In Levine v. DeJoy (6th Cir., No. 22-1388, 04/10/23), Levine sued the United States Postal Service (USPS), alleging discrimination by failing to promote her based on race. The Sixth Circuit reversed the trial court’s summary judgment for the employer. Levine, an African-American woman, applied for the position of supervisor of customer services. The USPS did not select Levine for the position. Instead, it hired a white employee, named Peare, whom Levine alleged was significantly less qualified than her. On appeal, the court reviewed whether the employer provided a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for selecting Peare over Levine. Here, the court found Levine provided an abundance of evidence substantiating that she was arguably more qualified for the position than Peare. Levine highlighted that the employer asked her to train Peare after they selected her for the supervisor position; Levine received a 100% mystery shopper score while she was the lead clerk; Levine had received seven different awards during her career, compared to Peare’s none; and Levine had completed a higher level of education than Peare. The court found the trial court erred when it failed to afford any weight to these facts. The court stated “these facts were probative as to whether a reasonable employer would have found the plaintiff to be significantly better qualified for the job.” Thus, Levine had met her burden of producing enough evidence to convince a reasonable jury that the employer’s proffered reasons for not promoting her may have been a mere pretext for racial discrimination.