Union Pacific Did Not Discriminate Against Complainant on the Basis of Gender
The Complainant raises two issues: 1) that she was denied a promotion and 2) dismissed from her position. She alleges that each of these events occurred based on her gender or for filing a prior complainant. She believes others were treated more favorably then she.
To prevail in a claim of gender bias, the Complainant bears the burden of proving, by a preponderance of the evidence, that (1) she is a member of a protected class; (2) she was qualified for the position; (3) she suffered “an adverse employment action because of her gender”; and (4) she was treated less favorably than other similarly situated employees outside her protected class. …show more content…
The Supreme Court wrote that disparate treatment is “the most easily understood type of discrimination.” IBT v. US, 431. U.S. 324,335 n 15 …show more content…
See Kenny v. Swift Transp., Inc., 347 F.3d 1041, 1044 (8th Cir. 2003). Complainant failed to follow important safety rules and her actions created a significant risk for a catastrophic accident. Ms. Adomeits comparators were excluded for cardinal rule infractions just as she was.
The burden thus falls on Complainant to show that the reason for denying her the position was not the true reason, but instead was pretext for discrimination, which she cannot do. Dixon v. Pulaski County Special School Dist., 578 F.3d 862, 868 (8th Cir. 2009). "[C]ourts will not second-guess an employer 's business decisions when determining whether the reason given for the [employment decision] was a pretext for discrimination." Moschetti v. Chicago, Central & Pacific R.R., 119 F.3d 707, 709 (8th Cir. 1997). There is no evidence Union Pacific harbored any discriminatory animus toward Complainant and Complainant has not shown Union Pacific 's reason was pretext for discrimination. Accordingly, Complainant 's discrimination claim fails and should be