United States Court of Appeals For the First Circuit No. 14- 1086 M URAD Y. AMEEN , Pl ai nt i f f , A ppel l ant , v. A MPHENOL PRI N TED C IR C UI TS, I NC. , Def endant , A ppel l ee. APPEA L FROM TH E UNI TED STATES DI STRICT COU R T FOR THE DI STRI CT OF N EW HAMPSHI RE [ Hon. Landya B. McCaf f er t y, U. S. Di st r i ct J udge] Bef or e Tor r uel l a, Thompson, and Kayat t a, Ci r cui t J udges. Lauren S. I r wi n, wi t h whom Heat her M. Bur ns and Upt on & Hat f i el d, LLP wer e on br i ef , f or appel l ant . J ona t han D. R osenf el d, wi t h w hom J enni f er C. B r own and W i lm er Cut l er Pi cker i ng Hal e and Dor r LLP wer e on br i ef , for appel l ee. J anua r y 26, 2015
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Ameen v. Amphenol Printed Circuits, Inc, 1st Cir. (2015)
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7/26/2019 Ameen v. Amphenol Printed Circuits, Inc, 1st Cir. (2015)
I r aq. 2 The next day, Ameen met wi t h hi s super vi sor , J oseph Si l va,
Oper at i ons Manager Raymond Pr at t , and Di r ect or of Human Resources
Val er i e Har t l an t o di scuss hi s r equest , as Amphenol ' s pol i cy
r equi r es management appr oval of personal l eaves gr eat er t han t wo
weeks. At t he meet i ng, Prat t expr essed concer n t hat t he t i mi ng
"wasn' t i deal " because i t was a busy t i me f or t he company. Ameen
r esponded t hat he i nt ended t o go t o I r aq whet her or not t he company
gr ant ed hi s r equest . Prat t warned Ameen t hat even i f t he company
appr oved hi s l eave, t hey coul d not guarant ee t hat he woul d be abl e
t o r etai n hi s Gr oup Leader posi t i on because "we may have t o put
somebody . . . i n t hat posi t i on t o be abl e t o . . . l ead t he
depar t ment . " Accor di ng t o Si l va, on a pr i or occasi on when a Gr oup
Leader t ook a l eave of absence, t he company pl aced anot her empl oyee
i n t hat posi t i on and moved t he demot ed Gr oup Leader t o anot her
shi f t . At some poi nt dur i ng t he meet i ng, Ameen agr eed t hat he
woul d "hel p out " wi t h over t i me af t er hi s r et ur n f r om l eave. Pr at t
and Si l va appr oved Ameen' s l eave, and upon hi s r etur n, he r etai ned
hi s posi t i on, sal ar y, and benef i t s. Amphenol al so spr ead out
Ameen' s accr ued vacat i on t i me over t he weeks of hi s l eave, t o
ensur e he coul d pay f or hi s benef i t s.
2 The pur pose of t he t r i p was t o get a bi r t h cer t i f i cat e f orhi s son, and t o "get hi s wi f e' s mat er ni t y l eave f r omher gover nment j ob i n I r aq. "
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I n t he meant i me, on Apr i l 12, 2012, whi l e wor ki ng pr i or
t o t he I r aq t r i p, Ameen f ai l ed t o f ol l ow t he pr oper pr ocedur e i n
set t i ng up a j ob on a dr i l l machi ne. Ther eaf t er , dur i ng hi s l unch
break, t he machi ne st opped. When Ameen r et urned, he at t empted t o
r ewor k t he j ob, but he f ai l ed to communi cat e t he mechani cal i ssues
t o hi s super vi sor or anyone f r omt he next shi f t , as was r equi r ed by
company pol i cy. The pr obl em cont i nued dur i ng t he next shi f t ,
r esul t i ng i n l ost pr oduct i on t i me.
The event was i nvest i gat ed and, accor di ng t o Pr at t , when
Ameen was conf r ont ed wi t h t he resul t s of t he i nvest i gat i on, he
"di dn' t hi de t hat he made t he mi st ake. " The engi neer who
i nvest i gat ed t he event br ought t he i ssue t o Oper at i ons Di r ect or
Chr i st i ne Har r i ngt on, who concl uded that Ameen had t r i ed to "cover
up" hi s mi st ake by r ewor ki ng t he j ob wi t hout r epor t i ng i t . On
Apr i l 16, 2012, Ameen was i ssued a wr i t t en warni ng f or not
f ol l owi ng pr oper pr ocedur e. The war ni ng st at ed, " t hi s behavi or i s
unaccept abl e [ and] cannot be t ol er at ed. I f t hi s t ype [ of ] behavi or
cont i nues[ , ] f ur t her act i on may be t aken up t o and i ncl udi ng
t ermi nat i on. " Ameen si gned t he "Empl oyee St atement " sect i on of t he
warni ng, agr eei ng t hat he "concur [ r ed] wi t h t he Company' s
st at ement . " Thi s was t he second warni ng Ameen had r ecei ved. 3
3I n 2009, Ameen had r ecei ved a wr i t t en war ni ng f or f ai l i ng t of ol l ow pr oper pr ocedur e, r esul t i ng i n "4 panel s bei ng scr apped. "
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cour t next determi ned t hat , because Harr i ngt on di d not know about
Ameen' s FMLA- pr otect ed act i vi t y, Ameen woul d need t o i nvoke t he
cat ' s paw t heor y t o i mput e Conner s' s or Prat t ' s ani mus t o her as
t he deci si on- maker . The "cat ' s paw t heor y" i s empl oyed when one
"seeks t o hol d hi s empl oyer l i abl e f or t he ani mus of a super vi sor
who was not char ged wi t h maki ng t he ul t i mate empl oyment deci si on. " 4
St aub v. Proct or Hospi t al , 131 S. Ct . 1186, 1190 ( 2011) . However ,
t he cour t concl uded t hat Ameen "ha[d] pr oduced no f act s f r omwhi ch
a r easonabl e j ur y coul d concl ude t hat ei t her Conner s or Pr at t act ed
i n a way that woul d j ust i f y i nvocat i on of t he cat ' s paw t heor y, "
and thus Ameen coul d not est abl i sh t hat Amphenol ' s r eason was a
pr et ext f or r et al i at i on under t he FMLA. The di st r i ct cour t ent er ed
j udgment i n f avor of Amphenol , and t hi s t i mel y appeal f ol l owed.
II.
Standard of Review
We r evi ew t he di st r i ct cour t ' s grant of summary j udgment
t o Amphenol de novo, "assessi ng t he r ecor d i n t he l i ght most
f avor abl e t o t he nonmovant and r esol vi ng al l r easonabl e i nf er ences
i n t hat par t y' s f avor . " Bar cl ays Bank PLC v. Poynt er , 710 F. 3d 16,
19 ( 1st Ci r . 2013) ( i nt er nal quot at i ons omi t t ed) . Summar y j udgment
4Wi t h apol ogi es t o our f el l ow ai l ur ophi l es, we can r epor t t hatt he name der i ves f r om a f abl e i n whi ch a cunni ng ( and hungr y)monkey i nduces a cat by f l at t er y t o r each i t s paw i nt o a f i r e t oext r act r oast i ng chest nut s; t he monkey f east s al one on t hechest nut s af t er t he cat scor ches i t s paw. I d. at n. 1.
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and assumi ng wi t hout deci di ng t hat t he pl ai nt i f f had est abl i shed a
pr i ma f aci e case of r et al i at i on, bef or e hol di ng t hat she f ai l ed t o
pr esent a t r i abl e i ssue of f act as t o pr et ext ) .
B. Legitimate Reason
Havi ng gi ven Ameen t he benef i t of a pr i ma f aci e
assumpt i on, t he bur den shi f t s t o Amphenol t o pr ovi de a l egi t i mat e,
nondi scr i mi nat or y r eason f or i t s deci si on t o ter mi nat e Ameen.
Amphenol asser t s t hat Ameen was f i r ed f or st eal i ng f r omt he company
by consi st ent l y t aki ng unaut hor i zed pai d br eak t i me. The company
al so says i t r i ght l y consi der ed Ameen' s pr evi ous war ni ng f or
f ai l i ng t o f ol l ow pr ocedur e. 5
Ameen chal l enges Amphenol ' s pr of f ered r eason f or t he
t ermi nat i on, but does not di sput e t he evi dence whi ch demonst r ates
t hat he t ook an addi t i onal f i f t een mi nut es or so of pai d br eak t i me
consi st ent l y over a t wo- year per i od. I n f act , i n hi s br i ef , Ameen
admi t s t o mai nt ai ni ng t hi s pr act i ce f or t hr ee year s, but i nsi st s he
had permi ss i on t o do so. Nonethel ess, Ameen concedes t hat i t was
condi t i oned upon hi s maki ng up f or t he ext r a t i me. 6 I t i s
5Ameen does not chal l enge the warni ng he recei ved i n Apr i l ,al t hough he now char act er i zes i t as " exagger at ed" and "unusual l ydetai l ed. " However , he acknowl edges he si gned t he warni ng andchecked of f t he box i ndi cat i ng he concur r ed wi t h i t .
6On appeal , Ameen put s a spi n on t he not i on of maki ng up t het i me. He cl ai ms t hat he was ent i t l ed t o t he ext r a t i me as l ong ashe "got hi s work done, " i r r espect i ve of how l ong he remai ned atwor k. I t was suf f i ci ent , he ar gues, i f he made up " f i f t een mi nut esof wor k ( not t i me) dur i ng t he day. " Yet t he r ecor d does notsuppor t hi s f act ual asser t i on. Dur i ng hi s deposi t i on, Ameen
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undi sput ed t hat Ameen di d not put i n addi t i onal t i me to make up f or
t he ext r a f i f t een mi nut es a day.
Ther e i s no quest i on t hen, t hat as t he di st r i ct cour t
f ound, Amphenol had a l egi t i mate basi s t o t ermi nate Ameen; t he
par amount quest i on, however , i s whet her t he di st r i ct cour t er r ed
when i t f ound Ameen had f ai l ed t o r ai se a genui ne i ssue of mater i al
f act as t o pr et ext , and t hat Amphenol was ent i t l ed t o j udgment as
a mat t er of l aw.
C. Pretext
Under t he McDonnel l Dougl as f r amework, t he bur den t hus
shi f t s back t o Ameen to pr ove t hat Amphenol ' s st ated r eason was a
pr et ext i nt ended t o di sgui se i t s r et al i at i on f or hi s engagi ng i n
FMLA- pr ot ect ed act i vi t y. 7 To demonst r at e t hat he was f i r ed i n
r et al i at i on f or engagi ng i n FMLA- pr ot ect ed conduct , Ameen "must
show t hat t he r et al i at or knew about [ hi s] pr ot ect ed act i vi t y - -
af t er al l , one cannot have been mot i vat ed to ret al i at e by somet hi ng
he was unaware of . " Medi na- Ri ver a v. MVM, I nc. , 713 F. 3d 132, 139
( 1st Ci r . 2013) . Thi s i s wher e Ameen' s case f ai l s to l and on i t s
admi t t ed Si l va condi t i oned t he ext r a f i f t een mi nut es upon Ameen' scomi ng i n ear l y or st ayi ng l at e t o make up t he t i me. I t i sundi sput ed t hat Ameen never made up the t i me by ei t her comi ng i near l y or st ayi ng l at e of f t he cl ock. We not e t hat t he ADI system
t r acked t i me t o t he mi nut e, r at her t han t he quar t er hour .Amphenol ' s empl oyees were pai d f or t he t i me t hey worked, not f ort he amount of work t hey pr oduced. Nothi ng i n t he r ecor d permi t s ust o concl ude t hat Ameen was t he one except i on.
7Agai n, l i ke t he di st r i ct cour t , we assume wi t hout deci di ngt hat Ameen' s r ef usal t o work overt i me was FMLA- pr otected conduct .
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Sul l i van ( Ameen' s co- worker s and subordi nates) about Ameen' s
extended br eaks i s pr oof of r et al i ator y ani mus because of how
di f f er ent l y Conner s deal t wi t h hi s own subor di nat es on t hi s i ssue.
Ameen ar gues t hat when Conners' s subordi nates t ook addi t i onal br eak
t i me, he onl y chast i sed t hem f or doi ng so, but never ot her wi se
di sci pl i ned t hem, nor r epor t ed t hemt o hi gher - ups. On t hi s poi nt ,
Conner s' s unr ebut t ed deposi t i on t est i mony est abl i shed t hat when a
member of hi s cr ew was " f i ve mi nut es l at e" r et ur ni ng f r ombr eak, he
spoke t o t hem about i t and r ecei ved t he assurance t hat " i t won' t
happen agai n. " Had t he behavi or been r epeat ed, Conners st at ed t hat
he woul d have "el evat e[ d] t hat t o t he super vi sor . " Ameen poi nt s t o
no ot her si mi l ar l y- si t uat ed empl oyee who consi st ent l y took an ext r a
f i f t een mi nut es of f ever y day as he di d who recei ved mor e f avor abl e
t r eat ment f r om Conner s. Gi ven t hese f act s, Conner s' s mer e
r epor t i ng of Ameen up t he cor por at e f ood chai n i s i nsuf f i ci ent t o
demonst r at e ani mus. 8
Ameen al so posi t s, i n suppor t of hi s ani mus cl ai m, t hat
Conner s was " host i l e" t owar ds hi mbecause Conner s was " f r ust r at ed"
about havi ng t o work over t i me due t o Ameen' s no- over t i me schedul e.
8Af t er t hi s l awsui t was f i l ed, Amphenol t ook not e of Ameen' sal l egat i on t hat " [ o] t her empl oyees i n [ hi s] depar t ment f ol l owed t he
same pr act i ce, " and conduct ed an i nvest i gat i on. The ADI and CCur er ecor ds showed t hat f r om J anuar y 2012 t o J une 2012, t he co- t i pst erDonny Moses had been cl ocki ng out whi l e remai ni ng at work, t henl eavi ng f or an hour . Li ke Ameen, Moses was t hen t ermi nated. Ther e i s no evi dence t hat Amphenol knew of t hi s pract i ce bef or eSul l i van - - and i r oni cal l y, Moses - - br ought Ameen' s conduct t oConner s' s at t ent i on.
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Last l y, i n suppor t of hi s Pr at t ani mus argument , Ameen
cl ai ms t hat Prat t was angr y that he woul dn' t wor k over t i me.
However , Ameen does not t el l us t he basi s f or t hi s i mpr essi on, and
does not r ecount speci f i c wor ds or any par t i cul ar behavi or t hat
woul d i ndi cat e anger . He of f er s us onl y a concl usor y al l egat i on.
Fur t her , he says t hat bot h Pr at t and Conner s " had shown host i l i t y
t owar d [ hi s] FMLA- pr ot ect ed act i vi t y, " and t hat Pr at t ' s at t i t ude
t owar d hi m changed af t er he r et ur ned f r om FMLA l eave. Ameen
di r ect s us t o onl y one speci f i c exampl e of so- cal l ed host i l e
conduct - - hi s i ncl usi on, accor di ng t o Si l va, on Pr at t ' s pur por t ed
" I don' t l i ke" l i st . 9 However , even assumi ng t he exi st ence of such
a l i st , t her e i s no evi dence t o t i e i t t o Ameen' s FMLA- pr ot ect ed
conduct . Si mi l ar l y, t her e i s not hi ng t o connect Ameen' s gener al
and vague al l egat i ons of host i l i t y by Pr at t t o Ameen' s FMLA-
pr ot ect ed act i vi t y, i f any, r at her t han t o hi s unaut hor i zed br eaks.
" [ A] l t hough an empl oyee who pr oper l y t akes FMLA l eave cannot be
di schar ged f or exer ci si ng a r i ght pr ovi ded by t he st at ut e, [ he]
nevert hel ess can be di scharged f or i ndependent r easons. " Henr y v.
Uni t ed Bank, 686 F. 3d 50, 55 ( 1st Ci r . 2012) .
Moreover , we note t hat evi dence i n t he r ecor d compl etel y
cont r adi ct s Ameen' s asser t i on of ani mus on Pr at t ' s par t . Dur i ng
9Al t hough Ameen cl ai ms t hat Si l va t ol d hi m about Pr at t ' ssupposed l i st , t her e i s no deposi t i on t est i mony i n t he r ecor d f r omei t her Si l va or Pr at t about any l i st . How Ameen' s account coul d beadmi ss i bl e evi dence i s beyond us.
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t hi s per i od of cl ai med anger and host i l i t y, Pr at t agr eed t o al l ow
Ameen t o t ake over t hr ee weeks of per sonal l eave shor t l y af t er hi s
FMLA l eave, when he had t he di scr et i on t o r ef use; and Prat t al l owed
i t despi t e Ameen' s s t atement t hat he woul d go whether or not t he
per sonal l eave was appr oved. I f Pr at t wer e l ooki ng f or a r eason t o
get r i d of Ameen f or exer ci si ng hi s FMLA r i ght s, he coul d have
si mpl y deni ed t he personal l eave and f i r ed Ameen i f he went anyway.
I nst ead, Amphenol "spread out " Ameen' s vacat i on days over t he
cour se of t he l eave, so t hat hi s benef i t s woul d be cover ed.
CONCLUSION
As s t at ed ear l i er , Ameen has t he bur den of pr ovi ng t hat
Amphenol ' s st at ed r eason f or hi s t er mi nat i on was a pr etext , and
because Amphenol pr of f er ed a l egi t i mat e basi s f or t er mi nat i ng
Ameen, he must do so "wi t hout t he benef i t of t he ani mus
pr esumpt i on. " 10 I d. at 56. To pr ove pr et ext , he had t o est abl i sh
t he exi st ence of r et al i at or y ani mus on t he par t of ei t her t he
deci si onmaker , or t he empl oyee who pur port edl y mani pul ated t he
deci si onmaker i nt o act i ng as hi s "cat ' s paw. " Once t he pr esumpt i on
of ani mus cr eeps out , Ameen cannot cl ear t hi s i ni t i al st ep. Ameen
has not of f er ed evi dence of r et al i atory ani mus on anyone' s par t
10Never t hel ess, Ameen cl ai ms t hat because he "sat i sf i ed t hecausat i on r equi r ement f or [ hi s] pr i ma f aci e case, " hi s pr of f er edevi dence of pr et ext shoul d be suf f i ci ent t o def eat summar y j udgment . I t i s not . Al t hough we assumed Ameen est abl i shed apr i ma f aci e case, once Amphenol ar t i cul at ed a l egi t i mat e,nondi scr i mi nat or y r eason f or t he t er mi nat i on, t her e was no basi s t ocar r y t hat assumpt i on f or war d i nt o t he pr et ext anal ysi s.
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