Opinion ID: 776543
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Overview of Appeal

Text: 7 This case comes from Borg-Warner's firing of Plaintiff Thomas Cicero from his job as human resources manager. In giving Borg-Warner summary judgment, the district court misread the requirements for establishing a prima facie case of discrimination set forth in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). 8 In deciding that the district court erroneously granted summary judgment, we first examine whether Cicero showed all of the elements necessary to establish a prima facie case of discrimination under the McDonnell Douglas analysis. The district court found that Cicero did not show that he was qualified, an element of the prima facie case. We find the district court erred when it made this ruling. 9 After finding that Cicero was qualified, we next look to whether Borg-Warner comes forward with a nondiscriminatory justification for firing Cicero. Because Borg-Warner does come forward with a nondiscriminatory justification, we then consider if Cicero shows evidence sufficient to make out an issue that Borg-Warner's justification is a pretext.