Reynolds v. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (120 F. Supp. 3d 704, 2015)

ORDER ON SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTIONS

Sandra S. Beckwith, Senior Judge, United States District Court

Overview

Before the Court are seven motions for summary judgment filed by the Defendant, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (“Chipotle”). Each motion seeks entry of judgment on the claims of one 6f the seven Plaintiffs. (Docs. 36-42) Plaintiffs have filed a combined response brief to all seven motions (Doc. 79), and Chipotle filed a combined reply (Doc. 91).

The Plaintiffs are seven women who formerly held managerial positions in Chipo-tle. restaurants in the greater Cincinnati area. Each of them was terminated, and they filed this lawsuit alleging federal and state claims for gender discrimination. (Doc. 1) One plaintiff,. Elizabeth Rogers, also brings 'a retaliation claim under the Family and Medical Leave Act. Six of the seven Plaintiffs were General Managers of a local Chipotle restaurant when they were terminated; one. (Kerri Breeze) was an Apprentice General Manager. This is not a class, action, but Plaintiffs allege that Chi-potle “... engages in a pattern and practice of discrimmating against and/or terminating female managers.”. (Compl. at ¶78) Each Plaintiff seeks reinstatement, compensatory damages (back pay, front pay, and lost benefits), punitive damages, and attorney’s fees. The Court will first review background information common to all Plaintiffs’ claims, and the legal standards that apply to analyze each of the pending motions.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

General Background... 708

Chipotle Personnel... 708

Management Hierarchy Overview... 709

Restaurant Audits... 711

Employee Performance Reviews... 712

Summary Judgment Standards... 712

Gender Discrimination Standards... 713

Analysis of Plaintiffs’ Claims... 714

1. Kerri Breeze (Doc. 36)... 714

2. Stephanie Ochoa (Doc. 37)... 718

3. Tiña Reynolds (Doc.38)... 724

4. Elizabeth Rogers (Doc. 39)... 731

5. Meghan Verplank (Doc. 40)... 736

6. Cristie Reyñolds (Doc. 41)... 740

7. Jennifer Hernandez (Doc. 42)... 746

Conclusion... 751

General Background

Chipotle Personnel:

Brian Patterson became a Team Director for the Cincinnati area market in March 2010, and was in that position when all seven. Plaintiffs were terminated. He transferred- to Cincinnati from the Chicago area, where he had worked for Chipotle since early 2001. He became an area manager in Chicago in December 2004.

Michelle Small was the Regional Director for the Cincinnati area, and was Patterson’s direct supervisor from March 2010 until Patterson left ¡Chipotle in April 2012. Small testified that she offered Patterson a demotion to a General Manager spot because he had not developed enough Restaurateurs in his area; Patterson chose to leave the company instead. Small began working for Chipotle in March 2005 as an Area Manager in California, and was promoted to a position similar to a Team Director about six months later. She became a Midwestern Regional Director in 2008, and was'located in Chicago. Small retired from Chipotle in March 2014.

Herman Mobbs joined Chipotle in April 2011 as an Area Manager, and spent approximately the first six' months in training.' He had 15 years prior management experience in the food and beverage industry. He voluntarily left the company in December 2018.

Andy Ransick began his employment with Chipotle in Cincinnati in 2003 as- a crew member. He was promoted to a general ' manager, and transferred to North Carolina in the spring of 2007. He was promoted to a Restaurateur in December 2007. He returned to Cincinnati in May 2011 and as a Restaurateur, he was in charge of managing three restaurants.

Tim Spong is the head of Chipotle’s Safety, Security and Risk (“SSR”) group. Jennifer Clarke worked with Spong. They and others in their group performed SSR audits "(discussed below) at many of the Plaintiffs’ restaurants, as well as throughout Chipotle’s network. Spong is an attorney; he was formerly in private practice and was Chipotle’s outside counsel in the 1990’s. He became an employee in September. 2006, as Director of Safety, Security ancj Risk- He has a staff of employees, including Jennifer Clarke, Patti Mann, and Ryan Dittoe, that perform -restaurant field audits, as well as other functions relating to investigations and customer service. ■

Candace' Andreoni, Michael Trióla, and Annie Campbell work in Chipotle’s Human Relations department. Triola’s title was “People Support Director,” and he reported to Michelle Small.

Monty Moran and Steven Ells are the co-CEO’s of Chipotle, with headquarters in Denver, Colorado.

Esther Smiley.is Chipotle’s Compliance Manager. , .

Management Hierarchy Overview:

Esther Smiley’s declarations filed in support of several of the motions, describe the company’s ’ managerial hierarchy. Hourly employees (“créw”) staff each Chi-potle restaurant. They are supervised and managed by a Kitchen Manager, a Services Manager, 'an Apprentice • Manager, and ultimately by a General Manager. Kitchen and Services Managers are hourly employees; Apprentice and General Managers are salaried.' A restaurant operates at “model” when it is fully staffed with these, managers.

. A General Manager is responsible for the overall operation of a restaurant. The written job description for the position describes the' duties and responsibilities, which include leading, hiring and training crew; developing promising employees into managers for promotion; building sales; implementing financial controls and preparing financial reports;-and “demonstrating the management style that is reflective of. Chipotle’s values and culture.” (Doc 38-12, Ex. K, July 2010 General Manager Job Description.) . ,

General Managers who meet certain quality and performance standards can be promoted to “Restaurateur,” and then up through several Restaurateur levels (R2, R3 or R4). These levels “directly correlate with how many restaurants he/she oversees and mentors towards Restaurateur. A Restaurateur who develops more than four restaurants to Restaurateur status is then promoted to ‘Apprentice Team Leader.’” (Doc. 41-2, Smiley Decl. at ¶ 11.) (Chipotle documents and personnel often refer to a Restaurateur as “RT” and an Apprentice Team Leader as “ATL.”) Above the Apprentice Team Leaders are Team Leaders (“TL”) and Area Managers (“AM”), who are responsible for larger geographic regions. Apprentice Team Leaders, Team Leaders, and Area Managers report directly to a Team Director, who in turn reports to a Regional Director.

An internal company document gives an overview of the position of Restaurateur:

Restaurateurs are our very best managers; they create a culture within their restaurant of high standards and constant improvement. They work with each member of their team helping them excel, and they reward their best performers by giving them additional responsibility and opportunity for growth. Restaurateurs focus on every aspect of the restaurant experience: food, service, and atmosphere. For them, no detail is too small. This results in a restaurant that is exciting for both crew and customers alike, and one that is financially successful as well. Restaurateurs set the standard for all other managers----

Restaurateur candidates are nominated by their Regional Director, and are selected by Steve [Ells] or Monty [Moran] after a restaurant visit and interview, including one-on-ones with the crew.

(Doc. 41-7, Ex. F, Restaurateur Overview.) Area Managers and/or Team Leaders create a “Ready” list of restaurants for assessment visits by the Regional Director. If the Regional Director approves the restaurant, it is placed on what Chipotle refers to a the “Now” list for a visit from Monty Moran and/or Steve Ells.

Moran testified that he makes the ultimate decision to promote a General Manager to Restaurateur. The questions he would typically ask to make this decision include: “Is the general manager someone who cares about their people? Do they seem to enjoy making others better? Do they like to teach people? Do they like to develop people? Do they like to watch people succeed? Can they communicate with their people in a way that their people can understand and relate to? Are they ambitious? Are they high energy? Do they work hard? Do they care about Chipotle? Do they have a vision for where their restaurant can go?” (Doc. 51, Moran Dep. at 87-88)

Brian Patterson described a Restaurateur-readiness visit as one that gauges the “feel” of the restaurant, and the “energy, the empowerment, the engagement of the associates and team members.” (Doc. 65, Patterson Dep. Vol. 1 at 128) In assessing a restaurant’s readiness for promotion, Michelle Small said that she got most of the knowledge she needed simply by “sitting and talking to all of the crew. You learn everything that you need to learn about the culture, the leadership, about the people on the team from the crew.” (Doc. 82, Small Dep. at 22) Alan Clark, a former Area Manager, testified that the standards for achieving Restaurateur status changed over time, and he thought it became a “nebulous feel good thing, everybody had to be harmonious and holding hands and singing the same song.” (Doc. 58, A. Clark Dep. at 52-53)

Patterson testified that Chipotle generally expected a General Manager to be promoted to Restaurateur within six to twelve months. (Doc. 65, Patterson Dep. Vol. I. at 96) Monty Moran testified that there was no hard and fast time period within which a General Manager was required to achieve promotion to Restaurateur. He said that “... it would always be our desire that someone become a Restaurateur sooner rather than later, but we don’t put a time limit upon how long someone .has to make it to that position. Some people have taken many years to reach that position. Some people have reached it very quickly.... Some people have more potential to get there more quickly than others and that’s okay.” (Doc. 51, Moran Dep. at 32, 34-35) Miehelle Small testified that a General Manager who doesn’t reach Restauranteur is not automatically terminated, because the timeline to achieve that promotion “wasn’t set in stone like a line drawn in the sand...”. (Doc. 82, Small Dep. at 21-22) Tim Spong testified that Chipotle did not have a “drop-dead guideline on a national basis” for promotion to Restaurateur, and that each market’s operational leaders had the flexibility to decide. He said that Chipotle has managers who have been with the company for years who are not Restaurateurs. (Doc. 83, Spong Dep. Vol. I at 35-36) Jennifer Clarke, who worked with Spong, also testified that Chipotle has General' Managers who have never been promoted to RT, and remain with the company. (Doc. 49, J. Clarke Dep. Vol. I at 8)

Restaurant Audits:

Chipotle conducts regular “audits” of its restaurants to measure and monitor many aspects of operations. Store-level restaurant reviews (“SL”) are done by the General Manager at her own restaurant every two to four weeks; the GM must also perform a cash handling review every two weeks. A “TL” (team lead) audit is conducted by Team Leaders or RT’s approximately every 45 days. In Cincinnati during the time -at issue - in this case, TL Audits were also conducted by other General Managers approved to perform them. TL audits include the evaluation and scoring of multiple aspects of a restaurant’s operations, and its compliance with Chipotle’s cash handling policy. (Doc. 41, Ex. S, is Chipotle’s 2010 written cash handling policy.) A score of 100% or “A” is the best possible operations score; points are deducted for operational problems or lack of compliance with Chipotle’s restaurant procedures. Cash handling compliance is scored in the opposite fashion, with points added for non-compliance. A “zero” is therefore a perfect score for cash handling.

A corporate SSR (safety, security and risk) audit team visits each restaurant approximately once a year to perform an in-depth audit and review of a restaurant’s operations and cash handling. Before 2012, the SSR and TL audits, used essentially the same written format to document the audit results. Sometime in late 2011 or early 2012, the SSR audit forms began including a series of “Restaurateur Questions” at the start, seeking the auditor’s opinion about the chances of the restaurant and its General Manager being promoted to RT. (See, e.g., Doc. 87-1, Ex. 40, an August 2012 SSR audit in the revised format.) Tim Spong first initiated the SSR audits after he joined the company in 2006. His initial focus was on improving cash handling procedures, because theft was a real problem in many Chipotle restaurants at that time. Over time the SSR audits evolved to include restaurant operations. Spong said that SSR audits, “provide another set of eyes in a restaurant,” and an objective perspective from someone “who doesn’t have an ax to grind, who has no involvement in” any local leadership issues, someone to “just come in objectively 'and provide an assessment of how the restaurant is operating and what the culture is like in the restaurant.” (Doc. 83, Spong Dep. Vol. I at 29-30) ■

Spong said that a cash handling score of 3 or less on an SSR audit is required to be eligible for promotion to Restaurateur, but he believes that the operations score is used as a “data point” for overall evaluation of the restaurant. He did not believe that a certain operations score was required before a General Manager could be promoted. (Id. at 30-31) Jennifer Clarke testified that no single operations grade would result in a manager’s termination as a matter of course. (Doe. 49, J. Clarke Dep. I ' at 9) And one poor SSR audit is not, in Clarke’s opinion, fatal to a promotion' to RT. (Id. at 7-8) Michelle Small avers in a declaration that an overall audit score of 60 or below, and a cash handling score of 4 and above, are considered failing scores. (Doc. 38-2, Ex. A, 1118-19) In another declaration, Small states that an operations score of “D” or “F” is considered a failing score. (Doc. 39-2, Ex. A, ¶15.) Several audit reports list operations scores of “D-69,” suggesting that a score of 70-79 points is considered a “C,” and therefore a passing score. Herman Mobbs testified that a cash handling score of 3 or lower is a pass, 4-5 is in a “yellow” caution area, and 6 or higher is failing. (Doc. 63, Mobbs Dep. at 120)

Employee Performance Reviews:

Chipotle employees have performance reviews on a regular basis. General Managers are reviewed every six months, at mid-year and at year-end. The manager evaluation form used for all of the Plaintiffs includes sections for the employee to complete a self-review, which is then critiqued and commented on by the employee’s supervisor. (See, e.g., Doc. 37-15, Ex. N, Stephanie Ochoa’s 2010 Restaurant Management Performance Review.)- The employee provides a self-review of goals and accomplishments in four areas: (1) Develops Great -Managers; (2) Builds Sales— Runs Excellent Restaurant(s); (3) Financial .Success, measured by 7 factors (sales growth, profitability, labor' costs, food costs, maintenance and repair, “throughput/15 minute transactions,” and loss prevention/cash handling); and (4) Other (issues not covered by the first three topics). The employee- describes her long-term career goals in the company, and identifies the skills she needs to develop to accomplish those goals. The final section is an overall performance rating for each six-month period and for a full year using a numbering system, with “1” being the highest, and “4” being the lowest. The rankings are defined as follows:

1: Outstanding in all areas of his or her position. Has a proven track record of consistently delivering excellent results in all aspects of his or her position. Has been a positive influence beyond then-areas of responsibility.

2. Outstanding in many areas of his or her position. Delivers excellent results in many aspects of his or her position. Creates a positive influence in most areas of their responsibility.

3. A reliáble contributor. Effectively applies themselves to the tasks of the position and typically delivers effective results in many aspects of his or her position.

4. Inconsistent performance. Does not .typically bring a positive influence to his or her area of responsibility. Does ,not reliably accomplish the responsibilities of the position. Performance must improve to stay in one’s position.

Managers are eligible for discretionary, semi-annual performance bonuses depending upon their ratings; a manager whose .performance rating is “4” is not eligible for a bonus. (Doc. 42-12, Ex. K, 2011 Restaurant Manager Semi-Annual Bonus Plan.)

Summary Judgment ¡-Standards

The court “shall grant summary judgment if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). An assertion of a undisputed fact must be supported.by citations to particular parts of the record, including depositions, affidavits, admissions, and interrogatory answers. The moving party has the initial burden of informing the district court of the basis for its motion and identifying portions of the record that demonstrate the absence of a genuine dispute over material facts. Mt. Lebanon Personal Care Home, Inc. v. Hoover Universal, Inc., 276 F.3d 845, 848 (6th Cir.2002). Once that occurs, the party opposing the motion may not ‘rely on the hope that the trier of fact will disbelieve the movant’s denial of a disputed fact' but must make an affirmative showing with proper evidence in order to defeat the motion. Street v. J.C. Bradford & Co., 886 F.2d 1472, 1479 (6th Cir.1989).

The Court is not duty bound to search the entire record in an effort to establish a lack of material facts. Guarino v. Brookfield Township Trs., 980 F.2d 399, 404 (6th Cir.1992). Rather, the burden is on the non-moving party to “present affirmative evidence to defeat a properly supported motion for summary judgment...,” Street v. J.C. Bradford & Co., 886 F.2d 1472, 1479-80 (6th Cir.1989), and to designate specific facts in dispute. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 250, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The non-moving party “must do more than simply show that-there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts.” Matsushita Electric Industries Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986).

The court’s function is not to weigh the evidence and determine the truth of the matter, but to determine whether there is a genuine issue for trial. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505. The court must assess “whether thei’e is the need for trial — whether, in other words, there are any genuine factual issues that properly can be resolved only by a finder of fact because they may reasonably be resolved in favor of either party.” Id. at 250, 106 S.Ct. 2505. “If the evidence is merely colorable,... or is not significantly probative,... the court may grant judgment.” Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505 (citations omitted). The court must construe the record in the light most favorable to the non-movant, and draw all justifiable inferences in the non-movant’s favor. United States v. Diebold Inc., 369 U.S. 654, 655, 82 S.Ct. 993, 8 L.Ed.2d 176 ,(1962).

Gender Discrimination Standards

Each plaintiff alleges discrimination claims under Title VII and Ohio Rev. Code 4112. The Court will consider the federal and state claims together because the same legal standards apply. See, e.g., Plumbers & Steamfitters Joint Apprenticeship Comm. v. Ohio Civil Rights Commission, 66 Ohio St.2d 192, 196, 421 N.E.2d 128 (Ohio 1981).

None of the plaintiffs rely on direct evidence of gender discrimination. The familiar McDonnell-Douglas burden-shifting framework applies to their discrimination claims based on circumstantial evidence. In order to establish a prima facie case, each of the plaintiffs must demonstrate: (1) she is a member of a protected class; (2) she was qualified for her job; (3) she suffered an adverse employment action; and (4) she was replaced by a person outside the protected class, or she was treated differently than similarly situated non-protected. employees. Newman v. Federal Express Corp., 266 F.3d 401, 406 (6th Cir.2001). Establishing a prima facie claim is not intended to be an onerous task. Jackson v. FedEx Corp., 518 F.3d 388, 396 (6th Cir.2008). Chipotle must then articulate a legitimate, non-discriminatory .reason for taking the adverse action. Chipotle’s burden is one of production, not persuasion. Sjostrand v. Ohio State Univ., 750 F.3d 596, 599 (6th Cir.2014).

The plaintiff must then demonstrate that the proffered reason is a pretext for sex discrimination. She may do so by demonstrating that (1) Chipotle’s stated reason has no basis in fact, (2) the reason given is not the actual reason for the termination, or (3) the reason is insufficient to explain Chipotle’s action in terminating the plaintiff. See Imwalle v. Reliance Med. Products, Inc., 515 F.3d 531, 545 (6th Cir.2008), citing Manzer v. Diamond Shamrock Chemicals Co., 29 F.3d 1078, 1084 (6th Cir.1994). The Sixth Circuit has made it clear that it has “... never regarded those categories as anything more than a convenient way of marshaling evidence and focusing it on the ultimate inquiry: ‘did the employer fire the employee for the stated reason or not?’ ” Tingle v. Arbors at Hilliard, 692 F.3d 523, 530 (6th Cir.2012).

The Sixth Circuit has held that in order . .to survive summary judgment a plaintiff need only produce enough evidence to support a prima facie case and to rebut, but not to disprove, the defendant’s proffered rationale.” Blair v. Henry Filters, Inc., 505 F.3d 517, 532 (6th Cir.2007). “The key question is always whether, under the particular facts and context of the case at hand, the plaintiff has presented sufficient evidence that he or she suffered an adverse employment action' under circumstances which give rise to an inference of unlawful discrimination.” Id., quoting Macy v. Hopkins Cty. Sch. Bd., 484 F.3d 357, 365 (6th Cir.2007).

ANALYSIS OF PLAINTIFFS’ CLAIMS

1. Kerri Breeze was hired by'Chipo-tle in December 2008 as a kitchen manager at the Cornell/Reed Hartman restaurant. Kevin Male promoted her to service manager, a job that Breeze described as very similar to kitchen manager but involving' more frequent interactions with customers. Breeze considered Male to be her mentor because he hired her, trained her and promoted her. She received an “above expectations” rating on her September 2009 hourly crew performance review. (Doc. 57, Breeze Dep. Ex. 9) By that time she had transferred to the Northern Kentucky (NKU) restaurant, and her manager was either Kevin Male or Raul Hernandez. (Id. Breeze Dep. at 61-62) On her May 19, 2010 hourly service manager performance review, her overall rating was 2 out of 4, signifying that her performance “meets expectations.” (Id. Breeze Dep. Ex. 10) Luis Martinez, who was her General Manager at this time, wrote in her review that he needed “to spend some more time with you because you need to be promoted soon!” Breeze helped train four kitchen managers, two of whom were promoted to service managers (Kevin Overmeyer, John Cur-ran, Allison Reynolds, and Victor Contreras).

Within six months, Male and Brian Patterson promoted Breeze to apprentice manager, a salaried position, and transferred her to the newly-opened Kenwood Mall restaurant in November 2010. Patterson said that Chipotle chose the “strongest candidates” to open up the new restaurant. Melvin Henriquez became Breeze’s General Manager; Breeze said it “...was the first time that there was ever a Chipotle in a mall, in a courtyard... .We were young, very green.” (Id. Breeze Dep. at 83)

Melvin Henriquez and/or Kevin Male completed Breeze’s 2010 year-end salaried apprentice manager’s performance review, which she signed on March 15, 2011. (Id. Breeze Dep. Ex. 12) Henriquez and Male met with her that day to discuss the review, in which Breeze rated her own performance as “3” out of 4. Male crossed out the “3” and checked “2.” Breeze wrote that her goal for the following quarter was to be promoted to General Manager, and to' help her restaurant (and Henriquez) become a Restaurateur. Breeze said that neither Male nor Henriquez offered any criticism of her performance at her annual review, and her written evaluation lacks any negative comments or suggestions for improvement from either Male or Henri-quez. Breeze described Melvin Henriquez as a “leader,” and said she got along very well with him. He never treated her differently due to her gender, or treated men more favorably. Annie Campbell (Chipotle HR) visited the Kenwood restaurant around this time, and told Breeze that she would be “a restaurateur in no time.” (Id. Breeze Dep. at 126)

Michelle Small and Brian Patterson visited Breeze’s restaurant sometime in March 2011 (the precise date is not stated). Small testified that Breeze “didn’t look comfortable” working with her crew. (Doc. 82, Small Dep. at 165) According to Patterson, Small said that Breeze was a “low performer” that day because she was “not engaging in conversation, seeking feedback, or taking ownership” in the restaurant. (Doc. 65, Patterson Dep. Vol. I at 178-179) Small told Patterson that Breeze should be fired, because she was preventing Henriquez from being put on Small’s “ready list” for a Restaurateur assessment visit. Small denied saying these things to Patterson. (Doc. 82, Small Dep. at 166) Breeze testified that during this visit, Patterson ignored the female employees, while both Patterson and Small were friendly to the males. Breeze called Kevin Male and Melvin Henriquez (who apparently were not at the restaurant that day), telling them that the visit from Small and Patterson “.. .was horrible, they basically came in and did not speak to me and I just felt belittled and embarrassed.” (Doc. 57, Breeze Dep. at 149) Patterson called Male and told him that the visit did not go well, and that Patterson and Small “were disappointed in [Breeze’s] performance during the visit. That.. .she really wasn’t-'Standing out as a leader when they were present. That she kind of faded into the background and kind of hid.” (Doc. 62, Male Dep. at 62) Male recalled that Melvin Hen-riquez was upset after Small’s visit because he wanted to get promoted, and Small’s negative reaction would jeopardize his chances.

Kevin Male terminated Breeze on May 13, 2011. Breeze testified that she opened the restaurant that day; sometime after lunch, Male came in to speak with her. He said he was sorry he had been ignoring her, but he.gave her the choice of quitting or being-terminated. Breeze testified that Male told her that he was

... on the phone with Brian [Patterson] and Michelle [Small] in a screaming match telling them that they are making the wrong decision: in firing you.... they had stated that you will never move up in Chipotle and [Male] said, the good news is we can go have a drink together now. And I said,' I guess I’m going to be fired because I don’t want to quit. There is no reason for me to quit. And [Male] just said I need to take your keys and we need to go inside the restaurant and get your belongings and that was it.

(Doc. 57, Breeze Dep. at 18.8) Male disagreed with Patterson when he told .Male that Breeze needed to be fired. After several discussions between them, Male agreed to convey Patterson’s, decision to Breeze but made it clear that it was, not his decision. (Doc. 62, Male Dep. at 89-91) Breeze’s termination form cites her unacceptable work performance as the reason for her termination. Melvin Henriquez submitted a declaration in support of Chi-potle’s motion, in which he avers that Breeze was not a good leader. She would “constantly undermine my authority and disagree with me on almost every decision I made..He never saw her show “any passion or caring” for the restaurant,- and he believed that she was dragging his team down. (Doc. 36-12, Ex. K, Henriquez Decl. at ¶¶ 7,10)

. Breeze said that during her employment with Chipotle, she had less than ten interactions with Patterson. He would visit the restaurant and point out things that were incorrect; she said “it was just intimidating having someone look over your shoulder.” (Doc. 57, Breeze Dep. at 133) She actually spoke to him only occasionally. During his last visit to Kenwood with Michelle Small, Patterson approached her and said “you seem kind of off today.” Breeze responded that “... there’s a lot of pressure. I want to become restaurateur[,] and that was it and they left.” (Id. Breeze Dep. at 134) She admitted that Patterson never made any sexist comments to her, and she did not • see him treat men better than he treated her. Michelle Small visited the NKU restaurant once or - twice when Breeze worked there. One visit was shortly after that restaurant was first open, and the crew was a little late opening the doors that day. Breeze opened the doors for Small, who talked to her crew briefly and then left. The only thing Small said to Breeze was to ask her why she opened ten minutes late. Breeze said that Small “just put everybody on edge” when she visited restaurants. (Id. at 140)

Chipotle argues that Breéze cannot establish a prima facié. case." It relies on Esther Smiley’s declaration’that Apprentice Manager Allison Reynolds replaced Breeze. (Doc. 36-2, Ex. A, Smiley Decl. at ¶20) Breeze testified that she thought Kevin Overmeyer replaced her, but- admitted that this is “speculation, [because] he was next in line to 1 be promoted:” (Doc. 57, Breeze Dep. at 167) In Plaintiffs’ response memorandum, Breeze contends that Victor Murillo (Contreras) replaced her. Breeze cites Chipotle’s response to her interrogatory asking for the identity of anyone who “performed any of her job duties since her termination.” Chipotle identified Victor Murillo, not Allison Reynolds. To explain the discrepancy, Chipotle states that after it responded to Breeze’s interrogatory, “further investigation” revealed that Allison Reynolds actually replaced Breeze. Chipotle relies on personnel status forms showing that Reynolds was promoted to kitchen manager ten days after Breeze was terminated. She was promoted to service manager on July 18, and from apprentice to general manager on September 12, 2011. The date' of her promotion to apprentice manager (Breeze’s position when she was fired) is not apparent. Victor Murillo was promoted to kitchen manager on June 20, to service manager on September 12, and to apprentice manager on November 7. (Doc. 91-1, Exs. A and B)

These forms apparently, demonstrate that no one was promoted to apprentice manager immediately following Breeze’s termination; then sometime between July and September, Reynolds was apparently promoted to apprentice before Murillo. Kevin Male testified that Allison (Reynolds), “Bryce,” or Victor Murillo assumed Breeze’s position, but he also recalled that her position was vacant for a period of time. When he reviewed the status change form promoting Murillo to apprentice manager, Male testified that he promoted Murillo to be the next apprentice manager at the Kenwood Mall restaurant. (Doc. 62, Male Dep. at 97-99) 1

Breeze also asserts that four male employees were treated more favorably than she. She asserts that Kevin Overmeyer and John Curran were treated more favorably because “they were training [them] faster,” and they were quickly promoted from kitchen manager to service manager. Breeze did not know their prior job history or the reasons that they might have been promoted more quickly. (Doc.. 57, Breeze Dep. at 168-170) She believes that Patterson and Small treated Kevin Male better based on their visits to the restaurant, when they were more friendly towards Male. The same was true for Victor Murillo. She also asserts that Murillo was treated more favorably because he was given 7 months to develop his skills as an apprentice manager, but Breeze was terminated “two weeks after she was allegedly identified as lacking skills.” (Doc. 79 at 25)

To satisfy her prima facie burden of proof, Breeze must show that the male comparators were similarly situated to her in all relevant aspects of their jobs. Ercegovich v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 154 F.3d 344, 352 (6th Cir.1998). She has not shown that Overmeyer and Curran were similarly situated because they were not salaried managers; her subjective impression that they were being trained “faster” is not sufficient. Kevin Male is not similarly situated to Breeze, as she tacitly admits; Male was her mentor and supervisor, and had very different responsibilities. It is unclear what the basis is of Breeze’s assertion that Murillo had 7 months of apprentice training while she was fired after two weeks. Male said that Patterson told him to fire Breeze very shortly after the Small/Patterson visit in March, but the actual termination did not occur until May 12, some two months later. Male also testified that after Murillo was promoted to apprentice, he was promoted again to General Manager about a year later, after Henriquez .became a Restaurateur. (Doc. 62, Male Dep. at 98-99) The Court assumes that Breeze is referring to the longer period of time that Murillo was given to achieve promotion to General Manager. Based on that evidence, plus the fact that Male testified ' that Murillo replaced Breeze, which differs from Smiley’s declaration, the Court finds' that Breeze can establish a prima facie claim.

Chipotle contends that it terminated Breeze because she did not display “leadership,” and “faded into the background” when Small and Patterson visited her restaurant in March 2011. Patterson testified that despite feedback from him and Male, Breeze failed to show that she was “an engaged dynamic leader.” (Doc. 65, Patterson Vol. I.at 185) Small allegedly told Patterson that Breeze was a “low performer,” because she was not “engaged, does not absorb any kind of feedback, does not even want to be a part of the discussion going on in the restaurant.” (Id. at 178) Patterson said that Breeze “didn’t represent herself well with visitors',” but he did not know or remember what Breeze was actually doing during his visit. He admitted that she may well have been filling in for her crew members who were being interviewed by Small or Patterson.

Chipotle urges the Court to infer that because she is a female, Small would not discriminate against Breeze, and Patterson would not fire her only a few months after promoting her to apprentice. These “same group” and “same actor” inferences may be permissibly drawn by the trier of fact. But at the summary judgment stage, the Court may not draw an inference in favor of Chipotle, the moving party.

Breeze also argues that Chipo-tle’s stated reason for her termination is so vague and subjective that it in itself raises an inference that the stated reason was not the actual reason. Simply showing that an employer’s performance standards are subjectivp does' not mean that reliance upon thope standards is automatically suspect, or that it is sufficient to raise a genuine dispute about pretext. But the Sixth Circuit has also cautioned that such

... subjective ‘ evaluation processes intended to recognize merit provide ready mechanisms for discrimination... ,[T]he legitimacy of the articulated reason for the employment decision is subject to particularly close scrutiny where the evaluation is subjective and the evaluators themselves are not members of the protected minority... .The Supreme Court in Burdine voiced similar concerns. The Court stated the articulated reasons must be “clear and specific” to rebut the prima facie case and guarantee that the plaintiff will be afforded “a full and fair opportunity” to demonstrate pretext. ... Obviously the more subjective the qualification and the manner in which it is measured, the more difficult it will be for the defendant to meet the burden imposed by the court in Bur-dine.

Grano v. Dep’t. of Dev., 699 F.2d 836, 837 (6th Cir.1983)(internal citations omitted). To challenge Chipotle’s stated ground for her termination, that she was not an “engaged dynamic leader” and “faded into the background,” Breeze relies on additional circumstantial evidence that she contends raises a reasonable inference of discrimination. Male said that Patterson told him to terminate Breeze. Patterson testified that Small told him that Breeze should be fired, but Small denied making that statement to Patterson. Henriquez’s declaration avers that before Small’s visit, he spoke to Male “on multiple occasions” about his frustrations with Breeze. Yet in mid-March 2011 (on her year-end review), Henriquez and Male rated her performance as “2” out of 4, meaning she was “[ojutstanding in many areas of his or her position. Delivers excellent results in many aspects of his or her position. Creates a positive influence in most areas of their responsibility.” Breeze testified that Henriquez did not criticize her performance at her review or at all before she was terminated. And Male testified that before Small and Patterson visited the restaurant in March 2011, he did not have concerns about her performance and had not spoken to Breeze about any concerns.

After considering the evidence and the parties’ arguments, the Court concludes that Breeze has established a genuine dispute whether Chipotle’s stated reason for her termination is the actual reason or was sufficient to justify her termination. Chipo-tle is not entitled to summary judgment on her claims.

2. Stephanie Ochoa began her employment with Chipotle in June 2005, and was promoted to General Manager in 2006. Sometime thereafter she took a disability leave, followed by an unpaid medical leave. She did not return to work when her leave ended, and she was terminated in March 2009. Cris Reynolds, who was an Area Manager at that time, rehired her as a crew member at the Kenwood Road restaurant on November 23, 2009. Reynolds quickly promoted Ochoa to Kitchen Manager, and then to Service Manager. Reynolds and Brian Patterson promoted her to Apprentice Manager of the Fountain Square restaurant on March 29, 2010, and Kevin Male promoted her to General Manager on September 13, 2010.

Cris Reynolds told Ochoa that Chipotle expected its General Managers to be promoted to Restaurateur, and that Reynolds was expected to help her GMs achieve that goal. After Ochoa became General Manager, Reynolds visited her restaurant once a week, sometimes for one shift and other times for the entire day, to help Ochoa reach Restaurateur status. (Doc. 64, Ochoa Dep. at 81-84) Reynolds completed Ochoa’s Dec. 28, 2010 managerial performance review, which covered the last quarter of 2010. Reynolds noted that Ochoa had not reduced her employee turnover rate, but also recognized that Ochoa needed to ter-mínate some employees at her restaurant. Reynolds stated that' Ochoa “strives for constant improvement and requires this from her team.” Reynolds rated her at 2 out of 4 overall for this period. (Doc. 37-15, Ex. N)

In January 2011, Cris Reynolds was demoted from Area Manager, and Brian Patterson became Ochoa’s AM. Patterson completed her July 2011 mid-year review, where he noted that Ochoa had done a good job “getting back to basics” and “creating a strong learning culture.....One opportunity is making sure you don’t have any low performers on your team. I know you’ve removed some, but we must remove all. You have been there long enough to know the people that are going to grow with you and the people who are not — Herman [Mobbs] is looking for leaders and I’d like to see you step up and assist when possible and encourage too [sic].” (Doc. 37-16, Ex. 0 at 1-2) Patterson also told Ochoa that Chipotle expected new General Managers to achieve promotion to Restaurateur within 6-8 months after starting, and that current GM’s should be close to being promoted.

Patterson also discussed Ochoa’s “Shopper Review” results. These reviews are completed by anonymous visitors to the restaurant who rate multiple aspects of food, service, and restaurant atmosphere as “Great,” “OK,” or “Nope.” (It is 'not clear when Chipotle began using these reviews to gauge the performance of its General Managers, or who the anonymous visitors are.) Chipotle expects that each restaurant will receive aggregate total ratings of at least 87% “Great,” 9% “OK,” and 4% “Nope.” Ochoa did not meet these goals; she received 85.1% “Great,” 7.6% “OK,” and 7.3% “Nope.” Her sales growth was below her target, and she conceded that meeting her labor costs target was a struggle. She also admitted that she had not met her goal of substantially and consistently improving the restaurant. Patterson wrote that Ochoa “generally has tight financials” but her labor cost index ratio was poor. Patterson gave her an overall rating of 3 out of 4.

Ochoa admitted that it was difficult for her to fire some of her employees, even though she knew her restaurant would improve if she did. (Doc. 64, Ochoa Dep. at 64-65) Ochoa described the Fountain Square restaurant as the “toughest store” she had ever managed. There were several incidents involving homeless people wandering in and causing fights, which eventually required Chipotle to hire a security guard for the evenings. She had trouble recruiting reliable employees from nearby neighborhoods. In mid-2011, one of Ochoa’s employees filed an EEOC claim against Chipotle, contending that she and other employees heard racially offensive remarks while working for Ochoa, and that Qchoa fired her after she complained. The employee later sued Chipotle, and Ochoa was deposed in that action. Chipotle cites these events -but does not claim that it disciplined or terminated Ochoa because of this employee’s claim.

■ Herman Mobbs replaced Patterson as Ochoa’s Area Manager in August or September 2011. Mobbs and Patterson both told Ochoa that she should be able to achieve Restaurateur status almost immediately, because she had been a General Manager for a year. To further his goal of encouraging his General Managers to become ; Restaurateurs, Mobbs created a team of managers he believed were likely Restaurateur candidates, to mentor each other and visit each other’s restaurants for helpful input. (Doc. 64, Ochoa Dep. at 159) Mobbs chose Ochoa to be a member of this team. Two- other team .members, -Luis Martinez and “Erick” (presumably Erick Arce, GM at the Burlington restaurant), visited the Fountain Square restaurant on February 11, 2012 for one of these “team” visits. Martinez made notes of their visit (which he entitled “Diagnose Fountain Square”), and sent a summary in an email to Ochoa. He listed some “great” things about her restaurant, and a longer list of items that needed cleaning and operational issues that needed improvement. Martinez told Ochoa that they both had opportunities to improve, and that some of his observations were based on feedback he had received about his own restaurant. (Doc. 37-30, Ex. BB) '

The parties have hot cited any audits that may have been done, at Fountain Square between September '2010',* when Ochoa became the General Manager, and August 14, 2011, when Alan Clark performed a TL audit at Fountain Square. Clark gave the restaurant an operations score of C-76 and a cash handling score of 1. Clark’s' summary states that “. .'.[t]here have beén improvement's in the people and operational standards since the last time I was here.” He noted that food was not kept at required temperatures, and there were several “opportunities for improved cleanliness.”, He also, noted that DCR’s (daily cash reports) were “well organized and accurate.” (Doc. 37-26, Ex. X) Ochoa admitted that his observations were important. (Doc. 64, Ochoa Dep. at 218-219)

Kevin Male and Herman Mobbs performed a TL audit on September 30, 2011, Male gave an operations score of C-71, and cash handling score of 2. He and Mobbs noted that the overall visit was good, but “we were very detail focused in our observations. The team was very receptive to the feedback and I look forward to working with, the Fountain Square Team;” (Doc. 37-28, Ex. Z) Mobbs conducted a TL audit on December 27, 2011, and gave her an operations grade of B-80 and cash handling score of 3. He summarized his visit as “okay, but [Ochoa] and her team need to get this restaurant to great and they have the potential to do so. Many of the issues I noted during my last visit have been addressed and the restaurant looks much better overall.” Mobbs noted that there were some inconsistent cut sizes of food, and some areas in the back of the restaurant that needed cleaning. But he stated that if those issues were addressed, “this restaurant should score no less than an A on the next audit.” (Doc. 37-29, Ex. AA)

Sometime in January 2012, Patterson, Mobbs, .Luis Martinez, and Kevin Male visited Ochoa’s restaurant for 5 to 6 hours, to give her advice on achieving promotion to Restaurateur. Ochoa took notes of their comments and suggestions, including specific recommendations to fire some of her employees. They told her that the restaurant needed detailed cleaning, more attention paid to “mise en place” (Chipotle’s phrase for restaurant organization and food preparation, apparently meaning “everything in its place”), and regular daily training for her crew. Patterson told Ochoa that her restaurant was 100% better than it had been in September when he last visited. But Mobbs thought her operations had grown worse since his last audit in December; as a result, Mobbs removed her from his General Manager “team” so that she could concentrate on improving her restaurant. (Doc. 63, Mobbs Dep. at 146) Ochoa’s profit/loss report for February 2012 reflected negative cost variances for food, labor, services and uniforms. Ochoa admitted these results were not good, but she attributed it in part to the fact that some of her employees were stealing food.

' Mobbs conducted another TL audit on March 2, 2012, and gave Ochoa an operations grade of D-61, and a cash handling score of 3. (Doe. 37-33, Ex. EE) Mobbs complimented her employees for “a great job today during the peak lunch period.” He noted that while there had been “great improvements at Fountain Square over'the past two months, I was’disappointed overall in my visit today,” especially noting the lack of detailed cleanliness of the restaurant and several food preparation issues. Ochoa disagreed, with Mobbs’ observations; she testified that Mobbs ‘Vas in just a horrible mood and he was nitpicking everything.” He also changed his instructions and expectations on the proper cut sizes of food items: “It was always, every time he came in, it was always something more, something new, something different and I told him that I was overwhelmed' with every time he was here, it was a change of this or a different procedure, a different' policy...”. (Doc. 64, Ochoa Dep. at 233) Ochoa thought that Mobbs expected her to meet impossible standards of perfection and cleanliness, and that Mobbs was “pushing me so hard to get to Restaurateur by April that it was just overwhelming— [Tjhere was no way I was going to get to Restaurateur by April, and that’s what he wanted me to do.” (Id. at ’234) Ochoa conceded that; the close scrutiny she received from Mobbs on this TL, audit was similar to what she experienced during an SSR audit that Jennifer Clarke performed on March 8; 2012. Clarke gave her an operations grade of C-77, and a cash handling score of 8. In her' audit report, Clarke first answered the eight “Restaurateur Questions” (which would help determine if she ready for a visit from Michelle Small), and answered all eight questions negatively. She wrote that the restaurant jacked a team ,of top performers; only five of the crew were “outgoing and personable,” and she identified at least two others as “low performers.” Some employees displayed knowledge of Chipotle’s high standards and some did not. Clarke concluded; “I am not confident that [Ochoa] will be a Restaurateur. [She] has been a QM here at Fountain Square for 3 years and she seems motivated to become a Restaurateur but after meeting her employees, I do not think she truly knows what kind of people she has to have on her team in order 'to créate a Restaurateur culture.” (Doc. 37-34, Ex. FF at 1)

Clarke deducted cash handling points because Mobbs had not done two of the required TL audits over the past,three months; she also deducted points on operations because two employees were not wearing . slip-resistant covers on their shoes. Ochoa thought both of these deductions were unfair. She explained to Clarke that shoe covers (which were available if employees forgot to wear slip-resistant shoes to work), were in a backroom that was not accessible,that day because a repairman was on a ladder working in the ceiling, and had blocked the backroom’s entrance. And Ochoa did not believe it was her responsibility to make sure Mobbs did his job by timely completing TL audits. Clarke told Ochoa during her visit that the audit scores were not a reason that she would be terminated.

When she read Clarke’s written report shortly after the audit, Ochoa tried to reach Mobbs right away to talk to him because she was concerned about it. Ochoa was not able to reach Mobbs and did not talk to him until March 12, when Mobbs and Kevin Male appeared at her restaurant. Mobbs told Ochoa that he was terminating her because she was not a “good fit” for Mobbs’ team. (Doc. 64, Ochoa Dep. at 304) Her termination form cites unacceptable work performance as the reason for her termination, and she' is not eligible for rehire. (Doc. 37-35, Ex. GG) Ochoa was replaced by a male, Scott Phillippo.

Chipotle argues that Ochoa cannot establish a prima facie discrimination claim, because she was not qualified for her position. It contends that her performance declined after she became General Manager of the Fountain Square restaurant. Her supervisor, Cris Reynolds, had criticized some of her abilities in her December 2010 performance review. (Doc.' 37-15, Ex. N) Ochoa had not been promoted to Restaurateur, despite serving as General Manager for, 18 months. Chipotle also cites her deposition testimony in the Cousins láwsuit, where Ochoa admitted that she allowed some crew members to use their employee discount to buy meals for friends and family, which violated Chipotle’s cash handling policies. (Doc. 37-32, Ex. DD at 120, 121-122) But in that deposition, Ochoa explained that Mobbs told her it was acceptable to do this, in order to give employees a “reward every now and then,” even though the handbook stated otherwise. (Id. at 122-123) Chipotle further notes her false answer to a question on her employment application asking if she had any criminal convictions.

The Sixth Circuit recently reaffirmed the principle that the district court must not conflate the qualification prong of a prima' facie case with the employer’s asserted justification for the adverse action. Loyd v. St. Joseph Mercy Oakland, 766 F.3d 580, 590 (6th Cir.2014). A plaintiffs qualifications must be measured objectively, and the Court may not consider the employer’s explanation for the adverse action while evaluating those qualifications. Wexler v. White’s Fine Furniture, 317 F.3d 564, 574-575 (6th Cir.2003)(en banc), citing Cline v. Catholic Diocese of Toledo, 206 F.3d 651, 660-661 (6th Cir.1999). Chi-potle rehired Ochoa in November 2009, and she had been a. General Manager in her previous period of employment with Chipotle. After she was rehired she was promoted rather quickly to General Manager in September 2010. Her performance reviews and her audit scores (prior to the last two audits) do not show that she was objectively unqualified to perform her job duties. Rather, the evidence suggests that Chipotle considered her close to promotion and was consistently encouraging her to achieve that goal. The Court finds that Ochoa has satisfied her prima facie burden of proof.

Chipotle contends that it terminated Ochoa for inadequate performance, claiming that she failed to build a “pipeline” of employees to replace her manágers and créw when she experienced turnover. (Doc. 37-1 at 16) Her performance declined after she became General Manager, culminating in her unsuccessful SSR audit in March 2012 that immediately preceded her termination. Ochoa contends that this explanation is a pretext for gender discrimination, offering a number of arguments. To challenge the factual basis of Chipotle’s asserted justification, Ochoa must show that the decision to terminate her was so unreasonable, or “so ridden with error that [Chipotle] could not honestly have relied upon it.” Wexler, 317 F.3d at 576 (quoting In re Lewis, 845 F.2d 624, 633 (6th Cir.1988)). Ochoa does not genuinely dispute the factual observations recorded in Clarke’s SSR audit. But she blames the results on the restaurant’s poor physical condition, Clarke’s assessment of points against her for not assuring that shoe covers were accessible to her employees, and on cash handling errors that were Mobbs’ responsibility.

The court should not second-guess an employer’s termination decisions so long as they are honestly based upon particularized facts regarding the employee’s performance. That decision can be shown to be factually incorrect or even unfair, but a plaintiff must do more than identify a factual error or assert unfairness. For instance, in Sybrandt v. Home Depot, U.S.A., 560 F.3d 553, 560-561 (6th Cir.2009), the court rejected plaintiff’s argument that her employer’s overly strict interpretation of a policy prohibiting employees from placing personal merchandise orders using work ID’s was a pretext for discrimination. She argued that the policy should have been more detailed, and that her technical violation did not involve dishonesty or theft. Those arguments failed to rebut her employer’s honest belief in the particularized facts showing that she had in fact violated that policy. Ochoa cannot create a genuine factual dispute by challenging Chipotle’s standards, or arguing that Clarke should not have held her responsible for the fact that her employees lacked slip-resistant shoe covers.

She also argues that Mobbs treated male managers more favorably, to argue that her gender was the actual reason she was terminated. Mobbs sat with male managers Scott Phillippo and Luis Martinez at meetings and socialized with them. She believes that Mobbs spent more time with male managers helping them at their restaurants. And she asserts that Mobbs transferred some of her trained employees to other restaurants, which hampered her efforts to get promoted. Ochoa concedes that Mobbs seemed genuinely interested in helping her succeed, and both Patterson and Mobbs came to her restaurant for a 5-6 hour visit in January 2012, specifically to help her achieve promotion to Restaurateur. Her subjective impressions that Mobbs or Patterson got along better with men, or spent more time interacting or socializing with men, is not sufficient to raise a genuine factual dispute that Mobbs gave her a bad audit or terminated her based on her gender. The Sixth Circuit has held that “generalized allegations about the comparative warmth” displayed towards non-minority employees are not sufficient to raise a genuine dispute about discriminatory intent. Taylor v. Union Inst., 30 Fed.Appx. 443, 450-451 (6th Cir.2002)(unpublished).

Ochoa also argues that the two audit scores were insufficient to justify her termination, because other male general managers who received scores that were comparable to or worse than hers were not fired. Small testified that Ochoa’s SSR audit raised concerns as soon as she saw it, because it was not a “great” score, and “.. .it’s not acceptable to continue to get this over and over and over again.” (Doc. 82, Small Dep. at 184) But Ochoa’s prior audit scores were never more than 3 on cash handling, which Chipotle admits is a passing score. And other than Mobbs’ critical TL audit a few days before the SSR audit, her operations scores were passing under Chipotle’s standards, so it is not clear what Small was -referring to in her testimony. Tim Spong testified that. in 2012, the national average SSR operations score was 83-84, and he described a score of 79 on a different SSR audit as “somewhat below average but... not, a terrible score.” (Doc. 84, Spong Dep. Vol. 2 at 112)

Male general managers received comparable or worse audit scores but were not fired. Christian. Armenta became the General. Manager-at the Kenwood Road restaurant on August 15, 2011. His TL audit scores on September 30 and December 30, 2011 were D-67/5 and D-69/4, respectively, and his March 31, 2012 audit score was C-71/5. On August 21, 2012, .he had an SSR audit resulting in a score of. D-62/5. (Doc. 79-11, Ex. 14:15-24) Andy Ransick testified that he recalled visiting Armenia’s restaurant, with Michelle Small, Brian Patterson and others, and the operations were so -bad that Small- closed the restaurant for five or six hours. Ransick said that they “overhauled all of the food, talked with the [restaurant] team, took care of all of the food safety issues and got them back open. It was -a fiasco.” (Doc. 66, Ransick Dep. at 110-111) Armenta was not terminated, and he remained employed with Chipotle until he voluntarily resigned in June 2013. Jose Garduño became a General Manager on March 6, 2012; his TL audit scores in 2012 were D-69/6, D-69/9, C-73/4, C-75/2, C-75/6, and Q-75/5. (Doc. 79-11, Ex. 14:25-46) He was not terminated, and he left his job voluntarily, in January 2014. Scott Phillippo (Fountain Square GM) received audit scores of C-76/1 on August 14, 2011; C-74/5 on August 3, 2012; and D-69/5 on June 29, 2013. On the last report, the auditor (Samuel Revis, a Restaurateur) stated that Phil-lippo was “not yet” at the Restaurateur level. (Doc. 79-12, Ex. 14:59-66) Despite these results, Phillippo was not terminated.

The Court concludes that Ochoa has established a genuine factual dispute about whether the reason proffered by Chipotle for her.termination was sufficient to justify her termination, given the evidence that male GM’s with a-record of significantly lower audit scores were not terminated. Chipotle is not entitled to summary judgment on Ochoa’s claims.

3. Tina Reynolds graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1997, and then worked at several different restaurants in various positions; She began working for Chipotle in October 2009, when Alan Clark hired her as a cashier at Chipotle’s “Dream' Street” (Florence, Kentucky) restaurant; Alan Clark was then the Area Manager. Tina Reynolds learned about Chipotle through her acquaintance with Kerri Breeze and Will Whitworth (a former General Manager), who described Chipotle’s culture and'positive approach to customer service and food freshness.' During her first interview, Alan Clark told her she could fast-track to management positions in the company by training in each position and moving up through the hierarchy, given her’background and work experience.

Reynolds did move up quickly in the company, and she believed that Chipotle’s system was relatively easy to learn. She was promoted from cashier to Kitchen Manager one month after she started; during this time she had one-on-one attention from Will Whitworth, her General Manager. She was promoted on November 23, 2009, from Kitchen Manager to Service Manager, and again on December 7, 2009 to Apprentice Manager for a new restaurant at Northern Kentucky University. Luis Martinez was the General Manager at NKU, and Reynolds got along well with him while she worked at NKU. She had no indication that he preferred working with men. All of these promotions were approved by Alan Clark, who also completed Reynolds’ 2009 year-end performance review (signed in March 2010), while she was still the Apprentice Manager at NKU, Clark noted that she was new to Chipotle and to that restaurant, and was “sometimes blindsided by operatio