November 2016 - Parks & Recreation - 30

L AW R E V I E W

guard Pension Commission members
denied on December 18, 2013, " due to
pending litigation. " Cirelli then amended his complaint on May 30, 2014, to include his claim for retaliation in addition
to his ADEA claim.
Summary Judgment
In his complaint, Cirelli alleged age discrimination, hostile work environment
and retaliation against the city of Wildwood. In addition to the city of Wildwood, Cirelli had also brought ADEA
claims against Leonetti and Stocks individually. Cirelli subsequently acknowledged that " the ADEA does not provide
for individual liability. " Accordingly,
the federal district court granted summary judgment to both Leonetti and
Stocks.

marily judged and effectively dismissed
without trial proceedings.
Age Discrimination
As noted by the federal district court, the
United States Supreme Court has ruled
that claims under the ADEA require a
plaintiff to show that age was the " butfor " cause of the adverse action. In other
words, " but for " Cirelli's age, he would
not have had his employment terminated.
Further, the court noted that a plaintiff
" must first produce evidence sufficient to
convince a reasonable factfinder as to all
of the elements of a prima facie case of
discrimination. " Specifically, in order to
first establish a prima facie (i.e., Latin for
" on its face " ) case of discrimination, the
plaintiff must demonstrate the following:
(1) he is over 40 years old, (2) he is

As noted by the federal district court, the United States
Supreme Court has ruled that claims under the ADEA
require a plaintiff to show that age was the " but-for "
cause of the adverse action.
The city of Wildwood filed a motion
for summary judgment to effectively
dismiss Cirelli's lawsuit. In so doing,
the city of Wildwood argued Cirelli had
failed to allege sufficient facts which, if
proven at trial, would support a claim for
age discrimination, hostile work environment or retaliation.
In reviewing a motion for summary
judgment, the court would " determine
whether there is a genuine issue for trial " to determine " the credibility of the
evidence or the truth of the matter. "
In deciding whether to grant a motion
for summary judgment on a particular
claim, the court would construe all facts
and inferences in a light most favorable
to the party whose claim would be sum28	 Parks & Recreation

qualified for the position in question, (3)
he suffered from an adverse employment
decision, and (4) his replacement was
sufficiently younger to permit a reasonable inference of age discrimination.
In this particular instance, the parties
conceded that Cirelli was " over 40 years
old, that he suffered an adverse employment decision when he was terminated,
and that his replacement, Stocks, was
sufficiently younger than Cirelli to permit a reasonable inference of age discrimination. " As a result, in determining
the existence of a prima facie case of age
discrimination, the federal district court
acknowledged the only remaining issue
was " whether Cirelli was qualified for
the position of WBP Chief. "

| N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 6 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

In making this determination, as a
general rule, the court noted a plaintiff 's
" satisfactory performance of duties over
a long period of time leading to a promotion clearly establishes his qualifications
for his job. " In this particular instance,
the court found Cirelli had " worked
his way up from being an 18-year-old
lifeguard to WBP Chief over a nearly half-century career, unmarred with
any employment-related disciplinary
actions prior to the events giving rise to
this suit. " As a result, the federal district
court found Cirelli was " qualified for his
position and has established a prima facie
case of age discrimination. "
Nondiscriminatory Reasons
To counter Cirelli's prima facie case of
age discrimination, the city of Wildwood claimed it had legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons (LNDRs) for
terminating his employment; specifically, Cirelli had presented " a budget plan
that was deemed by his supervisor to
be 'absurd.' " While citing a listing of
Cirelli's alleged " deficiencies, " Leonetti
claimed he had focused " primarily on
the allegations related to the WBPLA. "
Specifically, Leonetti claimed Cirelli had
" stalled " in responding to " legitimate inquiries " about a fund (WBPLA) related
to the beach patrol which Cirelli controlled, but the city did not know about.
According to Leonetti, Cirelli's actions
surrounding the WBPLA fund, in combination with " continuing deficiencies, "
prompted Leonetti to fire Cirelli.
Pretext?
Having been offered presumably legitimate nondiscriminatory reasons for
terminating Cirelli's employment, Cirelli would have to present sufficient evidence that " cast substantial doubt " on
the reasons given by the city of Wildwood and Leonetti. Specifically, Cirelli
had to show that otherwise legitimate



November 2016 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November 2016 - Parks & Recreation

November 2016 - Parks & Recreation - 1
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