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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION v. COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND OPPORTUNITIES ET AL. (SC 16889)
Borden, Norcott, Palmer, Vertefeuille and Zarella, Js. Argued January 15, 2004--officially released January 11, 2005

Clare E. Kindall, assistant attorney general, with whom, on the brief, was Richard Blumenthal, attorney general, for the appellant (plaintiff). Cheryl A. Sharp, assistant commission counsel, with whom, on the brief, were Philip A. Murphy, Jr., commission counsel, and Charles Krich, principal attorney, for the appellee (named defendant). Thomas S. Luby, for the appellee (defendant Jayan-

tha Mather).
Opinion

PALMER, J. This appeal arises from a complaint filed by the defendant, Jayantha Mather, with the named defendant, the commission on human rights and opportunities (commission), alleging that the plaintiff, the department of transportation (department), had discriminated against him, on the basis of his race and national origin, by not promoting him to the position of transportation principal engineer (principal engineer). A referee employed by the commission found in Mather's favor after concluding that Mather had established a prima facie case of discrimination and that the department's two nondiscriminatory reasons for its decision not to promote Mather, namely, that he had performed poorly during his interview for the principal engineer position and that he lacked a professional engineer license, were pretextual. The department appealed from the referee's decision to the trial court, which concluded that the referee properly had determined, first, that Mather had established a prima facie case of discrimination and, second, that the department's purported reliance on Mather's substandard interview performance was a pretext for discrimination. The trial court also concluded, however, that Mather's failure to obtain a professional engineer license was a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for the department's decision not to promote him to principal engineer. The trial court then remanded the case to the referee for reconsideration of Mather's claim in light of that court's decision to sustain one of the referee's findings of pretext but not the other. The department filed this appeal,1 claiming, inter alia, that it was entitled to judgment as a matter of law in view of the court's determination that Mather's failure to obtain a professional engineer license was a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for the department's decision not to promote him. We agree with the department and, therefore, reverse the judgment of the trial court. The following relevant facts and procedural history are necessary to our resolution of this appeal. In 1997, Mather, a native of Sri Lanka, was employed by the department as a supervising engineer in the soils and foundations unit.2 The soils and foundations unit is responsible for ensuring that the ground upon which highways, bridges and buildings are constructed is capable of supporting those structures. Thus, the engineering work performed by the soils and foundations unit is highly technical in nature and extremely important to the safety of people traversing the state's highways and bridges and people occupying state buildings. In the summer of 1997, Theodore Batko, the principal engineer in the soils and foundations unit, announced that he was planning to retire. After Batko's announce-

ment, Joseph Obara, the manager of the department's design services division, notified Mather, as well as two other supervising engineers, Leo Fontaine and George Gonzalez, that Batko's replacement would be appointed on a temporary basis. For several years prior to 1997, persons holding the position of principal engineer in the soils and foundations unit were required to hold a professional engineer license.3 Although internal discussions ensued among department officials as to whether to continue that requirement after Batko's retirement, the decision was made to do so, and Mather was notified of that decision in August, 1997. Upon learning of the decision to continue the license requirement, Mather, who previously had failed to achieve a passing score on the professional engineer license examination, indicated that he intended to retake the test. Mather subsequently took and failed the examination in October, 1997, October, 1998, and April, 1999. In late August, 1997, Obara promoted Fontaine to principal engineer in the soils and foundations unit on a provisional basis. Obara explained that, of the three applicants, Fontaine was the only one who held a professional engineer license, and because such a license was required for the position, Fontaine was the only candidate eligible for the provisional appointment. In November, 1997, the department issued a job posting for the position of principal engineer in the soils and foundations unit. The posting expressly stated that the successful applicant for the position would be required to hold a professional engineer license.4 After the job announcement was posted, Obara advised Mather and Gonzalez that, although they could apply and interview for the permanent principal engineer position, the successful applicant would be required to hold a professional engineer license at the time of his or her appointment. Applicants were to be evaluated, however, without regard to whether they held a license at the time that they applied for the position. Only three of the six applicants for the position held a professional engineer license. In December, 1997, interviews were conducted in accordance with the job posting. Although the interviews were conducted by a panel, Obara was the only panel member to ask questions of the applicants. During Mather's interview, Obara asked Mather about his foreign education and his work experience in England and Sri Lanka. Each panel member independently evaluated and ranked each applicant. The panel ranked Fontaine first and Mather a distant second. The panel found that Mather was deficient in technical, supervisory and oral communication skills. Following the interviews, and after a review of the selection process by the department's affirmative action

and personnel divisions, Obara announced, in January, 1998, that the panel had selected Fontaine to fill the permanent principal engineer position. Mather thereafter filed a complaint with the commission alleging, inter alia, that he had not been promoted on account of his race, that is, Asian, and national origin,5 in violation of General Statutes

Download Dept. of Transportation v. Commission on Human Rights & Opportunities.pdf

Connecticut Law