243 F.3d 93 (2nd Cir.

2001)

ROBERT F. BYRNIE, Plaintiff-Appellant,

v.
TOWN OF CROMWELL, BOARD OF EDUCATION, Body
Corporate CROMWELL BOARD OF EDUCATION Body
Corporate, Defendants-Appellees.
Docket No. 99-9389
August Term, 2000

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT
Argued: September 19, 2000
Decided: March 15, 2001

Appeal from judgment of the United States District Court for the District
of Connecticut (Gerard L. Goettel, Judge) dismissing plaintiff's age and
sex discrimination claims on summary judgment. Affirmed in part,
reversed in part.[Copyrighted Material Omitted][Copyrighted Material
Omitted][Copyrighted Material Omitted]
BEECHER A. LARSON, East Haven, Connecticut, for PlaintiffAppellant.
SHEILA A. HUDDLESTON, Shipman & Goodwin, Hartford,
Connecticut, for Defendants- Appellees.
Before: WALKER, Chief Judge, MINER, and POOLER, Circuit Judges.
POOLER, Circuit Judge:

Plaintiff Robert F. Byrnie appeals from a judgment of the United States District
Court for the District of Connecticut, Gerard L. Goettel, Judge, dismissing his
complaint alleging defendants Town of Cromwell Public Schools and
Cromwell Board of Education ("Cromwell") failed to hire him for a part time
teaching position as an art teacher on the basis of his age, in violation of the
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 ("ADEA"), 29 U.S.C. 621 et
seq., and on the basis of his gender, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights

Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq. and Title IX of the Education

Amendments of 1972, as amended, 20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq. The district court
dismissed Byrnie's disparate treatment claims under both statutes on summary
judgment on the grounds that Byrnie had failed to produce sufficient evidence
to show that Cromwell's nondiscriminatory reason for hiring another candidate
was pretext. The district court also dismissed Byrnie's disparate impact claims
under both statutes on summary judgment because the statistical evidence
offered by Byrnie of gender and age discrimination was insufficiently linked to
any identifiable hiring practice or policy. On appeal, Byrnie contends summary
judgment was inappropriate on his disparate treatment claims because unlawful
discrimination could be inferred from a number of circumstances, including:
the objective superiority of his paper credentials in comparison with the chosen
candidate's; the vague and conclusory nature of Cromwell's business reason;
and the destruction of documents made in connection with the hiring process.
Byrnie also contends that summary judgment was inappropriate on his agerelated disparate impact claim because he could allege a specific employment
practice as the cause of statistical evidence indicating an age imbalance in
Cromwell's teaching hires. Summary judgment on his gender-related disparate
impact claim was inappropriate, Byrnie argues, because he was prevented from
alleging a cause for the statistical evidence showing gender imbalance among
Cromwell's teachers due to Cromwell's destruction of documents. For the
reasons below, we affirm the district court's dismissal of Byrnie's disparate
impact claims but reverse with regard to Byrnie's disparate treatment claims.
BACKGROUND
2

We presume familiarity with the district court's thorough decision. See Byrnie
v. Town of Cromwell Pub. Schs., 73 F. Supp. 2d 204 (D. Conn. 1999).

In the spring of 1995, the Cromwell Board of Education decided to hire a parttime art teacher for Cromwell High School. Following the steps laid out in the
Board of Education's "Recommended Procedures for Hiring," Cromwell
advertised for a permanent, part-time art teacher in June, 1995. Applicants were
required to submit a letter of application, a resume, transcripts, a letter of
reference, and proof of Connecticut certification. Although the posting
announcing the opening indicated that the only prerequisite for applicants was
current Connecticut teaching certification, Cromwell's job description for the
position (which was not itself posted) specified, among other things, that the
appropriate candidate have a degree in art education. Byrnie, who was 64 at the
time, had a bachelor's and a master's degree in art education and had taught art
at the high school level for 21 years. He had been substitute teaching at
Cromwell High School for the five years prior to applying for the position and

had been serving as the advisor to Cromwell High School's literary magazine.
In addition, Byrnie was certified to teach at the high school level in the areas of
Art, History, Social Studies, and Adult Education.
4

Forty-one people applied for the position. A Search Committee, consisting of

Cromwell High School Principal Mark Nappi and two members of the Board of
Education, pre-screened the applications, narrowing the pool down to 21
applicants. Of the original 41, three applicants were male; two, including
Byrnie, survived the pre-screening. At this point the Search Committee was
enlarged to include a total of six teachers, administrators and board members.
On July 3, 1995, four of the committee members met (two were unable to
attend the meeting) to review and rate the 21 applications on a scale of 1-5 on
ballot forms provided by Nappi. Interviews were granted to the five applicants
receiving the highest cumulative scores. Esther Mancarella, the person
eventually chosen for the position, received the highest cumulative score with
eighteen points out of a possible twenty. Byrnie came in fourth with sixteen
points. Of the five applicants chosen for interviews, only four were actually
available so a lower scoring alternate was also chosen for an interview. All the
candidates chosen for interviews, excluding Byrnie, were female-although the
large majority of applicants had also been female. Two of the women were over
age 40. At the same meeting, the committee agreed upon a set of interview
questions to be asked at each interview. On July 12, 1995, five members of the
Search Committee met to interview the candidates. The candidates were all
asked the same questions in the same order by the same interviewer. At the
conclusion of the interviews, the committee unanimously eliminated the
alternative interviewee, and then each committee member wrote down his or
her top three choices for the job in the order of preference. Based on those
rankings, three of the four candidates were selected to proceed to the next round
of interviews. Mancarella ranked first, having been selected by four committee
members as their first choice and as the second choice of the fifth committee
member. Byrnie ranked fourth, having only been chosen as the second choice
of one committee member and the third choice of another member.
Nevertheless, the committee unanimously decided to allow Byrnie to proceed
to the next round of interviews in light of his service to Cromwell High School.

The second round of interviews were conducted by Nappi and Cromwell High
School's Assistant Principal, Joseph Cassella, who each individually
interviewed the candidates on July 18, 1995. Each interviewee was asked the
same questions by the same interviewer in the same order. After the interviews,
Cassella and Nappi conferred and agreed that Mancarella was the best
candidate for the position. Nappi telephoned Mancarella, informing her that she
was being recommended for the position and telling her to set up an

appointment to meet with Superintendent James Gere. After the meeting, Gere
submitted Mancarella's name to the Board of Education which approved her
appointment on August 8, 1995. Mancarella was a 42 year old with a bachelor's
degree in fine arts as well as some graduate course work. Although Mancarella
had no experience teaching art at the high school level, she had four years
experience teaching art at the middle school level and had been teaching art on
a part-time basis at a treatment center for children identified as Socially
Emotionally Maladjusted. In 1994, she had received a teaching award.
6

Meanwhile, on July 24, 1995, Byrnie received a letter informing him that he
had not been selected for the position. Convinced of his superior qualifications,
Byrnie contacted Gere and was told that he had been considered the least
qualified of the four candidates considered for a second round of interviews
and, in fact, he participated in the second round only as courtesy because of his
service to the school system. At that time, Gere explained the hiring procedures
followed by the search committee. Byrnie followed up on his concerns by
meeting with Gere on July 27, 1995 and meeting with Nappi and Casella on
August 8, 1995. At the August 8 meeting, Byrnie was denied a copy of the
interview questions, but was permitted to examine them. In spite of Byrnie's
repeated requests, he was denied copies of the interview questions and
Mancarella's application materials until he filed a complaint under the
Connecticut Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA").

Byrnie filed a complaint with the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights

and Opportunities ("CCHRO"), and on January 8, 1996, Cromwell responded
with a verified answer ("CCHRO Answer"). The CCHRO Answer was
prepared by Cromwell's attorneys based on a memorandum prepared by Nappi,
which was in turn based on notes and records in Nappi's possession at that time
but were later lost or destroyed. In the CCHRO Answer, Cromwell explained
that Byrnie had not been selected for the position because he performed poorly
in the interviews and seemed unfamiliar with the teaching methods set forth in
the Connecticut Competency Instrument ("CCI"), an assessment tool developed
by the Connecticut State Department of Education in 1992. According to the
CCHRO Answer, Byrnie was focused on his teaching portfolio and the history
of art during the first interview. During his second interview, he exhibited a
lack of familiarity with the CCI, and "Nappi had to explain the three major
cluster areas set forth in the CCI." Besides failing to "demonstrate that he
understood the concepts set forth in the CCI," Byrnie answered interview
questions with vague, general, and unimaginative responses, according to the
CCHRO Answer. By contrast, Mancarella displayed "enthusiasm," poise, and
an ability to work with a variety of different types of students, while her
answers were "thought-out and coherent." She also, according to the CCHRO

Answer, "demonstrated knowledge of the CCI.... [Cromwell] bases its teacher

evaluation system on the CCI." On September 3, 1996, the CCHRO dismissed
Byrnie's complaint.
8

On August 5, 1997, Byrnie filed a complaint with the district court alleging that
Cromwell discriminated against him on the basis of his age, in violation of the
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 ("ADEA"), 29 U.S.C. 621 et
seq., and on the basis of his gender, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq., and Title IX of the Education
Amendments of 1972, as amended, 20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.1 Discovery
produced testimony undermining the CCHRO Answer's claim that familiarity
with the CCI was one of the factors used to evaluate the candidates and
suggested that neither Mancarella nor any of the other candidates had any
significant familiarity with the CCI. In affidavits, two of Byrnie's interviewers,
Nappi and Cassella, stated that Byrnie was not hired because he did not
demonstrate familiarity with the basic competencies of effective teaching.

On October 25, 1999, the district court dismissed all of Byrnie's claims in
response to Cromwell's motion for summary judgment. The district court held
that Byrnie had made his prima facie case: Byrnie was qualified for the
position he applied for, but the position was given to a 42 year old woman. See
Byrnie, 73 F. Supp.2d at 210. The district court also found that Cromwell had
offered a legitimate reason for failing to hire Byrnie: Mancarella was judged
the better candidate based upon subjective criteria. See id. Byrnie's case failed
because there was not enough evidence to allow a jury to find Cromwell's
explanation to be pretextual and to allow an inference of discrimination.
Byrnie's paper credentials, while better than Mancarella's, were not so
overwhelmingly better as to allow an inference of discrimination based on that
alone. See id. at 213. Cromwell's subjective choice of Mancarella over Byrnie
based on her superior interviewing performance was proper because the choice
did not appear to be influenced by any discriminatory bias. See id. at 213-14.
The selection process itself, the district court held, did not treat the applicants
differently and thus could not support an inference of discrimination. See id. at
218. And Byrnie's statistical evidence showing that Cromwell's teaching force
had a lower percentage of males than Connecticut's state-wide average could
not, without a further showing of the cause of the statistical disparity, support a
disparate treatment claim. See id. at 218. The statistical evidence also failed to
support a disparate impact claim because Byrnie failed to allege an
employment practice responsible for the under-representation of males and the
elderly among Cromwell's teaching hires. See id. at 221. Finally, Byrnie's
argument that the CCI-based interviewing questions caused a disparate impact
on older job applicants was dismissed because he provided the court with no

statistical evidence indicating such an effect. See id. at 222.

10

Byrnie appealed the judgment on November 18, 1999.

DISCUSSION
11

We review a district court's grant of summary judgment de novo. See Howley

v. Town of Stratford, 217 F.3d 141, 151 (2d Cir. 2000); Raine v. RKO Gen.,
Inc., 138 F.3d 90, 93 (2d Cir. 1998). At summary judgment, a court is tasked
with determining whether genuine disputes over material fact exist between the
parties which should properly be submitted to a jury or whether, where no
issues of material fact are found, the moving party is entitled to judgment as a
matter of law. See Howley, 217 F.3d at 150-51; Kerzer v. Kingly Mfg., 156
F.3d 396, 400 (2d Cir. 1998). Even where facts are disputed, in order to defeat
summary judgment, the nonmoving party must offer enough evidence to enable
a reasonable jury to return a verdict in its favor. See Anderson v. Liberty
Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248 (1986); Scotto v. Almenas, 143 F.3d 105, 114
(2d Cir. 1998). Thus the "non-moving party may not rely on conclusory
allegations or unsubstantiated speculation." Scotto, 143 F.3d at 114.
Nevertheless, when examining the evidence, the court should resolve all
ambiguities and draw all inferences in favor of the non-moving party. See id.;
Kerzer, 156 F.3d at 400. Thus, "if there is any evidence in the record from any
source from which a reasonable inference could be drawn in favor of the
nonmoving party, summary judgment is improper." Howley, 217 F.3d at 151.
I. Byrnie's Disparate Treatment Claim

12

The ADEA makes it unlawful for an employer "to fail or refuse to hire... any
individual... because of such individual's age." 29 U.S.C. 623(a)(1). The
protections of the ADEA reach individuals who are at least 40 years old. See 29
U.S.C. 631(a). Similarly, Title VII makes it unlawful for an employer "to fail
or refuse to hire... any individual... because of such individual's race, color,
religion, sex, or national origin." 42 U.S.C. 2000e-2(a)(1). A plaintiff utilizes
the same evidentiary framework for demonstrating either age discrimination or
sex discrimination. See Hollander v. Am. Cyanamid Co., 172 F.3d 192, 198-99
(2d Cir.), cert. denied, 528 U.S. 965 (1999); Fisher v. Vassar Coll., 114 F.3d
1332, 1335 (2d Cir. 1997) (en banc). A plaintiff alleging a violation of either
statute must establish, by a preponderance of the evidence, a prima facie case
consisting of four elements: (1) that plaintiff falls within the protected group,
(2) that plaintiff applied for a position for which he was qualified, (3) that
plaintiff was subject to an adverse employment decision and (4) that the
adverse employment decision was made under circumstances giving rise to an

inference of unlawful discrimination. See McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green,

411 U.S. 792, 802 (1973); Fisher, 114 F.3d at 1335; Woroski v. Nashua Corp.,
31 F.3d 105, 108 (2d Cir. 1994). The burden upon the plaintiff to prove a prima
facie case is minimal. See Carlton v. Mystic Transp., Inc., 202 F.3d 129, 134
(2d Cir.), cert. denied, 120 S. Ct. 2718 (2000); Chambers v. TRM Copy Ctrs.
Corp., 43 F.3d 29, 37 (2d Cir. 1994).
13

Once a prima facie case has been established, the burden of production shifts to
the employer who must defeat a rebuttable presumption of discrimination by
articulating a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for the employment
decision. See Carlton, 202 F.3d at 134; Raskin v. Wyatt Co., 125 F.3d 55, 64
(2d Cir. 1997). If the employer offers, via admissible evidence, a justification of
its action which, if believed by a reasonable trier of fact, would allow a finding
of no unlawful discrimination, then "'the McDonnell Douglas framework-with
its presumptions and burdens'-disappear[s], and the sole remaining issue [is]
'discrimination vel non.'" Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Prods., Inc., 120 S. Ct.
2097, 2106 (2000) (citation omitted).

14

At summary judgment in an employment discrimination case, a court should

examine the record as a whole, just as a jury would, to determine whether a jury
could reasonably find an invidious discriminatory purpose on the part of an
employer. See Howley, 217 F.3d at 151; Stern v. Trs. of Columbia Univ., 131
F.3d 305, 314 (2d Cir. 1997); cf. Washington v. Davis, 426 U.S. 229, 242
(1976) (holding that "an invidious discriminatory purpose may often be
inferred from the totality of the relevant facts"). A court is to examine "the
entire record to determine whether the plaintiff could satisfy his 'ultimate
burden of persuading the trier of fact that the defendant intentionally
discriminated against the plaintiff.'" Schnabel v. Abramson, 232 F.3d 83, 90
(2d Cir. 2000) (quoting Reeves, 120 S. Ct. at 2106). A motion for summary
judgment may be defeated where "a plaintiff's prima facie case, combined with
sufficient evidence to find that the employer's asserted justification is false, may
permit the trier of fact to conclude that the employer unlawfully discriminated."
Reeves, 120 S. Ct. at 2109.

15

Taking the facts in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, Byrnie
easily made out a prima facie case. He was a 64 year old male job applicant
who, no one disputes, was eminently qualified for the art teacher position that
Cromwell awarded to 42 year old female Mancarella, an applicant substantially
younger than Byrnie. See Brennan v. Metro. Opera Ass'n, Inc., 192 F.3d 310,
317 (2d Cir. 1999) (noting that "the fact that the replacement is substantially
younger than the plaintiff is a more valuable indicator of age discrimination,
than whether or not the replacement was over 40"). Cromwell, in turn,

articulated a legitimate business reason for not hiring Byrnie: Mancarella

performed better than Byrnie during the candidate interviews and thus seemed,
based on subjective criteria, the better qualified candidate.
16

Byrnie, in turn, cannot offer direct evidence of an improper discriminatory bias

and thus must defeat summary judgment on the strength of his prima facie case
combined with circumstantial evidence that Cromwell's stated reason for failing
to hire Byrnie is pretext. See Reeves, 120 S.Ct. at 2108 ("Proof that the
defendant's explanation is unworthy of credence is...one form of circumstantial
evidence that is probative of intentional discrimination, and it may be quite
persuasive."). A combination of factors, any of which judged on their own
would be much less compelling, provide sufficient evidence to allow a
reasonable jury to conclude that Cromwell's explanation for failing to hire
Byrnie was a pretext for impermissible discrimination.
A. Comparative "Paper" Qualifications

17

In terms of paper credentials, Byrnie was the better qualified candidate for the
job. Byrnie had 21 years' experience working as an art instructor at a number
of different high schools. Further, Byrnie had spent six years as a substitute
teacher at Cromwell High School. Mancarella, by contrast, had four years'
experience teaching art at the middle school level, along with eight additional
years' part-time teaching experience as an art instructor. Byrnie had a bachelor's
and a master's degree in Art Education, while Mancarella had a bachelor's
degree in Fine Arts and some graduate study course work. Both candidates
presented strong recommendations. Finally, while both candidates had
credentials sufficient for the position, technically Mancarella lacked the
requisite education: the position called for a bachelors degree in Art Education,
while Mancarella possessed a degree in Fine Arts.

18

Courts have recognized that an employer's disregard or misjudgment of a

plaintiff's job qualifications may undermine the credibility of an employer's
stated justification for an employment decision. See Fischbach v. D.C. Dep't of
Corr., 86 F.3d 1180, 1183 (D.C. Cir. 1996) ("Evidence indicating that an
employer misjudged an employee's performance or qualifications is, of course,
relevant to the question whether its stated reason is a pretext masking
prohibited discrimination."); Tyler v. Re/Max Mountain States, Inc., 232 F.3d
808, 814 (10th Cir. 2000) (quoting Fischbach); Alexander v. Fulton County,
Ga, 207 F.3d 1303, 1340 (11th Cir.) (noting that "evidence showing an
employer hired a less qualified applicant over the plaintiff may be probative of
whether the employer's proffered reason for not promoting plaintiff was
pretextual"), reh'g and reh'g in banc denied, 218 F.3d 749 (11th Cir. 2000). At

the same time, "the court must respect the employer's unfettered discretion to
choose among qualified candidates." Fischbach, 86 F.3d at 1183; see also
Simms v. Oklahoma ex rel. Dep't of Mental Health & Substance Abuse Servs.,
165 F.3d 1321, 1330 (10th Cir.) ("Our role is to prevent unlawful hiring
practices, not to act as a'super personnel department' that second guesses
employers' business judgments.") (citations omitted), cert. denied, 528 U.S. 815
(1999).
19

When a plaintiff seeks to prevent summary judgment on the strength of a

discrepancy in qualifications ignored by an employer, that discrepancy must
bear the entire burden of allowing a reasonable trier of fact to not only conclude
the employer's explanation was pretextual, but that the pretext served to mask
unlawful discrimination. In effect, the plaintiff's credentials would have to be so
superior to the credentials of the person selected for the job that "no reasonable
person, in the exercise of impartial judgment, could have chosen the candidate
selected over the plaintiff for the job in question." Deines v. Tex. Dep't of
Protective & Regulatory Servs., 164 F.3d 277, 280-81 (5th Cir. 1999); see also
Fischbach, 86 F.3d at 1183 ("Title VII liability cannot rest solely upon a judge's
determination that an employer misjudged the relative qualifications of
admittedly qualified candidates."). Byrnie's credentials on their own could not
meet this weighty burden. While he was well-qualified for the art teacher
position, we cannot say that Mancarella was unqualified or that Cromwell was
unreasonable in electing to offer her the position in light of a comparison of her
paper credentials with Byrnie's.

20

Nevertheless, just because the discrepancy between Byrnie's and Mancarella's

qualifications does not on its own have the strength to create a material issue of
fact, that does not mean the discrepancy is stripped of all probative value.
Indeed, although Cromwell claims the decision to hire Mancarella rested finally
upon her superior performance in the interviews, it is worth noting that even
prior to the interviews-and thus based upon paper credentials alone-she was
ranked, along with two other applicants, higher than Byrnie. After an initial
screening, the pool of 41 applicants was reduced to 21 who were then subjected
to a second screening. During the screening meeting the applications were rated
on a scale of 1-5 by each member of the Search Committee, and those
applicants who received the highest number of points were invited to interview.
In reviewing the applications, the Search Committee looked at whether the
applications were complete, the presentation of the cover letters, and the
applicants' education, experience and achievement.2 Based on paper credentials
alone, Mancarella scored highest while Byrnie came in fourth. While no doubt
other factors could also be important, Nappi could not suggest what other
factors might account for determining Mancarella was a more suitable

candidate on the strength of her paper credentials. The credibility of the Search
Committee is not helped by the fact that it needed to relax the educational
requirements of the position in order for Mancarella to survive these initial
screenings, let alone be selected as the most deserving of an interview. 3 Further,
the Search Committee had to ignore the requirement that an application be
complete in Mancarella's case because her application was missing transcripts
from a number of the colleges she had attended. To be sure, this alone does not
support a finding of pretext; lawful reasons can easily be found for the low
ranking of Byrnie's application in comparison to his less experienced
competitor-for example, his self-presentation in the application cover letter
may have been off-putting. See Byrnie, 73 F. Supp.2d at 216 (suggesting a
variety of lawful reasons that could explain the ranking of Byrnie's application).
Similarly, the failure to screen out Mancarella's application based on its being
incomplete and her lacking the appropriate qualifications is not enough on its
own to call into question the good faith of the hiring process because these are
not significant irregularities. See Weinstock v. Columbia Univ., 224 F.3d 33, 45
(2d Cir. 2000) (noting that procedural irregularities may "'raise a question as to
the good faith of the process where the departure may reasonably affect the
decision.'") (quoting Stern, 131 F.3d at 313). Nevertheless, a reasonable trier of
fact is entitled to find that it does bear on the credibility of the employer which
must finally be evaluated from the perspective of the entire record.
B. Subjective Hiring Criteria
21

Cromwell only used the applicant's paper credentials to determine who would
be selected for interviews. Mancarella was chosen as the most qualified
candidate on the strength of her interview performances. The two men who
interviewed Byrnie in his last interview both affirmed that "[h]is responses did
not demonstrate that he was the most qualified candidate for the position. In my
judgment, his responses did not demonstrate familiarity with the basic
competencies necessary for effective teaching."

22

As the district court properly noted, "[t]here is nothing unlawful about an

employer's basing its hiring decision on subjective criteria, such as the
impression an individual makes during an interview." Byrnie, 73 F. Supp.2d at
213. At the same time, we have also cautioned that "an employer may not use
wholly subjective and unarticulated standards to judge employee performance
for purposes of promotion." Knight v. Nassau County Civil Serv. Comm'n, 649
F.2d 157, 161 (2d Cir. 1981). This is because "[a]ny defendant can respond to a
[discrimination charge] with a claim of some subjective preference or
prerogative and, if such assertions are accepted, prevail in virtually every case."
Robinson v. 12 Lofts Realty, Inc., 610 F.2d 1032, 1040 (2d Cir. 1979) (internal

quotation marks omitted). Accordingly, an "employer's explanation of its

reasons must be clear and specific" in order to "afford the employee a full and
fair opportunity to demonstrate pretext." Meiri v. Dacon, 759 F.2d 989, 996-97
(2d Cir. 1985). Where an employer's explanation, offered in clear and specific
terms, "is reasonably attributable to an honest even though partially subjective
evaluation of... qualifications, no inference of discrimination can be drawn."
Lieberman v. Gant, 630 F.2d 60, 67 (2d Cir. 1980).
23

Although Byrnie contends otherwise, Cromwell's explanation of its hiring

decision based on the candidates' interview performances is not so vague or
conclusory as to disallow Byrnie the possibility of demonstrating pretext. Quite
to the contrary: the justification for not hiring Byrnie, on its face, raises
credibility problems. A subjective evaluation, besides being clear and specific,
must also be honest. See id. That is to say that "[w]hile the business judgment
rule protects the sincere employer against second-guessing of the
reasonableness of its judgments, it does not protect the employer against attacks
on its credibility." Chapman v. AI Transp., 229 F.3d 1012, 1048 (11th Cir.
2000) (Birch, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part); see also Stern, 131
F.3d at 313 ("While we do not second-guess an employer's hiring standards, the
reasons for its employment decision, including its alleged reliance on such
standards, are subject to scrutiny under Title VII..."). For example, the Eighth
Circuit found, in a case similar to this one, that a school's decision to hire one
teacher over another based on their interview performances raised a "genuine
controversy at this summary judgment stage as to whether age was not a factor
in the application of such subjective criteria or the formation of such subjective
impressions." Widoe v. Dist. #111 Otoe County Sch., 147 F.3d 726, 730 (8th
Cir. 1998). In that case, the school's claim that the plaintiff was not hired, in
part, because her recommendations were outdated and her references were hard
to find, was undermined by the fact that plaintiff had already been teaching at
the school, had been observed by a member of the hiring committee and had, in
fact, received favorable letters of recommendation from committee members.
See id. at 729-30. Within this context-that is, from the perspective of the entire
record-the court found there was a "genuine issue of fact" concerning "whether
defendant's proffered reasons are pretextual." Id. at 731.

24

In this case, although Cromwell is entitled to use subjective criteria in choosing

whom to hire, Byrnie is also entitled to challenge the credibility of the
decision's rationale. Based on Byrnie's 21 years teaching experience, it does
not seem difficult to take issue with the credibility of Cromwell's assertion that
Byrnie lacks "familiarity with the basic competencies necessary for effective
teaching." This assertion is particularly hard to swallow given that Byrnie had
been a substitute teacher at Cromwell for five years and was often asked to take

over classes for extended periods when other teachers were on leave. It strains
credulity to believe that a teacher unfamiliar with the competencies necessary
for effective teaching would be relied upon for so long. This is particularly the
case given that one of Cromwell's own teachers wrote a glowing
recommendation for Byrnie stating that Byrnie was the English Department's
first choice for long-term substitute teaching assignments.
25

The credibility of Cromwell's justification for not hiring Byrnie is further

weakened when compared to the justification initially offered by Cromwell to
the CCHRO in 1996. Cromwell's CCHRO Answer explains that the successful
job candidate needed to demonstrate an educational philosophy and teaching
methodology that was consistent with the teaching methods set out in the
Connecticut Competency Instrument. Cromwell then noted that Byrnie was
unfamiliar with the basic teaching methods as set forth in the CCI, and to
emphasize the point, explained that "Nappi had to explain the three major
cluster areas set forth in the CCI." Byrnie's answers were "not in line with the
CCI," while Mancarella, by contrast, "demonstrated knowledge of the CCI."
Later, however, during his deposition, Nappi conceded that most, if not all,
candidates "were unfamiliar with the terminology of the CCI in and of itself."
Mancarella, herself, Nappi testified, was only somewhat familiar with the CCI,
and, although the CCHRO Answer failed to mention it, she, like Byrnie, also
had the three major cluster areas of the CCI explained to her. Thus, the
CCHRO Answer seems misleading in suggesting that Byrnie's unfamiliarity
with the CCI resulted in him comparing unfavorably with Mancarella since it is
not clear Mancarella-or anyone-possessed significant familiarity with the CCI.
At deposition, Nappi reconciled the fact that most of the candidates lacked
familiarity with the CCI with the CCHRO Answer's assertion that Mancarella
"demonstrated knowledge of the CCI" by explaining that the CCI was "just a
compilation of good teaching practices," and Mancarella "was familiar with the
basic concepts of effective teaching strategies."

26

The two answers are not necessarily inconsistent. By dropping reference to the
CCI in the affidavits of Nappi and Casella, Cromwell extricates itself from the
misleading nature of the CCHRO Answer, although the fact that the answer
attempts to portray as important to the outcome of the hiring process Byrnie's
unfamiliarity with a document the successful candidate had, at best, only
limited familiarity with herself is pertinent information for the trier of fact.
Unfortunately for Cromwell, downplaying the importance of the CCI results in
the claim that a person with over twenty years teaching experience lacks
familiarity with the basics of teaching in and of themselves. A juror could
believe that the latter statement was the result of an attempt to salvage an
earlier explanation that was collapsing during civil discovery-and the apparent

implausibility of the new explanation was a price preferable to advancing a

new, potentially inconsistent explanation of the hiring decision. See EEOC v.
Ethan Allen, Inc., 44 F.3d 116, 120 (2d Cir. 1994) (noting that a juror can
reasonably view an employer's changing explanations as "pretextual, developed
over time to counter the evidence suggesting age discrimination").
27

Cromwell relies as well on Byrnie's poor interviewing skills as the reason for
choosing Mancarella for the position and calls attention to Byrnie's own
testimony about his interview answers as proof. Because we are not a superpersonnel department, it does not matter whether we find Byrnie's interview
responses appropriate. An employer is entitled to arrive at a subjective
evaluation of a candidate's suitability for a position. The issue here is whether
such a poor interview performance could make credible Cromwell's asserted
justifications for its hiring decision. Byrnie's interview performance speaks to
the question whether he or Mancarella was more qualified for the job-one of
the justifications Nappi and Cassella advanced for not hiring Byrnie. It is not
probative, however, of their basic claim that Byrnie lacked "familiarity with the
basic competencies necessary for effective teaching." Further, when the latter
claim is juxtaposed with the former, one may reasonably question "whether age
[or gender] was not a factor in the application of... subjective criteria or the
formation of... subjective impressions"concerning Byrnie's interview
performance. Widoe, 147 F.3d at 730.

28

Cromwell's dual explanations for the hiring decision, and the lack of evidence
(and even countervailing evidence) of one of their justifications might raise a
material question about Cromwell's real reason for not hiring Byrnie. We need
not decide whether this mixed bag of evidence is by itself sufficient to defeat
summary judgment, however, because we conclude that Cromwell's destruction
of evidence, in combination with the evidence undermining Cromwell's
justification is adequate to defeat summary judgment.
C. Spoliation

29

Byrnie seeks an adverse evidentiary inference with regard to documents which

Cromwell destroyed. The district court agreed with Byrnie that the missing
application materials of the other candidates, besides Byrnie and Mancarella,
for the art teacher position had potential relevance, but noted that such
relevance would be "minimal." Byrnie, 73 F. Supp. 2d at 207 n.8. We agree
with the district court that were the materials of the other applicants the only
thing missing, the potential significance of the missing applications could not
amount to much given that once the interview candidates were selected, the
application materials no longer played a role in the hiring process. However, as

Cromwell concedes, the application materials were not the only materials
destroyed. The "written ballot form that Mr. Nappi provided" to the screening
committee members to enable them to rank the 21 applications to determine
which applicants would receive an interview was missing, along with the tally
sheet that compiled their votes. Also missing were the forms on which, as the
CCHRO Answer explains, "[e]ach Committee member independently wrote
down his or her top three choices for the job opening, in order of preference,"
after the first round of interviews, along with the tally sheet adding up the
votes.4 In addition, any notes made by the interviewers in the first and second
rounds of interviews-and Nappi testified that it was likely that such notes were
made--were destroyed. Finally, the notes Nappi relied upon in drafting the
summary of the hiring process that the CCHRO Answer was based upon are
missing.
30

We have defined spoliation as "the destruction or significant alteration of

evidence, or the failure to preserve property for another's use as evidence in
pending or reasonably foreseeable litigation." West v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber
Co., 167 F.3d 776, 779 (2d Cir. 1999). The spoliation of evidence germane "to
proof of an issue at trial can support an inference that the evidence would have
been unfavorable to the party responsible for its destruction." Kronisch v.
United States, 150 F.3d 112, 126 (2d Cir. 1998). This sanction serves a
threefold purpose of (1) deterring parties from destroying evidence; (2) placing
the risk of an erroneous evaluation of the content of the destroyed evidence on
the party responsible for its destruction; and (3) restoring the party harmed by
the loss of evidence helpful to its case to where the party would have been in
the absence of spoliation. See West, 167 F.3d at 779. In borderline cases, an
inference of spoliation, in combination with "some (not insubstantial) evidence"
for the plaintiff's cause of action, can allow the plaintiff to survive summary
judgment. Kronisch, 150 F.3d at 128.

31

Where one seeks an adverse inference regarding the content of destroyed

evidence, one must first show that "the party having control over the evidence...
had an obligation to preserve it at the time it was destroyed." Kronisch, 150
F.3d at 126. Such an obligation usually arises when a "party has notice that the
evidence is relevant to litigation... but also on occasion in other circumstances,
as for example when a party should have known that the evidence may be
relevant to future litigation." Id. The law in this circuit is not clear on what state
of mind a party must have when destroying it. In Reilly v. Natwest Markets
Group Inc., we noted that at times we have required a party to have
intentionally destroyed evidence; at other times we have required action in bad
faith; and at still other times we have allowed an adverse inference based on
gross negligence. See Reilly v. Natwest Mkts. Group Inc., 181 F.3d 253, 267

(2d Cir. 1999), cert. denied, 528 U.S. 1119 (2000). In light of this, we
concluded a case by case approach was appropriate. See id. Finally, a court
must determine "whether there is any likelihood that the destroyed evidence
would have been of the nature alleged by the party affected by its destruction."
Kronisch, 150 F.3d at 127. The burden falls on the "prejudiced party" to
produce "some evidence suggesting that a document or documents relevant to
substantiating his claim would have been included among the destroyed files."
Id. at 128.
32

The district court dealt with this issue by noting that there was no evidence
indicating when the missing documents were destroyed or with what state of
mind. See Byrnie, 73 F. Supp.2d at 208 n. 8. Nevertheless, Cromwell had to
have had notice of the prospect of potential litigation at the time the notes that
formed the basis for Cromwell's CCHRO Answer were destroyed since it is
only logical to anticipate that a complaint lodged with the CCHRO might be
pursued at a later date in a court room. The CCHRO Answer, further, promises
to make available to the CCHRO "the name or any identifiable information
about any [applicants]" if needed-suggesting that applicant information existed
at the time the CCHRO Answer was prepared. And, arguably, Cromwell had
notice of potential litigation even earlier: in October, 1995, Cromwell received
a FOIA request seeking materials related to the hiring process, and on August 8,
1995, in a meeting with Nappi and Cassella, Byrnie had expressed concerns
about the hiring process and asked for copies of the interview questions. Gere
testified that "shortly after the process was completed it became very apparent
to us that Mr. Byrnie had concerns," and explained that when the FOIA request
was received, he was assured by Nappi that "information" had been "retained."
See Kronisch, 150 F.3d at 127 (documents destroyed years before suit brought
could reasonably be found to have been destroyed in anticipation of litigation
where fear of potential future litigation plausibly motivated the spoliation).

33

Although no one could say when all the documents related to the 1995 art
teacher job search were destroyed, Gere testified at his deposition that
destruction of personnel records sometime after an employee search was
concluded was a routine process. However, in the end, it does not matter when
the documents were destroyed since even if the documents were destroyed days
after the search ended and before anyone had wind of Byrnie's 'concerns,'
Cromwell was still required by federal regulations implementing Title VII and
the Americans with Disabilities Act to retain all records pertaining to
employment decisions for a period of two years. See 29 C.F.R. 1602.40.5

34

Several courts have held that destruction of evidence in violation of a regulation

that requires its retention can give rise to an inference of spoliation. See

Latimore v. Citibank Fed. Sav. Bank, 151 F.3d 712, 716 (7th Cir. 1998) ("The
violation of a record[-]retention regulation creates a presumption that the
missing record contained evidence adverse to the violator."); Favors v. Fisher,
13 F.3d 1235, 1239 (8th Cir. 1994) (because employer violated record retention
regulation, plaintiff "was entitled to the benefit of a presumption that the
destroyed documents would have bolstered her case"); Hicks v. Gates Rubber
Co., 833 F.2d 1406, 1419 (10th Cir. 1987) (same); see also Steffen Nolte, The
Spoliation Tort: An Approach to Underlying Principles, 26 St. Mary's L.J. 351,
368-69 (1995) (collecting cases announcing a tort cause of action for spoliation
based on violation of record-retention regulations). We agree that, under some
circumstances, such a regulation can create the requisite obligation to retain
records, even if litigation involving the records is not reasonably foreseeable.
For such a duty to attach, however, the party seeking the inference must be a
member of the general class of persons that the regulatory agency sought to
protect in promulgating the rule. Cf. W. Page Keeton, et al., Prosser and Keaton
on Torts 36, at 224-25 (5 th ed. 1984) (describing similar requirement for
finding a statutorily created duty in tort). For example, violation of a rule that
records be retained for securities disclosure purposes would not create a duty to
preserve covered records for use in a subsequent employment discrimination
suit. On the other hand, where, as here, a party has violated an EEOC recordretention regulation, a violation of that regulation can amount to a breach of
duty necessary to justify a spoliation inference in an employment discrimination
action. Cf. Favors, 13 F.3d at 1239 (Title VII rules, Title VII action); Hicks,
833 F.2d at 1419 (same). In such a case we can be confident that the
responsible agency had in mind persons in the plaintiff's position and
accordingly that our finding a duty to preserve documents in such circumstances
will advance the goals of the rule.
35

Although a regulation may supply the duty to preserve records, a party seeking
to benefit from an inference of spoliation must still make out the other usual
elements of a spoliation claim. The party must demonstrate first that the records
were destroyed with a culpable state of mind (i.e. where, for example, the
records were destroyed knowingly, even if without intent to violate the
regulation, or negligently). Second, a party must show that the destroyed
records were relevant to the party's claim or defense.

36

We are satisfied that Byrnie has established both. Cromwell admitted its policy
to destroy such records soon after the hiring process had been completed and
that the records in this case were so destroyed. At no point has Cromwell
asserted that their destruction was merely accidental. This is evidence of
intentional destruction sufficient to show a culpable state of mind on
Cromwell's part. Given that we have held that bad faith-an intent to obstruct the

opposing party's case-need not be shown to justify an inference of spoliation,

see Reilly, 181 F.3d at 267, intentional destruction of documents in the face of a
duty to retain those documents is adequate for present purposes.
37

There is also ample evidence that the documents were relevant to Byrnie's case.
While the district court was correct in finding the missing applications to be
minimally relevant, the missing notes the interviewers made during the first
and second rounds of interviews have more relevance. Those notes would
clarify what aspects of Byrnie's interview performances were reflected in the
poor subjective evaluation he received from the Search Committee and whether
that evaluation adhered to permissible criteria. Further, the documents Nappi
relied upon in preparing the memo that formed the basis of Cromwell's CCHRO
Answer would be relevant as well, given that the answer has been undermined
by the deposition testimony of Nappi and others. Keeping in mind that "holding
the prejudiced party to too strict a standard of proof regarding the likely
contents of the destroyed evidence would subvert the prophylactic and punitive
purposes of the adverse inference, and would allow parties who have
intentionally destroyed evidence to profit from that destruction," we think there
is a "likelihood that the destroyed evidence would have been of the nature
alleged by the party affected by its destruction." Kronisch, 150 F.3d at 127-28.
Again, the fact that Cromwell had to retreat from the specifics of its initial
explanation for failing to hire Byrnie towards a more general, but less
plausible, claim that Byrnie simply lacked familiarity with the basic
competencies needed for good teaching makes it possible to infer that these
explanations are pretext covering over the real explanation that would be
disclosed by the destroyed documents.

38

Cromwell argues that even if Byrnie is entitled to an adverse inference, such an

inference must be limited to giving the greatest weight possible to other
existing evidence favorable to the plaintiff. However, the rule offered by
Cromwell rewards those most thorough in the art of document shredding since
as the existing evidence of unlawful behavior dwindles, the deterrent force of
the threat of an adverse inference fades as well. Cromwell relies on Felice v.
Long Island R.R. Co., where we noted that, in a case where both parties failed
to call relevant witnesses, the "jury should not be encouraged to base its verdict
on what it speculates the absent witnesses would have testified to, in the
absence of some direct evidence." 426 F.2d 192, 195 n.2 (2d Cir. 1970).
Because we are dealing with destroyed evidence, we adhere to Kronisch, where
we held that a plaintiff had "produced enough circumstantial evidence to
support the inference that the destroyed [evidence] may have contained
documents supporting (or potentially proving) his claim, and that the possibility
that a jury would choose to draw such an inference, combined with plaintiff's

circumstantial evidence, is enough to entitle plaintiff to a jury trial." Kronisch,

150 F.3d at 128. As Kronisch makes clear, a party seeking an adverse inference
may rely on circumstantial evidence to suggest the contents of destroyed
evidence. It then becomes a matter for the jury to decide, based on the strength
of the evidence presented, whether the documents likely had such content.
39

Thus, based on the record before us at summary judgment, enough

circumstantial evidence exists to permit a reasonable trier of fact to conclude
that the destroyed documents would show unlawful discrimination. Whether a
reasonable trier of fact actually will draw such an inference is a matter left to
trial. The record before us presents a close case, and, as we have recognized
elsewhere, "at the margin, where the innocent party has produced some (not
insubstantial) evidence in support of his claim, the intentional destruction of
relevant evidence by the opposing party may push a claim that might not
otherwise survive summary judgment over the line." Id. We find that
substantial evidence supports Byrnie's claim. Byrnie had clearly superior paper
credentials while Mancarella only survived the initial application screenings
due to procedural irregularities-yet her application was ranked higher than
Byrnie's. Further, Cromwell modified its justification for the hiring decision in
the period between its CCHRO Answer and the present litigation. One of its
current justifications for not hiring Byrnie-that he was unfamiliar with the basic
competencies of effective teaching-further weakens Cromwell's credibility
because of its implausibility and Cromwell's failure to adduce any evidence in
support of the assertion.

40

In the final analysis, while the foregoing additional evidence might not have
been sufficient in itself to defeat summary judgment, it does when coupled with
the allowable inference of spoliation. We therefore conclude that a jury could
reasonably find that the documents Cromwell destroyed-most prominently, the
notes relied upon by Nappi in preparing the account of the hiring process that
formed the basis of the CCHRO Answer and any notes made during the
candidate interviews--would have filled out the picture created by the evidence
Cromwell actually did produce in an unflattering manner by showing
unlawfully discriminatory reasons informed the decision not to hire Byrnie.
II. Byrnie's Other Claims

41

Because we find that summary judgment against Byrnie on his disparate

treatment claims is inappropriate, we do not address Byrnie's contention that,
based on his affidavits and depositions, genuine issues of fact exist that the
district court overlooked. Similarly, we do not reach the question whether
statistical data presented by Byrnie showing that Cromwell tended to hire a

lower percentage of male teachers than were hired on average statewide in

Connecticut defeated summary judgment on his disparate treatment claim.
42

Byrnie also objects to the district court's dismissal of his disparate impact
claim. A plaintiff makes out a prima facie case for a disparate impact claim by
showing "that a facially neutral employment policy or practice has a significant
disparate impact." Brown v. Coach Stores, Inc., 163 F.3d 706, 712 (2d Cir.
1998). Simply gesturing towards the hiring process as a whole will not satisfy
the requirement that the plaintiff identify a "specific employment practice" that
is the cause of the statistical disparities. Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Atonio,
490 U.S. 642, 656 (1989) (quoting Watson v. Fort Worth Bank & Trust, 487
U.S. 977, 994 (1988) (O'Connor, J.) (plurality)). Byrnie contends that
Cromwell's reliance upon the CCI as a guide for evaluating candidates has
resulted in a hiring process that disproportionately favors younger candidates,
as evidenced by the fact that the average age of teachers hired by Cromwell is
35.6 However, as the district court pointed out, since the CCI was not
developed until 1992, all teachers who received their teaching certificate prior
to 1992 would apparently be adversely affected by unfamiliarity with the CCI's
terminology-thereby impacting an age group extending well beyond the group
protected by the ADEA. See Byrnie, 73 F. Supp.2d at 222. Accordingly, the
district court appropriately dismissed Byrnie's claim of age discrimination via
disparate impact. Similarly, because Byrnie fails to suggest what specific
employment practice accounts for a statistically low number of males being
hired at Cromwell, summary judgment was properly granted to Cromwell on
that claim as well.

CONCLUSION
43

Viewing the record as a whole, we find enough evidence to allow Byrnie's

disparate treatment claims to survive summary judgment. The superiority of
Byrnie's paper credentials in comparison to the chosen candidate's credentialsalong with the fact that the chosen candidate was not even technically qualified
for the job--when combined with the weak plausibility of the employer's
explanations for its hiring decision-particularly in light of the misleading nature
of the employer's initial explanation offered to the CCHRO during its
investigation of Byrnie's discrimination claims-provides sufficient
circumstantial evidence to make reasonable a jury's inference that Cromwell's
spoliation of documents related to the hiring process destroyed evidence that
would allow a finding of unlawful discrimination. Nevertheless, the district
court correctly found that Byrnie's statistical evidence, because unconnected to
any specific employment practice or policy, cannot support a disparate impact
claim. Accordingly, we affirm the district court's grant of summary judgment

on Byrnie's disparate impact claims, but reverse the grant of summary

judgment on Byrnie's disparate treatment claims.

NOTES:
1

Byrnie also asserted claims under comparable provisions of Connecticut's Fair

Employment Practices Act, Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. 46a-60(a)(1). Those
claims were dismissed, along with the federal claims, at summary judgment.

These, at least, were the review criteria according to Cromwell's answers to

Byrnie's discovery interrogatories. At deposition testimony, however, Nappi
stated that "[t]here was no set criteria or qualifications" for reviewing
applications and that he could not remember what guided his review if not a set
criteria.

Cromwell notes that its "Recommended Procedures for Hiring" charges the
building level administrator with setting the qualifications for any given job. Be
that as it may, the selected qualifications must, according to the same
document, be reviewed by the Board of Education. The reviewed and approved
list of job qualifications for an art teacher requires the successful applicant to
possess a degree in art education.

We know the rankings of the applicants chosen by the screening committee for
interviews because they were included in the CCHRO Answer. Similarly, the
CCHRO Answer contains a tally of the votes each candidate received from the
Search Committee after the first round of interviews.

29 C.F.R. 1602.40 states, in pertinent part, that "[a]ny personnel or

employment record made or kept by a... school (including... application forms
submitted by applicants and other records having to do with hiring...) shall be
preserved by such... school... for a period of two years from the date of the
making of the record or the personnel action involved, whichever occurs later."
The regulation implements 42 U.S.C. 2000e-8(c) which requires "[e]very
employer... subject to this subchapter" to "(1) make and keep such records
relevant to the determinations of whether unlawful employment practices have
been or are being committed, [and] (2) preserve such records for such periods...
as the [EEOC] shall prescribe by regulation or order...." We believe that the
voting tally sheets and interview notes destroyed by Cromwell fall within
1602.40's category of "records having to do with hiring."

Byrnie's age discrimination disparate impact claim has been finessed a bit from
the version offered to the district court where he alleged under-representation of

teachers over age 50. Otherwise his age discrimination disparate impact claim
would simply fail because he has not alleged, as he must, that the employment
practice affects the entire protected group. See Criley v. Delta Air Lines, Inc.,
119 F.3d 102, 105 (2d Cir. 1997) (per curiam) (noting that ADEA disparate
impact claim "must allege a disparate impact on the entire protected group, i.e.,
workers aged 40 and over").