Opinion ID: 1201216
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Claims of Discrimination and Failure to Accommodate

Text: In response to the defendants' motion for summary judgment, Ríos-Jiménez argued unsuccessfully to the district court alternative theories: first, she contended that she had proffered direct evidence of discrimination, see Patten v. Wal-Mart Stores East, Inc., 300 F.3d 21, 25 (1st Cir.2002), and was therefore entitled to a mixed motive analysis; second, she alternatively argued that she had established a prima facie case of discrimination based on the burden-shifting analysis articulated in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). She presses both on appeal and so we will consider these contentions in turn.
A mixed-motive analysis is appropriate where direct evidence exists that an employer, in making an adverse employment decision, considered a proscribed factor, e.g. race or disability, as well as one or more legitimate factors, e.g. competence or performance. Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, 490 U.S. 228, 241-42, 109 S.Ct. 1775, 104 L.Ed.2d 268 (1989); Fernandes v. Costa Bros. Masonry, Inc., 199 F.3d 572, 580 (1st Cir.1999). Ríos-Jiménez appears to argue that direct evidence of discriminatory motives was established by: (1) an August 2001 review of Ríos-Jiménez by Dr. Benabé in which he commented positively on her skill-set; (2) an email sent by Lebrón to the human resources department after the September 18, 2001 meeting, referencing a previous communication in which Lebrón had requested that Ríos-Jiménez be terminated from her temporary promotion, and stating that because of Ríos-Jiménez's emotional problems, it was not the best time to send a termination letter to her, and that Lebrón was unsure whether Ríos-Jiménez would be able to continue working; (3) a statement by Dr. Benabé to Ríos-Jiménez at the September 18, 2001 meeting that he thought Ríos-Jiménez would not be returning to work because of her depression; and (4) the forensic psychiatrist reports regarding Ríos-Jiménez's emotional difficulties. We agree with the district court that these occurrences do not amount to direct evidence of a discriminatory motive on the part of Ríos-Jiménez's employer. Direct evidence of discrimination does not include stray remarks in the workplace, particularly those made by nondecisionmakers or statements made by decisionmakers unrelated to the decisional process itself. Ayala-Gerena v. Bristol Myers-Squibb Co., 95 F.3d 86, 96 (1st Cir.1996) (citing Price Waterhouse, 490 U.S. at 251-52, 109 S.Ct. 1775). It also does not include statements capable of being interpreted as both discriminatory and benign. Patten, 300 F.3d at 25. The review by Dr. Benabé covered the period spanning from April 1, 2000 to March 31, 2001, which predated the problems arising from Ríos-Jiménez's irregular attendance and questionable work product. Further, by Ríos-Jiménez's own admission, her disability did not develop until September 2001, well after Dr. Benabé completed his review. With respect to Lebrón's email, contrary to establishing a discriminatory intent, the communication actually negates Ríos-Jiménez's contention that her promotion was terminated because of her disability. In relevant part, the message read: Alida: Dr. Benabé, Dr. Mejias and myself met today with Maribel Rios and decided that it is not the best moment for the letter. She is under a severe depression and some terrible family problems that would devatate [sic] her. She is seeing a psychiatrist and we want to know if still we have the Employee assistance program that used to help this type of troubled employees [sic]. . . . . . . . I will keep you informed of this situation as we do not know if Maribel will be able to return to work. . . . . Thank you for your continued support. If you know anything about the assistance program, please let me know. First, the email's reference to the letter implies that a discussion had already occurred regarding the termination of Ríos-Jiménez's temporary promotion and that, as the district court reasoned, all that remained was the decision of when to notify Ríos-Jiménez. Second, even if the message could be spun as an expression of discriminatory animus, it can just as easily be read as an expression of a desire to accommodate. Lebrón's inquiry into the employee assistance program indicates that she was interested in providing some help to Ríos-Jiménez. As for Dr. Benabé's statement that Ríos-Jiménez might not return to work, the statement can fairly be construed as a benign expression of Dr. Benabé's opinion that Ríos-Jiménez might voluntarily resign. Lastly, the psychiatric reports may be evidence of Ríos-Jiménez's mental or emotional state, but they do not evidence discriminatory animus on the part of Ríos-Jiménez's employer. In light of the foregoing, we conclude that the district court correctly found that Ríos-Jiménez was not entitled to a mixed motive analysis because she failed to present direct evidence of discrimination based on her disability.
In evaluating whether Ríos-Jiménez has put forth a prima facie disability discrimination claim under the Rehabilitation Act, we use the well-known burden-shifting framework delineated by the Supreme Court in McDonnell Douglas, 411 U.S. at 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817. See Tobin v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 433 F.3d 100, 104 (1st Cir.2005) (citing Higgins v. New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc., 194 F.3d 252, 264 (1st Cir.1999)). [6] Under this approach, a plaintiff in a disability discrimination action must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that: 1) she was disabled within the meaning of the statute; 2) she was qualified to perform the essential functions of the job, either with or without a reasonable accommodation; and 3) the employer took adverse action against her because of the disability. Bailey v. Georgia-Pacific Corp., 306 F.3d 1162, 1166 (1st Cir.2002); see also McDonnell Douglas, 411 U.S. at 802, 93 S.Ct. 1817. To make out a reasonable accommodation claim, a plaintiff must prove the first two of the above three factors and further that the employer, despite knowing about the disability, did not acquiesce to a request for a reasonable accommodation by the employee. Calero-Cerezo v. United States Dep't of Justice, 355 F.3d 6, 20 (1st Cir.2004). If, under the McDonnell Douglas approach, Ríos-Jiménez can establish a prima facie disability discrimination or reasonable accommodation claim by making a sufficient showing as to each of the above three factors, the burden shifts to the defendant to articulate a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for the employment decision and to produce credible evidence to show that the reason advanced was the real reason. McDonnell Douglas, 411 U.S. at 802, 93 S.Ct. 1817. If the defendant is able to offer such a reason, the burden then shifts back to Ríos-Jiménez to establish that the proffered reason is pretext intended to conceal discriminatory intent. Id. at 804. The ultimate burden of proving unlawful action rests at all times with Ríos-Jiménez. Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Prods., Inc., 530 U.S. 133, 143, 120 S.Ct. 2097, 147 L.Ed.2d 105 (2000). To some degree, there is an overlap between the first two prongs in a disability discrimination claim such as this one. In the plaintiff's prima facie showing, she must show that she is qualified to perform the job; if the claim is a failure to reasonably accommodate the plaintiff's disability, it falls to the plaintiff to show that the accommodation would have enabled her to perform the essential functions of the job  and that the accommodation would have been reasonable in light of relevant factors such as expense, size of the employer, etc. In some respects, this part of the plaintiff's prima facie burden blends into the legitimate business-related reason proffered by the employer for the adverse job action. So, for example, the plaintiff-employee may claim that she was performing the essential functions of the job (or could, with an accommodation), while the defendant-employer may claim she was not (or could not, even with an accommodation). It matters less at precisely what stage of the rubric the issues get tackled; more important is that they are confronted  and here they were. It is uncontested that Ríos-Jiménez met her initial burden of showing that she suffered from a disability. However, the district court concluded that Ríos-Jiménez was unable to establish the second prong of the McDonnell Douglas prima facie analysis, i.e. she was unable to establish that she was a qualified individual able to perform the essential functions of her job, either with or without a reasonable accommodation. As an initial matter, Ríos-Jiménez did not even argue in opposition to the appellee's motion to dismiss and/or for summary judgment that she was able to perform the essential functions of her job with or without reasonable accommodation. [7] However, even if we give her the benefit of the doubt, the uncontested evidence in the record establishes that she was unable to perform the essential functions of her job. At the risk of stating the obvious, attendance is an essential function of any job. See, e.g., Waggoner v. Olin Corp., 169 F.3d 481, 485 (7th Cir. 1999) (an employee who does not come to work cannot perform the essential functions of his job) (quoting Nowak v. St. Rita High Sch., 142 F.3d 999, 1003 (7th Cir.1998)); see also Rogers v. Int'l Marine Terminals, Inc., 87 F.3d 755, 759 (5th Cir.1996). Ríos-Jiménez frequently missed work and failed on numerous occasions to respond to attempts by the CSPCC to contact her. And, importantly, she had a spotty attendance record even after she was permitted to work part-time as recommended by her psychiatrist. [8] Lastly, whether from the aforementioned deficiencies in communication and attendance, or for unrelated reasons, Ríos-Jiménez was unable to manage her workload, with the result being that the diabetes study was in a state of chaos that risked the study's future. In sum, Ríos-Jiménez simply could not establish that she was a qualified individual able to perform the essential functions of her job, either with or without a reasonable accommodation. [9] To seal the conclusion here, the district court found, and we agree, that even if it assumed that Ríos-Jiménez could establish a prima facie case of discrimination, the defendant articulated a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for terminating the temporary promotion, which went unrebutted by Ríos-Jiménez. Her substandard performance, as described by the uncontested evidence put forward by the defendant, clearly justified the grant of summary judgment. See, e.g., Tobin, 433 F.3d at 105-06 (performance deficiencies, including failure to meet minimum standards, poor attendance record, and substandard performance evaluations, were basis of legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for adverse employment decision); Argo v. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Kansas, Inc., 452 F.3d 1193, 1202-03 (10th Cir.2006) (employee's decline in performance and persistence in arriving late, misusing his time, and failing to follow directions in spite of repeated warnings about his tardiness and attitude problems, were legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons for termination); Oates v. Discovery Zone, 116 F.3d 1161, 1171-72 (7th Cir.1997) (evidence of repeated absenteeism and failure to follow attendance reporting procedures was fatal to employee's prima facie case of race discrimination).