Employee Failed To Provide Evidence That She Was Terminated Because Of Her Age And Not Her Poor Performance
Lynn Faas worked as a store general manager for Sears, Roebuck & Co. until she was fired. Faas then filed suit against Sears, claiming that Sears wrongfully terminated her employment in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) The district court granted summary judgment to Sears, which claimed that it had not dismissed Faas because of her age, but as a result of her consistently poor performance and for poorly executing two key marketing events.
On appeal, Faas did not dispute that she had a track record of sub-par leadership and customer service. Rather, she insisted that Sears was lying when it claimed that she was terminated for her poor performance and for botching the promotional events because Sears disparately applied its performance expectations. Specifically, Faas alleged that younger store managers with similar performance problems were given a chance to improve, while older store managers were disciplined and terminated.
The 7th Circuit found Faas's disparate treatment argument untenable because she had not come forward with evidence that the store general managers who escaped reprimand shared a “comparable set of failings” with her.
Faas v. Sears, Roebuck & Co.
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals’ jurisdiction includes Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.