Rachells, a Cingular wireless salesman, consistently sold more and received sales awards and accolades than any of his colleagues between 1999 and 2003. In 2004, Cingular acquired AT&T Wireless Services, and the company prepared to downsize from 9 salespeople to 4. As a result of this process, Rachells, an African-American, was terminated from his employment, and sued, alleging racial bias.

1. What was the legal issue in this case? What did the court decide?

2. What performance appraisal process was used to select employees to retain in the RIF? What were the outcomes of that process for the plaintiff?

3. What other evidence existed regarding the plaintiff’s job performance? Why does the court not simply defer to the employer’s own rating of the plaintiff’s job performance in this case?