Opinion ID: 3050076
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Nilsson Established a Prima Facie Case of

Text: Retaliation. [9] Neither party disputes that the first two prongs of the prima facie test were met.5 However, Mesa contends that there is no causal link between its decision not to hire Nilsson and Nilsson’s filing of an EEOC complaint against the Tempe PD because: (1) the Mesa PD made Nilsson a conditional offer of employment after learning that she had filed an EEOC complaint against the Tempe PD, and (2) the Mesa PD’s decision was based on Dr. Ford’s recommendation. Neither of these facts are relevant considerations in determining whether Nilsson established a prima facie case of retaliation as they are an attempt to “articulate . . . legitimate, nonretaliatory reason[s] for [the Mesa PD’s] actions.” See Porter, 419 F.3d at 894. Nilsson established that Mesa was aware of her previous EEOC complaint against the Tempe PD. Mesa concedes as much. In addition, Yunker testified during his deposition that he “understood that [the situation that he was following up on] involved an EEOC complaint . . .” This evidence is sufficient to establish a genuine issue of material fact as to whether a causal link exists between Nilsson’s filing of an EEOC complaint against the Tempe PD and Mesa’s decision not to hire her. See Hernandez v. Spacelabs Med., Inc., 343 F.3d 1107, 1113-14 (9th Cir. 2003).