Opinion ID: 615207
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Elimination of Supervisory Duties

Text: Colón asserts that Rodríguez retaliated against her when Rodríguez removed Colón's assistant, Yesiree Alemán, from Colón's supervision, effectively eliminating her supervisory duties. The record shows that Alemán was assigned to the Auction Department in 2001, with Julia Lanzó acting as her immediate supervisor. In 2004, Rodríguez and Lanzó assigned Alemán to be Colón's assistant due to her precarious health condition. Though the specific date of Alemán's transfer from beingin Alemán's wordsColón's direct[] and exclusive[] assistant to an assistant for anyone else [including Colón] who needed me in the [department] is not clear from the record, both Colón and Alemán's testimony agree that the transfer occurred sometime in 2007 after Colón's request for a parking spot. Construing the record in Colón's favor, we presume she can establish temporal proximity as to the alleged elimination of her duties and her 2006 parking space request. We therefore focus our analysis on whether Colón can show the alleged adverse action constituted material harm. Case law acknowledges that a change in an employee's responsibilities may be sufficient to establish an adverse employment action. See Blackie, 75 F.3d at 725 (noting a discharge, demotion, reduction in salary, divestiture of significant responsibilities, or withholding of recognition may be sufficient to constitute a materially adverse employment action); see also Connell v. Bank of Boston, 924 F.2d 1169, 1179 (1st Cir.1991) (stating a discharge, demotion, or failure to promote may adversely affect an employee). This is not the case here. Colón offers no evidence showing the alleged elimination of her supervisory position rose to the level of material harm. First, Colón's testimony casts doubt upon the supervisory nature of her alleged managerial position. Colón testified that, although Alemán was her assistant, Colón was not responsible for evaluating Alemán's performance; rather, evaluations were always done by the manager or the director. Further, the evidence shows that Colón received Alemán as her assistant on account of her unpredictable yet recurring absences, not because of any promotion in employee status, raise in salary, or change in job title. Specifically, both Lanzó and Alemán testified during deposition that Alemán was assigned to Colón to ensure there would be no disruption of duties and to assure that Colón's work would be managed in her absence. Further, upon the alleged elimination of supervisory duties, Colón suffered no demotion, salary reduction, position reclassification, or loss of rank or prominence in her department. Although Colón generally argues she suffered the lost [sic] of respect from her co-workers and an exacerbation of her health condition from the elimination of her alleged supervisory duties, Colón's argument misses the mark. Because Colón failed to proffer facts showing how Alemán's re-assignment significantly affected her alleged prior authority, we fail to see how the transfer constituted a materially adverse action. See Simas v. First Citizens' Fed. Credit Union, 170 F.3d 37, 50 (1st Cir.1999) (noting case law holding that divesting an employee of significant assignments or substantial responsibilities may be sufficient to constitute an adverse employment action). As the district court noted, the Municipality's assignment of Alemán to Colón sounds like more of an accommodation than a retaliation, and an employer's act of accommodation generally tends to militate against making an inference of retaliation. Soileau, 105 F.3d at 17.