Opinion ID: 161366
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Boze Dissertation Committee

Text: Diane Boze was a graduate student in the Department of Art History. Dr. Aquilino co-chaired her dissertation committee. Two days after testifying at a hearing convened by the Kansas Human Rights Commission in support of her charge of discrimination, Dr. Aquilino was removed as co-chair of Diane Boze’s dissertation committee. At the time, Dr. Aquilino was still an employee of the university, serving out her terminal-year contract. Dr. Aquilino argues that her removal from the dissertation committee harmed her future employment prospects. We conclude that the removal of Dr. Aquilino from the dissertation committee six months before the expiration of her contract, but after the tenure decision, is simply not an adverse employment action. The Supreme Court has explained that “[a] tangible employment action constitutes a significant change in employment status, such as hiring, firing, failing to promote, reassignment with significantly different responsibilities, or a decision causing a significant change -6- in benefits.” Burlington Indus., Inc. v. Ellerth , 524 U.S. 742, 761 (1998). Although this circuit liberally defines “adverse employment action,” it still must be done on a case-by-case basis after “examining the unique factors relevant to the situation at hand.” Sanchez v. Denver Pub. Sch. , 164 F.3d 527, 532 (10th Cir. 1998). Dr. Aquilino’s claim is that she suffered an adverse employment action based upon her removal from Ms. Boze’s dissertation committee because that action would harm her future employment opportunities. But the “unique factor” in this case is that Dr. Aquilino had been denied tenure after several years of nonpublication and adverse student comments. Because Dr. Aquilino had already been denied tenure, she certainly had no right to be on a dissertation committee. Given Dr. Aquilino’s tenure situation, her removal from the committee had, at best, a de minimis effect on her future employment opportunities. Moreover, her removal from the committee is a normal incident of the denial of tenure. Finally, her removal merely altered her job responsibilities by eliminating her dissertation committee assignment in her last months of employment. Thus, the removal falls within the category of actions that do not constitute an adverse employment action. Sanchez , 164 F.3d at 532 (“we will not consider a mere inconvenience or an alteration of job responsibilities to be an adverse employment action”) (internal quotation omitted). -7- Against this background, this case does not fit in our “future employment opportunities” cases. The action taken by the university is entirely different from those taken by the defendants in Rutherford v. American Bank of Commerce , 565 F.2d 1162, 1164-65 (10th Cir. 1977), and Berry v. Stevinson Chevrolet , 74 F.3d 980, 986 (10th Cir. 1996). Before Dr. Aquilino’s removal from the committee, the university’s tenure decision had already significantly impaired her ability to obtain employment. This case is also distinguishable because the university did not publicize Dr. Aquilino’s removal from Ms. Boze’s dissertation committee (at Ms. Boze’s request) or communicate with Dr. Aquilino’s prospective employers. Instead, the university made an internal decision to remove Dr. Aquilino from the committee. Additionally, the connection between Dr. Aquilino’s future employment opportunities and her removal from Ms. Boze’s dissertation committee is totally different from referring trumped-up criminal charges or a negative reference letter. Cf. Berry , 74 F.3d at 986 (stating that criminal prosecution of plaintiff at his former employer’s behest would, like a negative reference letter, have an “obvious impact”). It is one thing to hold that a criminal complaint or negative reference letter is an adverse employment action. It is an entirely different matter to hold that any action taken by a plaintiff’s employer (after an employee has a termination date) that may affect the plaintiff’s future employment opportunities is an -8- adverse employment action. In this case, an employee who is terminated for non-discriminatory reasons should not be placed in a better position than one who has not when it comes to making a retaliation claim based upon a slight duty change occurring during the departure period. This is true despite the testimony by Dr. Aquilino and Professor Lubensky about the harmful affects of not being on the dissertation committee. While that may be so, not being on the dissertation committee and not securing a coterie of graduate students may be the natural consequence of the denial of tenure and Dr. Aquilino’s transition from a faculty member to an ex-faculty member.