 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Pauly v. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railways12/14/2004
class; (2) was qualified for the position from which was discharged; and (3) was replaced by a non-member of the protected class." Hoover, 632 N.W.2d at 542 (quoting Feges v. Perkins Rests., Inc., 483 N.W.2d 701, 711 (Minn. 1992)). If the plaintiff is able to make out a prima facie case, the burden of production shifts to the defendant to produce admissible evidence sufficient to allow a trier of fact to conclude that there was a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for the discharge. Id. If a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason is provided, the burden shifts to the plaintiff to prove that the proffered reason is pretext for discrimination. Id.
The district court found that Pauly could not establish a prima facie claim of discrimination because he was not qualified for the position from which he was discharged. Pauly contends that the court erred in coming to this conclusion.
To establish that he is qualified for a position, a plaintiff need only establish that he met the "minimum objective qualifications for the job ." Id. at 544. The job bulletin for the position in question stated that applicants needed to be "proficient typist ." BNSF submitted an affidavit indicating that "proficient typist" is a term of art indicating that typing skills of 35-40 words per minute are required. In his brief, Pauly notes that the job bulletin does not define "proficient typist," but he does not challenge the contention that it requires 35-40 words per minute or that 10 words per minute is not "proficient." Instead, he argues that the typing requirement was pretext. But the issue of pretext is not even reached until a prima facie case has been established. Even viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to Pauly, there is no genuine issue of material fact regarding whether ten words per minute meets the minimum objective requirement of proficiency in typing. Accordingly, the court did not err in finding that Pauly was not qualified and in granting summary judgment for BNSF on the MHRA claim.
Affirmed.
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Minnesota Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|