Opinion ID: 468573
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Supervisor's Testimony

Text: 11 During the trial Powell was allowed to introduce evidence that his supervisor, Jay McCann, had charged personal traffic tickets to the company and had made false statements to the company in violation of company policy in order to acquire funds to be used to construct a softball field. Powell offered this evidence to show disparate treatment. McCann had not been severely punished after his violations of company policy, 3 but Powell was discharged allegedly because he violated company policy when he removed the document. Rockwell argues that it was error to introduce this evidence because the evidence was irrelevant. Rockwell urges that the evidence did not show disparate treatment because the offenses of McCann and Powell were too dissimilar. 12 A trial court's ruling on relevancy of evidence will not be disturbed absent a clear showing of an abuse of discretion. United States v. Brown, 547 F.2d 1264, 1266 (5th Cir.1977). We do not find a clear abuse of discretion in the admission of this testimony. This evidence tends to show that the company has been lenient with another employee who engaged in violations of company policy involving a serious matter--falsification. The evidence was directly relevant, therefore, to the question of whether Powell was in fact discharged for violation of company policy in removing the document, or whether that reason was a mere pretext for retaliating against Powell for filing his ADEA complaint. 4 13 Rockwell contends that the McCann testimony was inadmissible under our holding in Marathon LeTourneau Co. v. NLRB, 699 F.2d 248 (5th Cir.1983). In Marathon, plaintiff claimed that he was fired as a result of antiunion animus. The employer countered that he was fired for excessive absenteeism. The employee sought to introduce a summary exhibit chart showing all discharges over a one year period and the reasons for the discharges. This summary was prepared from the company's personnel records. The ALJ refused to allow the admission of the chart, and this Court held that the ALJ did not abuse his discretion in not admitting the chart. 14 Marathon does not establish the inadmissibility of the evidence of McCann's violations of company rules. Marathon does not control under any of three separate analyses: First, Marathon did not hold, as Rockwell asks us to hold, that the ALJ abused his discretion in his evidentiary ruling. In the present case, the district court allowed the introduction of the evidence. Marathon does not stand for the proposition that such evidence cannot be admitted; it merely held on its facts that the ALJ did not abuse his discretion in not admitting the evidence. Indeed, Marathon made clear that although the summary chart was excluded, the underlying records were admissible ... A more probative exhibit or the actual records of employees could have been introduced. Id. at 254. 15 Second, the summary chart in Marathon was not relevant evidence because it was inadequate to prove the standards used by the company in justifying the discharge. The chart merely listed the discharges over a one year period and the reasons for the discharges. The reason given for the plaintiff's firing in Marathon was excessive absenteeism. The summary chart, however, did not quantify the absenteeism for which other employees were discharged. The court concluded, therefore, that the chart meant absolutely nothing. Id. By contrast, in the present case the fact that McCann was not punished severely for violations of company policy involving serious falsifications is clearly probative on the question of whether Powell's firing was motivated by his violation of company policy. This evidence is on its face relevant, and the jury properly was allowed to hear the evidence and draw its own conclusions as to whether the evidence indicated disparate treatment. 16 Finally, in Marathon all of the evidence contained in the summary chart was already admitted or could have been admitted in other forms. Id. In the present case, Rockwell sought to prohibit the introduction of all testimony concerning McCann's violations of company policy. Marathon stands only for the proposition that the ALJ in that case did not abuse his discretion in refusing to admit a summary chart into evidence when that summary chart was at best cumulative of the other evidence, and at worst meant absolutely nothing at all. In the present case, the McCann evidence was both probative and noncumulative. We hold that the district court did not abuse its discretion in admitting evidence concerning McCann's violations of company policy.