Opinion ID: 790139
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Termination in violation of Title VII and the MHRA

Text: 26 [T]he proof necessary to establish a prima facie case in discrimination cases is `not inflexible' and `varies somewhat with the specific facts of each case.' Young v. Warner-Jenkinson Co., Inc., 152 F.3d 1018, 1022 (8th Cir.1998) (quoting Hindman v. Transkrit Corp., 145 F.3d 986, 990-91 (8th Cir.1998)). In order to establish a prima facie case of discrimination on the part of ESA in terminating Pope, Pope must show that: (1) he is a member of a protected group; (2) he was qualified for his position; (3) he was discharged; and (4) the discharge occurred under circumstances giving rise to an inference of discrimination. See Davenport v. Riverview Gardens Sch. Dist., 30 F.3d 940, 944-45 (8th Cir.1994). A plaintiff can prove the fourth element by showing that he was replaced by someone with similar qualifications. See Putman v. Unity Health Sys., 348 F.3d 732, 736 (8th Cir.2003). 27 The burden of establishing a prima facie case of employment discrimination is not onerous. Davenport, 30 F.3d at 944. Pope has made the requisite showing of a prima facie case of employment discrimination. It is undisputed that Pope is a member of a protected group and that he was terminated. Further, Pope was qualified for his position and was discharged under circumstances giving rise to an inference of discrimination because ESA filled his position with someone having Pope's qualifications. 28 ESA points to the alleged timecard fraud, the shortages in the petty cash and the back-up drawer, and the poor performance by Pope as legitimate, nondiscriminatory justifications for his termination. Pope attempts to prove that ESA's proffered justifications are pretextual in two ways. 29 First, buttressed by Brown's deposition testimony, Pope argues that he did, in fact, relieve Brown on January 4, 2002. He claims that he simply failed to log in to the computer under his own password and, instead, remained logged in under Brown's password. Pope contends that the alleged timecard fraud ultimately was disproved and that, as a result, ESA's reliance on it as a justification for his termination constitutes pretext. 30 The issue before the Court, however, is not whether ESA's conclusions about the alleged timecard fraud were correct; instead, the issue is whether ESA conducted a thorough investigation of the timecard-fraud incident and whether it made credibility determinations reasonably and in good faith. See Euerle-Wehle v. United Parcel Serv., 181 F.3d 898, 900 (8th Cir.1999). We conclude ESA did so. Hulet considered Pope's explanation but found it incredible in light of what Current told him about Pope fixing Brown's overtime pay, the fact that Brown continued to be logged in to the computer beyond the time that Pope claimed he relieved Brown, and the fact that Brown's name, not Pope's, appeared on the cashier's report envelope submitted at the end of the day. Based on the combination of the apparent timecard fraud, Pope's dismissive attitude toward Brown's missing six minutes, shortages in the petty cash and the back-up drawer, the inadequate training of hotel personnel, and the problems revealed in the December inspection of the Bloomington hotel, Hulet decided that the best course of action was termination. The alleged timecard fraud became the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. See Dhyne v. Meiners Thriftway, Inc., 184 F.3d 983, 989 (8th Cir.1999). Pope has produced no evidence showing Hulet did not believe Pope was guilty of misconduct. See Griffith v. City of Des Moines, 387 F.3d 733, 738 (8th Cir.2004); see also Waggoner v. City of Garland, Tex., 987 F.2d 1160, 1166 (5th Cir.1993) (To the extent [plaintiff's] summary judgment evidence relates to his innocence of the sexual harassment charge, it is irrelevant. He must, instead, produce evidence demonstrating that [his employer] did not in good faith believe the allegations, but relied on them in a bad faith pretext to discriminate against him. . . .). 31 Pope also attempts to prove that ESA's proffered justification with respect to the petty-cash issue was a pretext by pointing to alleged disparate treatment of white ESA managers charged with similar shortages. In one incident, a white female general manager was fired for taking petty cash for non-business purposes after being given three written and one or two verbal warnings for performance issues. In another incident, a white male general manager was issued a written warning for taking $360 from the safe and cash drawer for non-business use. 32 A plaintiff may demonstrate pretext by showing that he was treated less favorably than similarly-situated employees outside of his protected group. E.E.O.C. v. Kohler Co., 335 F.3d 766, 775-76 (8th Cir.2003). The test for determining whether employees are similarly situated to a plaintiff is a rigorous one. Id. at 775. For discriminatory discipline claims, employees are similarly situated only when they are involved in or accused of the same offense and are disciplined in different ways. Wheeler v. Aventis Pharms., 360 F.3d 853, 858 (8th Cir.2004). Further, the plaintiff must show that he and those employees outside of his protected group were similarly situated in all relevant respects. Id. 33 Pope has failed to raise a triable question of material fact with respect to the issue of disparate treatment. He is not similarly situated to the white male general manager. That employee did not have Pope's history of mismanagement and was not accused of timecard fraud. In addition, Pope was actually treated in the same manner as the white female general manager. Both had prior performance issues, and both were terminated after a petty-cash discrepancy was found. 34 Accordingly, we conclude that Pope has failed to raise a triable question of material fact as to whether ESA's proffered justifications for not promoting him and for terminating him were pretextual. We therefore affirm the district court's summary judgment in favor of ESA as to Pope's race discrimination claims.