Opinion ID: 3065078
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Male Pilots May Have Been Treated More

Text: Favorably We must not only identify similarly situated male employees, however; we must also conclude, taking all evidence in the light most favorable to Nicholson, that those employees were treated more favorably, i.e., that Nicholson did not receive the same opportunity for additional training as the male pilots. According to Cape Air, the remedial program instituted by Price following Nicholson’s first removal from White’s plane was a second round of training comparable to the additional training received by the male pilots. Price testified that he explained to Nicholson “[s]everal times” that her job was at stake, that her lack of CRM skills was “a serious safety issue,” and that if it was not fixed “job action . . . including termination would be the result.” However, Nicholson claims that she was not offered any remedial training. According to Nicholson, when Price observed her flying he did not offer any constructive criticism, other than telling her that she might ask too many questions, and she received no advice at all as to how she might correct her supposed deficiency. [7] Construing the evidence in Nicholson’s favor, the male pilots received comprehensive remedial training at Flight Safety in order to correct their deficiencies, while Nicholson received no instruction and little, if any, constructive criticism prior to being suspended from the ATR 42 program, initially for eighteen, later modified to six, months. This qualitative difference in treatment provides sufficient evidence that Nicholson was treated less favorably than similarly situated male pilots to preclude summary judgment at McDonnell Douglas’s first step. NICHOLSON v. HYANNIS AIR SERVICE 12663 II. Cape Air Articulated a Legitimate, Nondiscriminatory Reason for its Actions [8] Because Nicholson produced evidence sufficient to establish a prima facie case under McDonnell Douglas, “[t]he burden of production, but not persuasion, . . . shifts to [Cape Air] to articulate some legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for the challenged action.” Chuang, 225 F.3d at 1123-24. Here, Cape Air alleges that Nicholson was suspended from the ATR program due to her CRM deficiencies. Cape Air’s allegation is supported by substantial evidence, including the testimony of Nicholson’s co-pilots and supervisors, their letters to the disciplinary panel, and the original and revised Action Forms. Cape Air has thus met its burden of production at step two. III. Nicholson Produced Sufficient Evidence of a Discriminatory Motive To Survive Summary Judgment [9] At the third step of the McDonnell Douglas scheme, “the plaintiff must show that the articulated reason is pretextual either directly by persuading the court that a discriminatory reason more likely motivated the employer or indirectly by showing that the employer’s proffered explanation is unworthy of credence.” Id. at 1124 (internal quotation marks omitted). To avoid summary judgment at this step, however, the plaintiff must only demonstrate that there is a genuine dispute of material fact regarding pretext. The amount of evidence required to do so is minimal. “We have held that very little evidence is necessary to raise a genuine issue of fact regarding an employer’s motive; any indication of discriminatory motive may suffice to raise a question that can only be resolved by a fact-finder. When the evidence, direct or circumstantial, consists of more than the McDonnell Douglas presumption, a factual question will almost always exist with respect to any claim of a nondiscriminatory reason.” McGinest v. GTE Serv. Corp., 360 F.3d 1103, 1124 (9th Cir. 2004) 12664 NICHOLSON v. HYANNIS AIR SERVICE (alterations omitted) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). [10] Nicholson has met her minimal burden at step three. First, irregularities in Nicholson’s disciplinary proceedings provide some evidence that Cape Air had a discriminatory motive. The disciplinary panel conducted a cursory investigation, and Nicholson introduced evidence that Cape Air actively procured letters complaining about Nicholson from other pilots. According to one pilot, Price demanded that he prepare a derogatory letter about Nicholson.4 In her affidavit, Nicholson also notes various departures by Cape Air from the procedures established in its employee handbook. However, Nicholson failed to introduce that handbook into evidence. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(e)(1) requires the attachment of any document “referred to in an affidavit.” “Lacking [the required] documentation,” Nicholson’s claims regarding the employee handbook are “nothing more than an . . . argument lacking evidentiary support.” School Dist. No. 1J, Multnomah County, Or. v. ACandS, Inc., 5 F.3d 1255, 1262 (9th Cir. 1993).5 4 Cape Air, while noting at oral argument before us that this statement was hearsay, did not move in the district court to strike the statement from Nicholson’s declaration, and thus waived any hearsay objection. 5 The employee handbook was attached to a proposed sur-reply, but the district court denied Nicholson’s motion to file that sur-reply. Nicholson argues that the employee handbook is nonetheless part of the record on appeal and can be considered by this court. According to Nicholson, the handbook was “filed” with the district court within the meaning of Fed. R. App. P. 10(a)(1), which defines the record on appeal, because a clerk’s stamp on the front of the proposed sur-reply states that it was “filed” on Feb. 22, 2008. Nicholson’s argument, while inventive, fails. We cannot accept any argument that would permit the clerk’s office to override a judge’s decision as to whether a particular document may be “filed” with the court. Nicholson’s proposed sur-reply was, instead, merely “lodged” with the district court. See Barcamerica Int’l. v. Tyfield Imps., Inc., 289 F.3d 589, 594-95 (9th Cir. 2002) (declining to consider excerpts of deposition transcripts lodged with district court but not filed in support of or in opposition to a motion); Levald, Inc. v. City of Palm Desert, 998 F.2d 680, 684 (9th Cir. 1993) (striking factual allegations based on amended comNICHOLSON v. HYANNIS AIR SERVICE 12665 [11] Cape Air’s knowledge, however, of the rumors about Nicholson and Price and of her prior relationship with White does provide additional evidence that her employer, in Nicholson’s words, “wanted to remove an object of sexual competition, and therefore, discord, from the pilot group on Guam.” This inference is bolstered in particular by the fact that the Action Form initially prohibited Nicholson from flying Cessna 402s in the Pacific region, including Guam, notwithstanding her acknowledged ability to fly such single-pilot planes safely. It is also supported by White’s alleged statement, a week after Nicholson was terminated, that she “would still have [her] job if [they] were still together,” as well as by Cape Air’s silence upon being informed of White’s comment. [12] Finally, the evidence introduced by Nicholson to establish her prima facie case also provides evidence of pretext. “[A] disparate treatment plaintiff can survive summary judgment without producing any evidence of discrimination beyond that constituting his prima facie case, if that evidence raises a genuine issue of material fact regarding the truth of the employer’s proffered reasons.” Chuang, 225 F.3d at 1127 (citing Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Prods., Inc., 530 U.S. 133, 147-48 (2000). In this case, Cape Air’s failure to treat Nicholson in the same manner that it treated similarly deficient male pilots provides some evidence that Cape Air disciplined her because of her sex and not because of her alleged CRM deficiencies. So, too, do the sex-related remarks, such as the complaint that Nicholson had a “machismo” attitude; the captain’s concern about flying with her because of a prior sexual relationship; and the removal of her from a flight by that same captain, who expressed concern about whether his plaint “lodged with, but not accepted for filing by, the district court”). Because the documents attached to the sur-reply were not “filed” with the district court, and Nicholson does not appeal the rejection of her sur-reply by the district court, the documents are not part of the record on appeal and are not before this court. 12666 NICHOLSON v. HYANNIS AIR SERVICE work problems with her were related to that earlier relationship. [13] In employment discrimination cases brought under the McDonnell Douglas framework, “[w]e require very little evidence to survive summary judgment precisely because the ultimate question is one that can only be resolved through a searching inquiry — one that is most appropriately conducted by the factfinder, upon a full record.” Sischo-Nownejad v. Merced Comty College Dist., 934 F.2d 1104, 1111 (9th Cir. 1991) (internal quotation marks omitted). Because Nicholson introduced the minimal evidence necessary to raise a genuine issue of material fact as to whether Cape Air suspended her because of her sex, the district court’s grant of summary judgment to Cape Air was improper.