Opinion ID: 2978649
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Reverse-sex discrimination

Text: Simpson’s first Title VII claim is that Vanderbilt discriminated against him because he is - 10 - No. 08-6548 Simpson v. Vanderbilt University male. To survive a motion for summary judgment, he must adduce either direct or circumstantial evidence of unlawful discrimination. See DiCarlo v. Potter, 358 F.3d 408, 414 (6th Cir. 2004). Because he has offered no direct evidence of discrimination, the McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting framework applies. See McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802 (1973); see also Tex. Dep’t of Cmty. Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 252-53 (1981); DiCarlo, 358 F.3d at 414. Under this framework, the plaintiff must first make out a prima facie case of discrimination, after which the burden shifts to the employer to proffer a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for its decision. Dews v. A.B. Dick Co., 231 F.3d 1016, 1020-21 (6th Cir. 2000). If the employer carries its burden, the plaintiff must then prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the employer’s proffered nondiscriminatory reason was pretextual. Id.; DiCarlo, 358 F.3d at 414-15. Throughout this burden-shifting process, “‘[t]he ultimate burden of persuading the trier of fact that the defendant intentionally discriminated against the plaintiff remains at all times with the plaintiff.’” DiCarlo, 358 F.3d at 415 (quoting Burdine, 450 U.S. at 253) (alteration in original). (a) Simpson has failed to establish a prima facie case of reverse-sex discrimination To establish a prima facie case of discrimination under Title VII, a plaintiff must show that he (1) is a member of a protected class; (2) was qualified for the job or promotion sought; (3) experienced an adverse employment action; and (4) was replaced by someone outside of the protected class or was treated differently than similarly situated employees outside the protected class. Arendale v. City of Memphis, 519 F.3d 587, 603 (6th Cir. 2008); see Leadbetter v. Gilley, 385 F.3d 683, 690 (6th Cir. 2004) (citing McDonnell Douglas, 411 U.S. at 792; Sutherland v. Mich. Dep’t of Treasury, 344 F.3d 603, 614 (6th Cir. 2003)). However, in so-called reverse-discrimination - 11 - No. 08-6548 Simpson v. Vanderbilt University cases, where a member of the majority group claims discrimination, we have modified the first and fourth prongs of the traditional prima facie test. See Leadbetter, 385 F.3d at 690. Under this modified analysis, “to satisfy the first prong of the prima facie case, the plaintiff must ‘demonstrate background circumstances [to] support the suspicion that the defendant is that unusual employer who discriminates against the majority.’” Sutherland, 344 F.3d at 614 (second set of internal quotation marks omitted) (quoting Zambetti v. Cuyahoga Cmty. Coll., 314 F.3d 249, 255 (6th Cir. 2002)). “To satisfy the fourth prong in such cases, the plaintiff must show that the defendant treated differently employees who were similarly situated but were not members of the protected class.” Id. However, we have expressly cautioned against letting these modifications “impermissibly impose a heightened pleading standard on majority victims of discrimination.” Zambetti, 314 F.3d at 257; see also Pierce v. Commonwealth Life Ins. Co., 40 F.3d 796, 801 n.7 (6th Cir. 1994) (“We have serious misgivings about the soundness of a test which imposes a more onerous standard for plaintiffs who are white or male than for their non-white or female counterparts.”). The district court correctly held that Simpson’s prima facie case of reverse-sex discrimination failed on the fourth prong because he failed to provide adequate evidence of a similarly situated female employee being treated more favorably. In an affidavit, Simpson presented allegations about a female staff nurse, Dorothy Terrell, who supposedly failed to chart a patient assigned to her for an entire shift, but was not terminated. As a threshold matter, this evidence cannot be considered on summary judgment because it is inadmissible hearsay. See Jacklyn v. Schering-Plough Healthcare Prods. Sales Corp., 176 F.3d 921, 927 (6th Cir. 1999) (“Hearsay evidence may not be considered on summary judgment.”) (citing Wiley v. United States, 20 F.3d 222, 226 (6th Cir. 1994)); see also - 12 - No. 08-6548 Simpson v. Vanderbilt University Quinn-Hunt v. Bennett Enters., Inc., 211 F. App’x 452, 458 (6th Cir. 2006) (excluding inadmissible hearsay evidence about comparable employees on summary judgment). Regardless, even considering the hearsay testimony, Simpson failed to establish that Terrell was similarly situated to him. This Court has held that to be similarly situated, the comparable employee must have engaged in acts of “comparable seriousness.” See Clayton v. Meijer, Inc., 281 F.3d 605, 611-12 (6th Cir. 2002). Simpson’s failure to chart four patients is more egregious on its face than Terrell’s alleged failure to chart one patient. “[An] employer’s more severe treatment of more egregious circumstances simply cannot give rise to an inference which would support the establishment of a prima facie case of discrimination.” Id. at 612. (b) Simpson has failed to establish pretext Even if we were to find that Simpson established a prima facie case of reverse-sex discrimination, his claim would still fail because he cannot establish that the legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason Vanderbilt gave for terminating him—failure to chart his patients—was pretextual. To establish pretext, a plaintiff must show that an employer’s stated reason: (1) had no basis in fact; (2) did not actually motivate the challenged conduct; or (3) was insufficient to explain the challenged conduct. Manzer v. Diamond Shamrock Chems. Co., 29 F.3d 1078, 1084 (6th Cir. 1994). Regardless of which option is chosen, the plaintiff must produce “‘sufficient evidence from which the jury could reasonably reject [the defendants’] explanation and infer that the defendants intentionally discriminated against him.’” Johnson v. Kroger Co., 319 F.3d 858, 866 (6th Cir. 2003) (alteration in original) (quoting Braithwaite v. Timken Co., 258 F.3d 488, 493 (6th Cir. 2001)). If the employer had “an honest belief in its proffered nondiscriminatory reason for discharging an - 13 - No. 08-6548 Simpson v. Vanderbilt University employee,” as evidenced by showing that its decision to discharge the employee was reasonably informed and considered, “the employee cannot establish that the reason was pretextual simply because it is ultimately shown to be incorrect.” Sybrandt v. Home Depot, U.S.A., Inc., 560 F.3d 553, 559 (6th Cir. 2009) (quoting Majewski v. Automatic Data Processing, Inc., 274 F.3d 1106, 1117 (6th Cir. 2001)). It is undisputed that Araque and Stinson investigated the events that occurred on December 13, 2006, by interviewing Simpson, Houston, and several other employees before concluding that certain required documentation on Simpson’s patients was missing. It is also undisputed that the electronic charting on Simpson’s four patients was not completed, and that it was at least partially his responsibility to chart those patients. Although Simpson argues that Vanderbilt’s “honest belief” in its decision is undercut by the fact that Araque only looked at the electronic records and regarded Simpson with anti-male animus, his own unsupported speculation that Vanderbilt’s charges were trumped up is not enough. See Peters v. Lincoln Elec. Co., 285 F.3d 456, 470 (6th Cir. 2002) (“‘[M]ere conjecture that [the] employer’s explanation is a pretext for intentional discrimination is an insufficient basis for denial of summary judgment.’” (second alteration in original) (quoting Carney v. Cleveland Heights-Univ. Heights Sch. Dist., 758 N.E.2d 234, 245 (Ohio Ct. App. 2001))). Finally, even if Simpson could show pretext, his claim still fails because he cannot establish that the real reason for his termination was discrimination. See St. Mary’s Honor Ctr. v. Hicks, 509 U.S. 502, 515 (1993) (“[A] reason cannot be proved to be ‘a pretext for discrimination’ unless it is shown both that the reason was false, and that discrimination was the real reason.”). Therefore, the district court correctly granted summary judgment on Simpson’s reverse-sex discrimination claim. - 14 - No. 08-6548 Simpson v. Vanderbilt University