Richard M. Wishkin v. John E. Potter, Postmaster General

SLOVITER, Circuit Judge.

The issue before us is whether the District Court properly applied the McDonnell Douglas paradigm in granting summary judgment for the defendant/appellee United States Postal Service (“USPS”) in the claim brought by plaintiff/appellant Richard Wishkin (“Wishkin”) under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

I

Wishkin is a fifty-eight year old mentally disabled man who was hired by the USPS in 1969 under a federal program aimed at employing adults with disabilities. After a three-year trial period, Wishkin became a permanent employee as a mail handler. The only incident on…