Opinion ID: 2981425
Heading Depth: 6
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Gretchen Ingram

Text: Gulley asserts that Oakland County’s proffered reason for not permitting her to bump into the MEI position was pretextual because, “[w]hile arguing that Ms. Gulley did not have the requisite qualifications, Oakland County provided false documentation that Gretchen Ingram had the minimum qualifications.” (Gulley Br. at 18.) The “false documentation” to which Gulley refers is Ingram’s job application. During the discovery process in the instant action, Gulley deposed Ingram on April 26, 2010. (Dep. of Gretchen Ingram, Dist. Ct. Docket No. 22-24.) Ingram had been employed as an MEI for five years. Id. During the deposition, Ingram was questioned about her qualifications for the MEI position and whether she met the minimum qualifications for the job. Id. at 1–32. As Ingram testified, it became clear that she had not been entirely truthful on her application, and that if she had been truthful she would not have met the minimum qualifications for the MEI position. Id. Gulley concludes that Oakland County’s claim that it denied her request to bump into the MEI position is not credible because, “[t]he unrefuted and undeniable fact is that Oakland County employed Ms. Ingram and allowed her to work for over five years without the minimum qualifications.” (Gulley Br. at 19.) Gulley’s argument, however, misses the mark. 12 Case No. 11-1611 Gulley v. County of Oakland Leaving aside the inquiry as to whether Ingram is an appropriate comparator,7 it is not disputed that Oakland County was unaware that Ingram had lied on her application until that fact came to light in her April 2010 deposition. Ingram certified that the “statements made [on the application] were true, complete, and accurate to the best of [her] knowledge.” (Dep. of Gretchen Ingram, Dist. Ct. Docket 18-27, at 39: 3–12.) There is no evidence before us that would suggest that Oakland County had any reason not to believe Ingram and, once the County was informed of her testimony, it subpoenaed Ingram’s prior employment records, determined that she had in fact lied on her job application, and sought her termination. Oakland County was permitted to, and did, reasonably rely upon the particularized facts that were before it when it hired Ingram. Romans v. Mich. Dep’t of Human Servs., 668 F.3d 826, 839 (6th Cir. 2012) (“Defendant can overcome Plaintiff’s claims of pretext if it is ‘able to establish its reasonable reliance on the particularized facts that were before it at the time the decision was made.’”) (quoting Wright v. Murray Guard Inc., 455 F.3d 702, 707-08 (6th Cir. 2006)). Thus, we find that Oakland County easily overcomes Gulley’s claim of pretext related to Oakland County’s alleged preferential treatment of Ingram.