You are the judge hearing a Motion for Summary judgment filed by an employer in the case of an employee who has been terminated.The employee was the sole African-American customer service representative at the firm,who had a lengthy record of good evaluations.However,she received more negative evaluations over a period of three years after a new supervisor was hired,and the more stringent requirements applied to her were not applied to white employees.After 3 years,the employee was then selected for termination in a downsizing based on the previous 3 years' evaluations.Based on this evidence,what should you decide?
A)you should grant summary judgment for the employer because the termination was based on performance appraisals rather than race
B)you should grant summary judgment for the employer because a discrimination claim based on performance appraisals going back three years was no longer timely
C)you should allow the employee to go to trial because African-Americans disproportionately received low performance ratings in this company
D)you should allow the employee to go to trial because the termination was based on performance appraisals that were tainted by consideration of the employee's race
E)none of the above

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The evidence presented suggests that the employee's negative evaluations and subsequent termination were the result of racial discrimination, as more stringent requirements were applied only to her and not to white employees. This would warrant allowing the employee to go to trial to further determine if race was a factor in her termination. Option A and B can be eliminated since the plaintiff's race being a factor in the negative evaluations and termination is not addressed. Option C may be a valid concern, but it is not explicitly stated in the evidence presented, so it cannot be considered compelling enough to warrant going to trial. Therefore, D is the best choice.

You Are the Judge Hearing a Motion for Summary Judgment