Court Opinion

ID: 9495634
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 16:07:34.768216+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:57:07.919248
License: Public Domain

MOORE, Circuit Judge,
dissenting in part.
I dissent with respect to the majority’s disposition of Lautermilch’s equal protection claim because Principal Kathleen Crates’s comment that Lautermilch was “too macho,” made at the time she informed him of the decision to deny him future opportunities as a substitute teacher, constitutes direct evidence of sex discrimination sufficient to defeat the Schools’ motion for summary judgment. The majority improperly upholds the district court’s grant of summary judgment, concluding that any reasonable person would determine that Principal Crates’s remark was merely “critical of Lautermilch’s behavior, not his sex or gender.” In rejecting Lautermilch’s equal protection claim under § 1983, the majority holds that one “offhand comment” does not “requiref ] the conclusion that unlawful discrimination was at least a motivating factor in the employer’s actions.” The majority ignores the key facts that the “too macho” comment was made by the decision-maker at the termination hearing.
“[D]irect evidence is that evidence which, if believed, requires the conclusion that unlawful discrimination was at least a motivating factor in the employer’s actions.” Laderach v. U-Haul of Northwestern Ohio, 207 F.3d 825, 829 (6th Cir.2000) *277(quotation omitted). When a plaintiff comes forth with credible direct evidence of gender discrimination, “the burden of persuasion shifts to the defendant to show it would have terminated the plaintiff’ absent the discriminatory motive. Jacklyn v. Schering-Plough Healthcare Prods. Sales Corp., 176 F.3d 921, 926 (6th Cir.1999). The majority appears to hold that the “too macho” comment by the decision-maker at the termination hearing does not constitute direct evidence, and even if it were direct evidence the majority concludes that Lautermilch has failed to show pretext. The Supreme Court, however, has made it abundantly clear that the McDonnell Douglas test does not apply where the plaintiff presents direct evidence of discrimination. See Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Thurston, 469 U.S. 111, 121, 105 S.Ct. 613, 83 L.Ed.2d 523 (1985). This is so because “[t]he shifting burdens of proof set forth in McDonnell Douglas are designed to assure that the ‘plaintiff [has] his day in court despite the unavailability of direct evidence.’ ” Id. (citation omitted).
The Equal Protection Clause prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender— which includes discrimination against males. See generally Craig v. Boren, 429 U.S. 190, 197-98, 97 S.Ct. 451, 50 L.Ed.2d 397 (1976) (applying intermediate scrutiny to statute discriminating against males). According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word “macho” has its origins in the Spanish language and is defined as “a man; [specifically] a ‘tough guy.’ ” 9 Oxford English Dictionary 160 (2d ed.1989).1 In direct contrast to the majority, I contend that it is precisely because the gender-based comment was made by the ultimate decision-maker “in the context of a termination hearing,” that one reasonably can infer that gender was a motivating factor in Principal Crates’s decision. Moreover, the commonplace usage of the word “macho” refers exclusively to behaviors or qualities associated with the male gender. Both the nature of the comment and the manner in which it was delivered suggest that summary judgment was improper because a reasonable juror could find by a preponderance of the evidence that Lautermilch’s gender “was at least a motivating factor in the employer’s actions.” Laderach, 207 F.3d at 829.
Suppose Principal Crates had said to an African-American substitute teacher that the Schools were unable to utilize his services because he was “too black,” or that she had failed to employ a particular female teacher because she was “too feminine.” Under these circumstances it is relatively clear that the majority would have reached a different result. See generally Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, 490 U.S. 228, 235, 109 S.Ct. 1775, 104 L.Ed.2d 268 (1989) (permitting a woman to prove that her gender played a part in an adverse employment decision through statements including that she was not “feminine” enough to become a partner and that she was “macho”); Pivirotto v. Innovative Sys., Inc., 191 F.3d 344, 355 (3d Cir.1999) (noting that Title VII plaintiffs should not have to prove that they were replaced by someone outside their class because sex discrimination nonetheless can exist when an employer favors some gender-based *278characteristics within a sex over others); Nichols v. Azteca Rest. Enters., Inc., 256 F.3d 864, 874 (9th Cir.2001) (applying Pnce Waterhouse to a situation where a man is accused of behaving too femininely). The Principal’s word choice, telling Lautermilch that he would not be rehired as a substitute teacher because he was “too macho,” as opposed to telling him he was “too male,” should not be the basis for a different finding. Moreover, the fact that Lautermilch was punished for exhibiting an ordinarily favored gender stereotype, maleness, should not distinguish this case from one where the punishment is for failing to live up to an accepted gender role. Cf. Pivirotto, 191 F.3d at 355 (including within the definition of discrimination situations where “[a]n employer may act on gender-based stereotypes, firing women it perceives as not feminine enough (or as too feminine), or discharging women who are too aggressive while not doing the same to male employees”).
Both Price Waterhouse and the current situation involve employees accused of behaving “too manly” — in the former case a female plaintiff was told to act more like a woman and in the instant case a male plaintiff was told to act less like a man. See Price Waterhouse, 490 U.S. at 235, 109 S.Ct. 1775. This is directly analogous to a situation where a woman and a man are both discriminated against for behaving too femininely. See Nichols, 256 F.3d at 874. The only marked difference is that in Price Waterhouse and Nichols the plaintiffs are not conforming to gender stereotypes, whereas in the current situation Lautermilch is allegedly exhibiting too much of the male gender stereotype when his behavior is described as “too macho.” Because I believe it is inconsistent to protect a woman from discrimination on the basis that she is not acting “like a woman” or conversely acts “too much like a woman,” while failing to protect a man accused of acting “too manly,” I respectfully dissent. Under either scenario the plaintiff is suffering sex discrimination by the application of harmful gender stereotypes.
When a plaintiff comes forth with direct evidence of gender discrimination, the defendant has the burden of persuasion to show that it would have terminated the plaintiff absent the discriminatory motive. Jacklyn, 176 F.3d at 926. In the instant direct evidence case, questions of fact remain. See, e.g., Weberg v. Franks, 229 F.3d 514, 526 (6th Cir.2000) (holding that racially discriminatory statements that serve as direct evidence of discrimination create genuine issues of material fact). I do not contest that the Schools certainly have produced some evidence of Lauter-milch’s impropriety with the students. Nonetheless, a quintessential fact question remains regarding what actually motivated Principal Crates in her decision to terminate Lautermilch. This question is one for the trier of fact to resolve, not for the court on a motion for summary judgment.

. The definition continues: "also, manliness, virility; an impression of this.” 9 Oxford English Dictionary 160 (2d ed.1989). The adjective use of "macho” is defined as "[ojsten-tatiously or notably manly or virile.” Id.; see also Merriam Webster Online, at http:// www.m-w.com/home.htm (last visited Dec. 17, 2002) ("macho” defined as "aggressively virile”). Further definitions of "macho” include: "assertive or aggressive manliness” and "an assertively virile, dominating, or domineering male.” Random House Unabridged Dictionary 1152 (2d ed.1993).