THE ETHICAL DIMENSION Is the court’s decision in this case fair to employers? Why or why not?

Josephine Mora was sixty-two years old when she was fired from her job as a fund-raiser for Jackson Memorial Foundation, Inc. Mora’s supervisor had become dissatisfied with Mora’s work and recommended that she be fired. The foundation’s chief executive officer, Mr. Rodriguez, agreed. Later, though, Rodriguez decided to give Mora a different position in his office “where he could observe her more closely.” Mora worked with Rodriguez for a month, and more errors and issues with professionalism supposedly arose. Mora contended that when Rodriguez fired her, he told her, “I need someone younger I can pay less.” A former employee stated that she had heard this conversation, adding that she heard Rodriguez say to Mora, “You are very old, you are very inept. What you should be doing is taking care of old people. They really need you. I need somebody younger that I can pay less and I can control.” Another former employee stated that Rodriguez explained to her and another employee that Mora was “too old to be working here anyway.” Rodriguez denied that he had made these statements, and one of the employees substantiated Rodriguez’s version of events. Mora sued the foundation in a federal district court for wrongful termination under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). The foundation moved for summary judgment, arguing that regardless of the discrimination issue, Mora still would have been terminated for poor job performance. The district court granted the motion, and Mora appealed.