Opinion ID: 171316
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Band Placement

Text: Ms. Sanders and Ms. Brooks contend that SWBT was not justified in placing them in Band C based on their performance and qualifications relative to employees who were placed in higher bands. It is undisputed, however, that SWBT determined band placement based on an employee's most recent performance evaluation; that a notation on the performance evaluation from the employee's manager stating that the manager concur[s] with [the employee's] accomplishments as written or the achievements as documented was viewed by the Area Managers as demonstrating average performance warranting placement in Band C; and that the performance evaluations of Ms. Sanders and Ms. Brooks contained this notation. Unlike the evaluations of managers who were placed in Band A or Band B, neither of these plaintiffs' evaluations included comments from their supervisors indicating their performance was superior or above average as compared to his/her peers. To the extent these plaintiffs contend that they are more qualified or for other reasons should have been placed in a higher band, we have held that [i]t is the manager's perception of the employee's performance that is relevant, not plaintiff's subjective evaluation of his own relative performance, Furr v. Seagate Tech., Inc., 82 F.3d 980, 988 (10th Cir.1996), and that a plaintiff cannot defeat summary judgment by claiming that she would have been retained if different RIF criteria had been used. Beaird, 145 F.3d at 1169. Thus, the plaintiffs' claims on this point are not sufficient to demonstrate pretext. Because this is Mrs. Brooks's only argument on pretext, we affirm the district court's entry of summary judgment on both her age and sex discrimination claims. Further, because Ms. Coffey was the youngest person in the construction group's Band C, and because there is no evidence that her band placement was determined by her age, we affirm the district court's entry of summary judgment on her age discrimination claim. [6] Thus, the only remaining claims are Ms. Sanders's and Ms. Coffey's sex discrimination claims.