April 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 36

L AW R EV I EW

Assuming Mullen had
sufficiently alleged a case of
discrimination, the court stated
it would still conclude Mullen's
ADA claim should fail because
the Township had " offered a
legitimate, non-discriminatory
reason " for terminating his
employment.
In his ADA claim, Mullen had
argued the Township had become
fearful of his injuries and extended
time off and " used the snowplow
incident as a pretext to terminate
his employment. " The federal district court, however, found Mullen had produced " no evidence
to support this assertion. " On the
contrary, the court characterized
Mullen's claim as " pure conjecture " and " wholly insufficient "
to support an alleged violation of

34

Parks & Recreation

the ADA. As noted by the court,
" a plaintiff 's belief alone that he
is a victim of discrimination is
not enough to meet his burden of
proof " under the ADA. Moreover,
the court reiterated its finding that
" the Township granted Mullen's
requested accommodations " over
the course of his employment.
Accordingly, the court determined
Mullen was unable " to point to direct or circumstantial evidence of
discrimination " by the Township
based on his disability.

Pretext for Discrimination
Assuming Mullen had sufficiently alleged a case of discrimination, the court stated it would still
conclude Mullen's ADA claim
should fail because the Township
had " offered a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason " for terminating his employment, viz., Mullen's " use of the Township's snowplow to clear private property. "
To overcome this legitimate

| A P R I L 2 02 0 | PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N .O R G

non-discriminatory given for the
Township's decision, according to
the court, Mullen would have to
" present evidence that the Township's justification was pretextual. " In so doing, Mullen could not
discredit the Township's rationale
for its action by simply claiming the Township's decision was
" wrong or mistaken. " According
to the court, Mullen would have
to show the Township's decision
was motivated by " discriminatory animus, " not whether " the employer is wise, shrewd, prudent,
or competent. "
Within the context of the ADA,
the court noted that an employer's
otherwise legitimate justification
for its action would be considered
" pretextual " if the plaintiff could
" demonstrate such weaknesses,
implausibilities, inconsistencies,
incoherencies, or contradictions
in the employer's proffered legitimate reasons for its actions that a
reasonable fact finder could rationally find them unworthy of credence. " In this particular instance,
Mullen had claimed " the Township's proffered reason for the
termination - his use of a Township plow truck to plow private
property - was outlandish and
a smokescreen " for discrimination on the basis of disability. The
court rejected Mullen's argument.
While characterizing the Township's decision as " extremely
harsh, " the court found " nothing
implausible or incoherent about a
municipal entity deciding to terminate an employee who uses the
Township's property to benefit a
private property owner. " According to the court, Mullen had tried
to argue that the Township's decision to terminate him was " too



April 2020 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2020 - Parks & Recreation

April 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 1
April 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 2
April 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 3
April 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 4
April 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 5
April 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 6
April 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 7
April 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 8
April 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 9
April 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 10
April 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 11
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April 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 18
April 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 19
April 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 20
April 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 21
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April 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 25
April 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 26
April 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 27
April 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 28
April 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 29
April 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 30
April 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 31
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April 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 36
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April 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 59
April 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 60
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2020
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2019
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2017
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2016
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2015
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2015
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2014
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2012
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2012
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2011
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2010
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2010
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2009
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2009
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