Plаintiff-Appellant Said Hannoon appeals the district court’s 1 adverse grant of summary judgment on his claims of harassment and discrimination based on race and national origin. He also appeals the district court’s adverse grant of summary judgment on his state claim of fraudulent representation. We affirm.
I.
Defendant-Appellee Fawn Engineering Corp. (Fawn) hired Hannoon in September, 1999, to serve as the Information Systems (IS) Manager for Fawn’s ailing IS Department. Before Hannoon was hired, Fawn had fired its prior IS Manager and the situation in the IS Department was described as “out of control” regarding both expenditures and a lack of communication with management. Hannoon was hired as an at-will employee. The letter containing his offer of employment stated, “Upon your emplоyment, you will be subject to the terms and conditions as outlined in our employee handbook. This handbook is available for your review. Employees of the company are not hired for any set period of time and can be terminated with or without cause at any time or without notice.”
*1044 In January 2000, Fawn hired Defen-danb-Appellee Tony John Wayne to serve as its Vice-President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer. Wayne held supervisory power over the IS Department and, ultimately,.over Hannoon. Before meeting Hannoon, Wayne compiled notes based on a review of Hannoon’s personnel file. In his notes, Wayne identified various concerns as well as questions to ask Hannoon. These notes included the comments: “hygiene,” “first week on job requested Fri. off,” “See no formal IT education on his resume,” and “3 jobs in 2 years.” 2 Other comments in Wayne’s notes related to questions such as “How does he communicate expectations, overall, to his people,” and “IT staff meetings? Who? When?”
On February 10, 2000, Wayne met with Hannoon for the first time. Wayne gave Hannoon a series of specific assignments with specific deadlines. Most of these assignments related to the сreation of a documented plan of action for the IS department including the creation of job descriptions for IS employees and the development of a policy to restrict the department’s reliance and expenditures on outside programmers and IS consultants. During this meeting, Wayne told Hannoon “the rock is bigger than you.” Hannoon understood this comment to mean that Wayne thought Hannoon was not fit for the job of IS Manager and that the job of solving problems at the IS department was too big for Hannoon. Wayne memorialized the assignments in a memo dated February 11.
Wayne again met with Hannoon on February 23. During the February 23 meeting, Wayne confronted Hannoon regarding the issue of Hannoon’s body odor. Wayne stated that he had noticed the problem, that othеr employees had complained, and that good interpersonal communication was important to the position of IS Manager. Hannoon responded that a prior employer had reproached him about odor. Hannoon now claims that the prior re-proaehment related to breath odor rather than body odor. At the time, Hannoon did not voice objection to Wayne’s comments. After the meeting, however, Hannoon did object to the comments. He communicated his objections and embarrassment via email to Wayne and other employees.
Later in February, Wayne again met with Hannoon. Wayne memorialized the discussion from this meeting in a memo dated February 28. Under the heading “Written Communication Skills” he noted, “your written communications are difficult to follow and include grammatical errors, tense errors, and are often incomplete. This is an essential element of your job as you have the need to communicate in writing via email, memos and project reports, policy and procedure documents, performance evaluations, etc.” Under the heading “Policy and Procedure Documents” he noted that Hаnnoon may lack necessary experience because the draft documents submitted by Hannoon “read like a detailed standard operating procedure (S.O.P.) as opposed to a clear, specific documentation of authority, accountability, and approved spending guidelines for these decisions.” Under the heading “Listening Skills” Wayne noted that Hannoon failed tо submit various draft documents that were requested in the February 10 meeting and that Hannoon failed to account for specifically identified information in documents that were submitted. Wayne noted that he was concerned with the breadth and depth of Hannoon’s skills, questioned Hannoon’s ability to lead a con *1045 version effort, and stated, “[s]pecifically, we are looking to you to help facilitate overall planning and direction, not our outside consultants.” (emphasis in original). Finally, under the heading “Leadership Skills” Wayne criticized Hannoon for being too passive in meetings and advised Han-noon that he needed to work to “build relationships with IT staff members and ... managers.”
In memos to Hannoon dated March 24 and 27, Wayne noted that he had not yet received updated documents from Han-noon and reproached Hannoon for not meeting the dеadlines set during their first meeting. Hannoon admits that he did not complete the specifically assigned tasks on time. However, in his own defense he states that the assignments were very large and Wayne provided only a very short time for their completion. Further, Hannoon argues that Wayne was partially responsible for the tardiness of Hannoon’s work because Wayne received certain revised draft documents but' faked to respond between February 24 and March 13.
Hannoon was terminated on April 4, 2000. He brought suit in state court claiming that the defendants discriminated against him, subjected him to harassment in a hostile work environment, and made fraudulent misrepresentations that induced him to accept the job of IS manager. In support of the harassment and discrimination claims, Hannoon points generally to the manner in which he was treated by Wayne and specifically to the comments about body odor as well as the fact that Wayne developed adverse opinions about him before their first meeting. Hannoon argues that Wayne’s confrontation regarding body odor and failure to refer Hannoon to Fawn’s employee medical assistance program regarding the issue of body odor represent deviations from standard company policy and support an inference of discrimination. Finally, Hannoon alleges that two other facts are relevant to his claims. First, he notes that Wayne forwarded an email from Hannoon to one of Hannoon’s subordinates with a request that the subordinate “translate” the email. The email contained various technical terms of art. Second, Hannoon complains that Wayne undermined Hannoon’s authority by sending one of Hannoon’s subordinates to Canada for training without first consulting Hannoon.
Regarding the issue of fraudulent misrepresentation, Hannoon alleges that he had other employment opportunities available when he accepted the position with Fawn and that he would not have aсcepted the position with Fawn had he known that it would not be a secure position. Han-noon identifies certain language from a memo between managers at Fawn as evidence that Fawn misrepresented its intentions regarding the IS Manager position. The memo between managers contained a discussion of the severance package to be offered Hannoon. One manager noted, “I know [Hannoon] has not been the best fit, but you and I knew going into it that we were putting a band-aid on the problem.” Hannoon alleges fraudulent representation because he was not informed at the time of hiring that his position in the IS Department was viewed as a band-aid or temporary fix.
Hannoon brought suit in state court alleging claims of harassment as well as national origin and race discrimination under Title VII of the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Iowa Civil Rights Act (ICRA). In addition, he alleged a claim of fraudulent misrepresentation under Iowa law. Defendants removed to the district court which granted summary judgment on all claims.
II.
We review the district court’s grant of summary judgment de novo, reading the
*1046
record in a light most favorable to the non-moving party and granting all reasonable inferences in his fаvor.
Yarborough v. DeVilbiss Air Power, Inc.,
Because Hannoon presented no direct evidence of discrimination, we analyze his discrimination claims under the burden shifting analysis of
McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green,
In cases where the prima facie case is sufficiently strong, a plaintiff may meet its “ultimate burden” and create a triable issue for the jury by setting forth the prima facie case and offering evidence to demonstrate that the defendants’ proffered reason is pretextual.
Reeves,
Notwithstanding the importance that the
Reeves
Court accorded the prima facie cаse, it remains permissible for lower courts to bypass analysis of the prima facie case where the facts permit easy disposition under a later stage of the
McDonnell Douglas
test.
See Crone v. United Parcel Serv.,
Under the second step of McDonnell Douglas, the defendants easily met their burden of production by alleging poor performance as the legitimate, non-diseriminatory basis for Hannoon’s termination. Further, although not required (beсause the burden is merely one of production and not of proof), the defendants provided a detailed and undisputed documentary account of the poor performance.
Turning to the third step, we conclude that Hannoon failed to present evidence that would create a genuine question of material fact on the issue of whether the defendants’ profferеd reason was pretextual. He complains that he was given large assignments with short deadlines, but he admits that the assignments were not completed in the time frame required and he does not argue that the assignments were unreasonable in scope. Further, the other facts Hannoon relies on as evidence of pretext do not indict the veracity of the defendants’ proffered reason nor support an inference of discrimination.
First, Hannoon argues that the confrontation concerning body odor demonstrates animus concerning race or national origin. We disagree. Because the comments regarding body odor did not suggest any reference to race or national origin, we are unwilling to hold such comments reasonably capable of supporting an inference of discriminatory intent.
Hannoon attempts to bolster his argument on this point by noting that Wayne did not need to confront him, but rather could have referred him to Fawn’s employee medical assistance program. As an initial matter, while we understand that comments from a supervisor to a subordinate concerning the delicate issue of body odor are, no doubt, distressing to all involved, we do not believe that a reasonable jury could find such comments to be race-based, inherently discriminatory, or the type of matter that requires referral to a medical assistance program. Further, there is no evidence that Hannoon’s body odor problem was a medical issue rather than merely an issue of personal hygiene.
Second, Hannoon argues that Wayne’s notation of the fact that Hannoon had requested Friday afternoons off demonstrates animus regarding race or national origin. Hannoon explains that he requested Friday afternoons off to observe weekly Muslim prayers. This explanation does not refute the defendants’ proffered explanation that Hannoon was fired for poor performance nor does it support an inference of race or national-origin based discrimination. The record indicates that Hannoon was allowed to take Friday afternoons off and was permitted to work at other times to make up for those afternoons. While it is true that Wayne noted Hannoon’s request for Friday afternoons off after reading Hannoon’s personnel file, there is no indication that defendants considered Hannoon’s adjusted schedule as a factor in their decision to terminate his employment. Further, even if Hannoon’s adjusted schedule for prayers had been considered, Hannoon alleged discrimination based on race and national origin, not religion, and Hannoon has identified no evidence that would permit the use of religion as a proxy for race.
Finally, viewed collectively or individually, the balance of the specific instances of allegedly discriminatory conduct cited by Hannoon do not involve race or national origin. Rather, they are merely instances *1048 of a subordinate employee being subjected to the criticism and control of a supervisor. For example, the comment “the rock is bigger than you,” the fact that Waynе sent one of Hannoon’s subordinates for training without consulting Hannoon, the fact that Wayne repeatedly criticized Hannoon’s leadership and written communication skills, and the fact that Wayne asked one of Hannoon’s subordinates to translate a technical email from Hannoon are all race-neutral comments or actions that do not refute the defendants’ proffered explanation for Hannoon’s termination. Even if we were to believe that a trier of fact could interpret use of the word “translate” as a reference to race or national origin, we agree with the district court and do “not find that criticizing a foreign employee’s facility with the English language constitutes discrimination against a particular race or national origin.” Hannoon v. Fawn Engr. Corp., No. 4-01-CV-90170 at 7 (S.D. Iowa April 2, 2002). Because these asserted bases for finding pretext fail, we conclude that Hannoon did not generate a triable issue regarding discrimination under Title VII and the ICRA and affirm the district court’s grant of summary judgment on these claims.
Hannoon also alleged harassment based on the same facts. To prove harassment, Hannoon must establish that:
(1) he is a member of a protected class; (2) unwelcome harassment occurred; (3) there is a causal nexus between the harassment and his protected-group status; (4) the harassment affected a term, condition, or privilege of employment; and (5) [the defendants] knew or should have known of the harassment and failed to take prompt and effective remedial action.
Robinson v. Valmont Indus.,
Finally, Hannoon’s claim of fraudulent representation fails. To prove a claim of fraudulent representation under Iowa law, there must, in fact, be a false representation.
Midwest Home Distrib., Inc. v. Domco Indus. Ltd.,
For the reasons set forth above, the district court is affirmed.
Notes
. The Honorable Robert W. Pratt, United States District Judge for the Southern District of Iowa.
. The terms information technology (IT) and information services (IS) are used interchangeably throughout the record. Other than direct quotes, we employ the terms information services and IS.