Kenneth YEE, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES, MULTNOMAH COUNTY, Defendant-Appellee

Kenneth Yee appeals the district court’s grant of judgment after a bench trial for Multnomah County Department of Environmental Services (DES) in his Title VII suit alleging DES discriminated against him because of his Chinese descent when it denied him access to training opportunities, failed to assign him preferred supervisory job duties, and rejected his application for promotion to department supervisor in favor of a Caucasian applicant. Yee contends that the district court erred in granting judgment for DES because it made no finding that DES had articulated a legitimate business reason for the first two of these employment decisions and because the articulated business reason for not selecting Yee for promotion is legally insufficient. Yee also contends the court abused its discretion in making two evidentiary rulings. We reverse.

BACKGROUND

Yee, an American of Chinese descent, has Bachelor of Arts degrees in general science and atmospheric science. DES hired Yee in January 1979 as a staff sanitarian in the Vector Control section, which is responsible for management and control of rodents, insects and roadside vegetation and for nuisance abatement. Peter DeChant, a…