“There is no dispute that Lewis was Wood’s direct supervisor and was responsible for Wood’s performance evaluations and implementation of disciplinary actions…. Woods pay and any raises were merit-based and dependent on performance reviews done by Lewis. There is additional evidence … that Lewis had refused to communicate with Wood and had removed some of
Age discrimination
The stray remarks doctrine can only be applied after the court determines that the plaintiff has failed to produce substantial evidence of pretext.
“Here, the district court applied the stray remarks doctrine before determining whether the plaintiff had failed to produce substantial evidence of pretext and then refused to consider those remarks in determining pretext.”
E.E.O.C. v. DynMcDermott Petroleum Ops. Co., 537 Fed. Appx. 437, 443 (5th Cir. July 26, 2013) (Davis, Graves, and Higginson, JJ.).
Along with evidence of pretext, statements after termination that an employee would be fine because she was old enough to receive Social Security and was an old lady slow to make decisions constitutes evidence of age discrimination.
“[Employee] told Plaintiff that she would be okay financially because she was old enough to receive Social Security benefits … [and] that training Plaintiff was ‘not a priority’ and that she and [Employee] were ‘old ladies’ who were ‘slow to make decisions’ … [T]he statements are evidence that, combined with other evidence discussed above, raises…
Where three of six employees interviewed corroborate that something racially offensive was stated, this was sufficient evidence to create a summary judgment question.
“Plaintiffs presented evidence showing that at least three … out of the six employees present in the break room heard Koopman say something that could have been perceived as racially offensive… Viewing this evidence in the light most favorable to Plaintiffs, the Court finds that Plaintiffs have presented sufficient evidence to create a fact issue….”…
In ADEA cases, plaintiff’s replacement does not have to be under the age of forty.
“Because the ADEA prohibits discrimination on the basis of age and not class membership, the fact that a replacement is substantially younger than the plaintiff is a far more reliable indicator of age discrimination than is the fact that the plaintiff was replaced by someone outside the protected class.”
Huske v. Tyson Foods, Inc.,…
A disputed account as to whether supervisor said employee was “too old” and supervisor was “not comfortable” with promoting employee because he was so much older can constitute direct evidence.
“Mr. Obasogie claims that, when he asked his supervisor, Frank Baldwin, why he had not been promoted, Mr. Baldwin told him that he was ‘too old’ and that he was ‘not comfortable’ as Mr. Obasogie’s manager because Mr. Obasogie was ‘too much older than him…. The Court believes that the comments could constitute direct evidence…
An employee may establish a prima facie cause of age discrimination by presenting evidence that her hours were gradually reduced while younger employees’ remained the same, she was discharged, and the younger employees were trained to move into her position.
“Hall presented evidence that younger employees were trained to move into positions that assumed the duties of the food prep position—a position that Hall presented evidence was being phased out of RDSL’s corporate structure. Hall further presented evidence that unlike her younger counterparts, she was not trained for this new position. This evidence is the…