July 21, 2006.
John Lee, III, born 1973, was hired on June 16, 2006. He damaged a gate while driving the truck on July 28, 2006. Lee cased damage to private property on August 3, 2006. On November 17, 2006, Lee failed to report damages to steps. Lee backed into a fence on January 18, 2007.
Marcus Whitfield, born 1964, was hired in May 2005. He damaged a chain link fence on November 2, 2005. On November 10, 2005, he refused to service a route that had been assigned to him and he was terminated.
Defendants assert that these employees are not appropriate comparators because they were all hired more than a year after Chanez was terminated, none of them worked as Roll-Off Drivers at the Cheyenne Transfer Station, and noneborn 1957, was hired as a casual pitcher/driver at the Cheyenne Transfer Station in May 2005. Wilder was terminated in December 2005 for inadequate work performance and sent back to the union hall.
Wilder was never subjected to any age-related comments. Of the 87 casual employees at the Cheyenne Transfer Station that were terminated between January 2001 and May 2006 for performance issues unrelated to attendance, accidents, or specific policy violations, 36 were over 40 years old, and 51 were under 40 years of age at the time of termination.
The EEOC argues that because no one could recall the specific performance problem that Wilder had, the reason for his termination was pretext for age discrimination. In addition, Wilder believes he was discriminated against based upon his age because he