Opinion ID: 786178
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Failure to Transfer to Account Executive

Text: 16 Williams further claims that Donnelley discriminated against her on the basis of sex and race because it refused to transfer her to an Account Executive position in Las Vegas. This claim is unavailing because Williams has failed to establish that this inaction constituted an adverse employment action, as required under the third prong of the Title VII prima facie case. See McDonnell Douglas, 411 U.S. at 802, 93 S.Ct. 1817. 17 Employment actions that have been deemed sufficiently disadvantageous to constitute an adverse employment action include a termination of employment, a demotion evidenced by a decrease in wage or salary, a less distinguished title, a material loss of benefits, significantly diminished material responsibilities, or other indices ... unique to a particular situation. Galabya v. New York City Bd. of Educ., 202 F.3d 636, 640 (2d Cir.2000) (ellipsis in original) (citations omitted). As these examples suggest, [t]o be materially adverse a change in working conditions must be more disruptive than a mere inconvenience or an alteration of job responsibilities. Id. (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). Moreover, we have held that an involuntary transfer may constitute an adverse employment action if the plaintiff show[s] that the transfer created a materially significant disadvantage with respect to the terms of her employment. Id. at 641 (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). Unlike Galabya, which concerned an involuntary transfer of an employee, Williams claims that she suffered an adverse employment action by being denied a request for a transfer. Williams thus must establish that Donnelley's denial of her request for a transfer created a materially significant disadvantage in her working conditions. Williams has failed to meet this burden. 18 As the Tenth Circuit has noted, [i]f a transfer is truly lateral and involves no significant changes in an employee's conditions of employment, the fact that the employee views the transfer either positively or negatively does not of itself render the denial or receipt of the transfer [an] adverse employment action. Sanchez v. Denver Pub. Sch., 164 F.3d 527, 532-33 n. 6 (10th Cir.1998). Here, the record suggests that, if anything, Williams would have suffered an adverse employment action if she had been transferred to the Account Executive position. Donnelley avers, and Williams does not dispute, that the Account Executive position actually paid less than, and organizationally was a demotion from, the STM position she held when she requested the transfer. Clearly, an employer's denial of a transfer request that would have resulted in a reduction in pay and the employee's demotion within the organization, without more, does not constitute an adverse employment action. 19 Williams' contention that the denial of her transfer request constituted an adverse employment action arises from the fact that she wished to return to Las Vegas, where she still maintained a home. Such subjective, personal disappointments do not meet the objective indicia of an adverse employment action. Galabya, 202 F.3d at 640. 20 Because she has failed to meet her burden of establishing a materially adverse change in her employment status, Williams cannot maintain a claim based on Donnelley's refusal to transfer her.