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Dorrego v. Public Health Trust of Miami Dade County
17 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. D39a (S.D.Fla. October 24, 2003)
Plaintiff Dorrego brought suit against his employer for violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for failing to promote him because of his national origin. The issue before the court was defendant's motion for summary judgment. Plaintiff applied for the "commercial account executive" (CAE) job, a new position that was created in his department. Defendant's intent was to create a new job for each of the employees in the marketing department. Plaintiff was selected for an interview for the CAE job but Reeves, another candidate for the CAE position, was hired instead and Defendant was offered a new position at a lower rate of pay than his then-current employment yielded. Plaintiff established a prima facie case of discrimination by showing he was of Hispanic ancestry, he was qualified for and applied for the CAE position, he was rejected for it and Reeves, who was not Hispanic, was selected. Plaintiff conceded that Defendant met its burden in establishing a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for failure to promote the plaintiff.
Plaintiff then argued that defendant made derogatory comments about other workers of Hispanic descent. However, the court found that evidence of those remarks were too attenuated in that they were not directed to the plaintiff specifically and were uttered three years prior to plaintiff's application for the CAE position. Plaintiff also asserted that he was "arguably more qualified" than Reeves. The court, however, found that did not meet the standard that disparities in qualifications must be one that "jumps off the page and slaps you in the face." Next, plaintiff argued that Reeves' preselection was evidence of pretext. Both parties stipulated that Reeves was the leading candidate at the outset of the selection process. The court found this evidence to be only neutral, at best.
After a review of the entire record, the court found that plaintiff did not show that defendant's proffered nondiscriminatory reasons for not promoting him were a mere pretext for discrimination based on national origin, in violation of Title VII. The circumstantial evidence of the anti-Hispanic remarks, without more, was insufficient to create an issue as to a material fact on pretext. Defendant's motion for summary judgment was granted.
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