Nidds v. Schindler Elevator Corp.

Schindler Elevator Corporation (defendant) laid off several employees, mostly older workers including Raymond Nidds (plaintiff), citing decreased business, though it later attributed Nidds's specific layoff to his relatively low seniority and technical skill. After Nidds filed discrimination complaints, Schindler rehired him but later terminated him after a customer sent a letter criticizing his work. Nidds sued, alleging age discrimination and retaliation, and offered evidence including Schindler's shifting explanations, the age skew of the layoffs, his own unaffected workload, a supervisor's derogatory age-related comment, and a claim that Schindler had induced the customer's critical letter to disguise retaliatory intent; the district court granted Schindler summary judgment, and Nidds appealed.