruling on Younis's qualifications, the district court determined that even if Younis were qualified for his position, he had failed to make the requisite showing on the fourth factor. We agree. To show that other pilots who held the rank of captain were treated more favorably than he, Younis offered the affidavit of David Wallace, an African-American pilot who left Pinnacle's employment in September 2007. Wallace recounted discrimination that he believed he had suffered while flying for Pinnacle. It was offered to buttress Younis's assertions that Pinnacle favored its white pilots and subjected nonwhite pilots to more rigorous standards. However, in his affidavit, Wallace did not identify any particular white pilot as having received more favorable treatment than he or Younis did. His affidavit was, therefore, insufficient to satisfy the fourth prong of McDonnell Douglas. Younis also asserted that Jonathan Harvey, the first officer with whom he flew on several occasions, was treated more favorably with respect to pilot testing. But this argument was undercut by the fact that captains and first officers were not subject to the same testing standards. See Mitchell v. Toledo Hospital, 964 F.2d 577, 583 (6th Cir.1992) (to be deemed `similarly situated,' the individuals with whom the plaintiff seeks to compare his/her treatment must have dealt with the same supervisor, have been subject to the same standards and have engaged in the same conduct without such differentiating or mitigating circumstances that would distinguish their conduct or the employer's treatment of them for it). It is thus clear that Younis did not establish a Title VII violation circumstantially because he could not show that he was treated in all relevant respects less favorably than a similarly situated Pinnacle pilot at the rank of captain. The district court did not err in granting summary judgment on this basis.