Opinion ID: 1028082
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Retaliatory Animus and Pretext

Text: In order to prevail on a FMLA retaliation claim, Dotson must have shown evidence linking the adverse employment action taken against him to a protected activity, in this case his adoption-related leave. See Yashenko v. Harrah's NC Casino Co., 446 F.3d 541, 551 (4th Cir.2006) (analyzing FMLA retaliation claim under Title VII framework). When we review a finding of retaliation after a full trial on the merits, our sole focus is `discrimination vel non '  that is, whether in light of the applicable standard of review the jury's finding of unlawful retaliation is supportable. Cline v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 144 F.3d 294, 301 (4th Cir.1998) (quoting Jiminez v. Mary Washington Coll., 57 F.3d 369, 377 (4th Cir.1995)). Pfizer's position at trial was that it fired Dotson because his delivery of a starter to an orphanage in Russia created the impression of a quid pro quo, which could have had serious legal repercussions for Pfizer. This non-discriminatory explanation, if believed by the jury, would have rebutted Dotson's prima facie case of retaliatory firing. [5] Following the burdenshifting framework of McDonnell Douglas, which allows a finding of discrimination when the supposedly nondiscriminatory reason for termination is shown to be pretextual, Dotson then put on evidence to show that Pfizer's reasons for firing him were a mere pretext for unlawful discrimination. See Yashenko, 446 F.3d at 551 (citing McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 800-06, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973)). Pfizer now argues that Dotson failed to prove retaliation at trial for two reasons: first, he did not show that any member of the group of Pfizer executives that made the decision to fire him bore any retaliatory animus toward him for his adoptionrelated leave; second, Dotson did not show that the reason Pfizer gave for firing him was pretextual. We believe, to the contrary, that under the standard of review for a JMOL decision, Dotson put on sufficient evidence to allow a jury to find both retaliatory animus and pretext. Because the evidence in the record before us shows that a jury could rationally find that Pfizer's stated reason for firing Dotson was pretextual, we decline to address Pfizer's first argument in any detail. [6] Dotson put on sufficient evidence of weaknesses and inconsistencies in Pfizer's account of its decision to fire him for a jury to find pretext. See Richmond v. ONEOK, Inc., 120 F.3d 205, 209 (10th Cir.1997); Blankenship v. Buchanan Gen. Hosp., 140 F.Supp.2d 668, 674 (W.D.Va. 2001). First, Pfizer's starter policies were not so clearly drawn that Dotson's handling of starters was obviously wrongful. Dotson put on evidence showing that some Pfizer personnel were unaware that NHO division employees could not handle starters. Most importantly, none of the Pfizer employees who knew in advance about Dotson's plan to donate the Zithromax starters  including Kennedy, his direct supervisor, and McElerney, a member of the executive group that fired Dotson  took any action to stop him from donating the Zithromax. Neither Kennedy nor McElerney was disciplined for failing to stop him. A jury could rationally conclude that if such a donation constituted a violation serious enough to merit permanent dismissal, Pfizer higher-ups would have known to stop Dotson from going forward with it or, alternatively, would have suffered some consequence for their inaction. The evidence also showed that the other two persons directly involved in obtaining starters for Dotson were not disciplined. Pfizer argues that the level of misconduct by these two persons and Dotson's two supervisors on one hand, and Dotson on the other, were quite different and should not be weighted equally under Moore v. City of Charlotte, 754 F.2d 1100, 1107 (4th Cir.1985). Even if the conduct was not precisely analogous, of the five persons involved directly or tangentially in mishandling starters, one was fired and the other four were not disciplined at all. That fact, taken in combination with other Pfizer employees' confusion over the company's starter policies and the timing of Dotson's firing, could lead a reasonable jury to find that Dotson's firing under these circumstances was pretextual.