Villareal

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS

Appellant Renato Villareal was a 56-year-old Filipino with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the Philippines who emigrated to the United States in 1977. In the United States, he has taken graduate courses in engineering at several universities and has been employed as an engineer since 1977. Throughout his four- decade career, he has received praise for his hard work, skill, and diligence. In 2007, appellant was working as a project manager for a contractor at the Torrance oil refinery of respondent Exxon. In February 2007, Exxon hired appellant away from the contractor and made him a project manager in Exxon’s Capital Projects Improvement Department. During his first two years as an Exxon employee, appellant claims he excelled (although the record strongly suggests otherwise) at important engineering projects, which he completed on time and under budget. For his excellent work, he received two pay increases between February 2007 and April 2009. Exxon measures employee performance using a merit ranking system that annually compares each employee with similarly situated employees. The review cycle begins on April 1 and looks back at…