No Evidence Supports Employee's Pretext Argument
SENSKE v. SYBASE, INC. (December 3, 2009)
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Robert Senske joined Sybase as a Strategic Account Manager in 2002. He was 55 years old at the time. For two years, Senske's performance was marginal at best in most areas. He did outperform his financial goal in 2004, but only because he got partial credit for two large deals on which he had little input or contribution. He was particularly criticized for excessive tardiness and incomplete paperwork completion. In early 2005, he was put on a performance improvement plan. He was told to improve his business skills, to be more responsive, and to complete his paperwork in a timely manner. Instead of showing improvement, Senske's performance deteriorated during the performance improvement period -- and he was fired. Senske sued Sybase under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, alleging that he was fired as a result of his age. The district court granted summary judgment to Sybase. Senske appeals.
In their opinion, Judges Bauer, Kanne and Evans affirmed. Instead of enumerating the elements of a prima facie case under the indirect method, the Court proceeded directly to address the question of pretext. If Senske is unable to show that Sybase's stated reasons for his termination are pretextual, he also would not be able to establish that he was meeting his employer's legitimate expectations. The Court reviewed, in some detail, the evidence in the record of Senske's history of performance and Sybase's stated reasons for his termination. The Court concluded that Senske failed to present any evidence that the reasons given by Sybase for his termination were not sincere.
