Opinion ID: 766905
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Green's Disparate Treatment Claim

Text: 24 National asserts that it terminated Green's employment because she worked several hours of unauthorized overtime after she was directed that her supervisor must approve all overtime in advance; she removed and altered company property (the Referral List and the ERT test), and she manipulated personnel records regarding her employment history. Before the trial judge, National submitted computer records, affidavits, and deposition testimony supporting its reasons for terminating Green's employment. 25 Green contests the company's reasons for discharging her, claiming that she did not participate in any of the activities of which she is accused. She states that Simpson authorized her to work overtime and that she was authorized to take certain company documents home with her, including the ERT test and Referral List, as she had done in the past. Green also denies that she manipulated any information in her employment files. She therefore believes that there exist genuine issues of material fact that preclude summary judgment. 26 Green's bald assertions that she did not engage in the misbehavior alleged by the company are insufficient to create a material dispute. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247-48, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2509-10, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). To survive a motion for summary judgment, [Green] had to counter the company's affidavits with materials of evidentiary quality (such as affidavits or depositions) that created an issue of fact as to whether the reasons offered by the company were sincere--in [ADA] lingo, not pretextual--or other, discriminatory reasons had played a role in motivating the actions. Russell v. Acme-Evans Co., 51 F.3d 64, 67 (7th Cir. 1995) (citations omitted). Under the law of this Circuit, to defeat National's summary judgment motion Green must provide more than her unsupported pronouncement that National was mistaken. See id. at 68 (If pretext meant simply mistake, a plaintiff's testimony could go far to create a genuine issue of material fact in these cases. But neither in ordinary language nor in the law does it mean a mistake. It means a lie, specifically a phony reason for some action.). 27 This Court has long championed an employer's right to make its own business decisions, even if they are wrong or bad. Therefore, regardless of whether it is correct in its beliefs, if an employer acted in good faith and with an honest belief, we will not second-guess its decisions. See, e.g., Kariotis v. Navistar Int'l Transportation Corp., 131 F.3d 672, 677 (7th Cir. 1997). See also Gustovich v. AT & T Communications, Inc., 972 F.2d 845, 848 (7th Cir. 1992). 28 In Kariotis, the employer terminated an employee who was on disability leave at the time, claiming that it had evidence that the employee had fraudulently accepted disability benefits and that she was less than truthful with the company when confronted with the allegations of fraud. The employee, who vehemently denied involvement in any such activity, sued her former employer under the ADA, arguing that the company's reasons for terminating her were a pretext for disability discrimination. Affirming the district court's dismissal of the employee's ADA claims, we explained that it is insufficient for an employee to take issue with the accuracy of the employer's reasons for engaging in an adverse employment action: 29 To successfully challenge the honesty of the company's reasons she must specifically rebut those reasons. But an opportunity for rebuttal is not an invitation to criticize the employer's evaluation process or simply to question its conclusion about the quality of an employee's performance. Rather, rebuttal must include facts tending to show that the employer's reasons for some negative job action are false, thereby implying (if not actually showing) that the real reason is illegal discrimination. 30 Kariotis, 131 F.3d at 677. We held in Kariotis that although the company may well have been mistaken in its beliefs about its employee and perhaps should have conducted a more thorough investigation, there was insufficient evidence from which to conclude that the employer did not honestly believe that the employee had committed fraud. 31 Even assuming, for the sake of argument, that there are legitimate factual disputes as to whether Green engaged in the behaviors for which National claims she was terminated, Green can only prevail in this case if she demonstrates that National did not in good faith believe the reasons it provided for discharging Green. Although there may be room to argue that there are factual disputes over whether Green was authorized to work overtime or to take company documents home, there is no question that Green's employment records were changed in the computer and that a letter was missing from her personnel file. The real issue then becomes whether National had a good faith basis to believe that Green was the responsible party. 32 In Green's case, the undisputed evidence shows that National had provided only Green and three others with the computer identification code used to alter the records, that Green was on duty on all three relevant dates, and that she was the only human resources clerk in the office on one of the three dates. It is also undisputed that Green was the only person at National who served to benefit from the changes made to her personnel records. In fact, had the changes gone unnoticed, Green would have been entitled to earlier retirement, additional vacation time, and elevated seniority over twenty-five other bargaining unit employees. 33 It is a distraction for Green to argue about the accuracy of National's assessment of her involvement in the alleged behavior because that is not the determinative issue. See Kariotis, 131 F.3d at 677, citing Brill v. Lante Corp., 119 F.3d 1266, 1273 (7th Cir. 1997). As we explained in analyzing the ADA claim in Kariotis, it simply does not matter whether Green actually manipulated her records so long as National had a good faith basis to believe that she had done so. There is no evidence in the record disputing National's honest belief that Green was the one who had changed her personnel records. Under the circumstances, it was reasonable for National to conclude that Green had altered the documents. Not only did Green have a motive, access, and opportunity, but she also failed to provide any explanation why any of the other three clerks with the identification code would risk their jobs to change her personal employment data that seemed to benefit her alone. Additionally, the fact that National knew of Green's physical and emotional difficulties when it rehired her in 1993 makes the possibility that its reasons for terminating her were a pretext for disability discrimination even less likely. We hold that the Magistrate Judge's entry of summary judgment for National on Green's claim that she was terminated because of her disability in violation of the ADA was proper. 34 National presented evidence that any of the three reasons it offers for terminating Green, standing alone, would be sufficient grounds for termination. Because we hold that there is no evidence demonstrating that National did not actually believe that Green manipulated the records, we need not discuss the adequacy of proof offered on the other two reasons provided for her termination. 5