Opinion ID: 2995305
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Poor-manager rationale.

Text: Olsen commits similar errors in his attempts to rebut Mid-State’s assertion that he was a poor manager. He argues that Mid-State’s poor-manager rationale has no factual basis but fails to sufficiently contradict salient facts that provide support for Mid-State’s explanation. For example, Olsen claims that his relations with branch employees had improved by the date of his termination. He does not dispute, however, that in October 1997 several Mauston branch employees called a meeting during which they expressed to Olsen their concerns about his lack of leadership in the sales arena, encroaching management style, and poor customer relations skills. And, despite Olsen’s unsubstantiated assertion to the contrary, there is evidence that at least one of the employees continued to express concerns about his managerial style until the date of his termination, ultimately suggesting to her supervisors that she would resign if Olsen continued to misuse her time and abilities. Even assuming that Olsen has presented evidence from which a jury could conclude that his employee relations had improved (and he has not), the undisputed evidence clearly provides factual support for Mid-State’s assertion. And because there is some factual basis for Mid-State’s belief that Olsen was a poor manager, there is no legal basis for us to conclude that a reasonable factfinder could find its explanation a pretext for discrimination. See Adreani, 154 F.3d at 399. Olsen also implicitly argues that the employee-called meeting was a sham and, therefore, could not have served as a basis for Mid-State’s poor-manager rationale. In support of his argument, he points to the fact that the employees called the meeting at Schaller’s suggestion. The undisputed evidence shows that it was only after the employees complained to Schaller about Olsen that Schaller suggested they schedule a meeting with Olsen to discuss their concerns. So it is not clear from the record whether, but for Schaller’s suggestion, the employees would have called the meeting. The fact that Schaller encouraged the employees to call a meeting, however, has no bearing on whether Mid-State honestly believed the substance of the employees’ complaints. In their complaints to Schaller and in their subsequent meeting with Olsen, at least two employees expressed that they felt Olsen was dumping his work on them and that his spotty knowledge of Mid-State products often left him unable to answer their questions. They also told Olsen about instances where he had improperly completed paperwork for customers or improperly handled accounts and that his over-use of industry jargon made it difficult for customers to understand him. Olsen does not dispute the accuracy of the employees’ complaints nor the fact that the decision-makers were aware of them. Therefore, a reasonable factfinder could not say that Mid-State, which was entitled to accept the employees’ complaints as true and rely on them in assessing Olsen’s competency, had no basis for believing that Olsen was a poor manager. See Adreani, 154 F.3d at 399. Olsen’s remaining attempts to show pretext also fail./4 Because the points Olsen asserts would not lead a reasonable jury to question Mid-State’s honest belief in its poor-performance and poor- manager explanations, summary judgment for the defendants was appropriate. See Velasco, 246 F.3d at 1017 (stating that a plaintiff cannot withstand summary judgment if he fails to create a triable issue of fact with respect to each of his employer’s legitimate reasons).