Mark A. Aragon v. Republic Silver State Disposal, Inc.

In this employment discrimination case, we must decide whether an employee was fired because of his race or because of poor job performance.

I

On September 21, 1998, Mark A. Ara-gon, a white male, began working as a casual “pitcher” for Republic Silver State Disposal, Inc. (“Republic”). The pitcher position is a physically strenuous job that requires individuals to lift and to carry trash receptacles to a waiting garbage truck. As a casual employee, Aragon was required to report to work at 3:00 a.m., although pursuant to the Union’s collective bargaining agreement, casuals are not guaranteed work every night. Instead, they are assigned on an “as needed” basis. The agreement also provides that casual employees have no right to continued employment; they are assigned by the Union Hall to Republic for temporary work assignments only. The purpose of the casual position is to provide a sufficient labor force in case there are not enough “regular” employees to cover a workload on a given day and to help Republic identify individuals who have the ability to obtain “regular” employment. Republic maintains a pool of about 50 casual employees.

Aragon worked nine shifts before he was laid…