Opinion ID: 482051
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Yartzoff's Prima Facie Case

Text: 20 A plaintiff may establish a prima facie case of retaliation by showing that (1) he engaged or was engaging in activity protected under Title VII, (2) the employer subjected him to an adverse employment decision, and (3) there was a causal link between the protected activity and the employer's action. Ruggles, 797 F.2d at 785; Miller, 797 F.2d at 731; Cohen v. Fred Meyer, Inc., 686 F.2d 793, 796 (9th Cir.1982). At the summary judgment stage, the prima facie case need not be proved by a preponderance of the evidence. Miller, 797 F.2d at 731. 21 We agree with the district court that Yartzoff failed to establish a prima facie case on three of the retaliation claims. Whether or not Yartzoff's letter-writing campaign in March 1979 constituted a protected activity under Title VII, he failed to show the necessary causal link with respect to the March 1979 surprise quality assurance test. The record clearly shows that the decision to administer the tests was made in January and February 1979, prior to the beginning of Yartzoff's letter-writing campaign. See Miller, 797 F.2d at 731 n. 1 (noting that an employer's decision on a course of action made prior to learning of the employee's protected activity does not give rise to an inference of causation). The record also fails to show a causal link with respect to the denial of Yartzoff's request for a promotion in April 1980 because, as discussed above, he failed to follow proper application procedures. Absent a proper application, he could not be promoted. Finally, the charge that the civil rights office delayed prosecuting Yartzoff's complaints in retaliation for filing the complaints is meritless. 22 We disagree with the district court's conclusion, however, that Yartzoff failed to present evidence sufficient to establish a prima facie case on the other retaliation claims: the transfer of various job duties from Yartzoff between August 1979 and February 1980, the issuance of a subaverage performance rating in April 1980, and the transfer of additional job duties in February 1981. The first two elements of the prima facie case are clearly met. Yartzoff engaged in protected activity by filing Title VII grievances beginning in May 1979 and by cooperating in investigations. See 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000e-3(a) (1982). Transfers of job duties and undeserved performance ratings, if proven, would constitute adverse employment decisions cognizable under this section. B. Schlei & P. Grossman, Employment Discrimination Law 554 (2d ed. 1983); id. at 105-06 (Cum.Supp.1983-1984). 23 Causation sufficient to establish the third element of the prima facie case may be inferred from circumstantial evidence, such as the employer's knowledge that the plaintiff engaged in protected activities and the proximity in time between the protected action and the allegedly retaliatory employment decision. Miller, 797 F.2d at 731-32. In this case, the record contains evidence that Yartzoff's supervisors were aware of his Title VII complaints and of his participation in administrative investigations. See id.; Cohen, 686 F.2d at 796 (stating that an employer's awareness is essential to showing a causal link). 24 Proximity in time is apparent on the record: the transfers of job duties and the sub-average performance rating all occurred during the pendency of the administrative complaints and investigations. This inference of a causal link is strengthened by the closeness in time between particular events. See B. Schlei & P. Grossman, supra, at 559 & n. 145 (2d ed. 1983). The first series of transfers of job duties between August 1979 and February 1980 began less than three months after he filed his first administrative complaint. See Hochstadt v. Worcester Found. for Experimental Biology, Inc., 425 F.Supp. 318, 324-25 (D.Mass.) (holding that discharge six months after EEOC settlement and a month after an informal complaint satisfies causation requirement), aff'd, 545 F.2d 222 (1st Cir.1976). The supervisors issued the sub-average performance rating in late April 1980, approximately three weeks after Yartzoff, the supervisors, and the EEO counsellor met to discuss the complaints on April 4, 1980, and two weeks after the civil rights office investigated the charges in mid-April. Additional job duties were transferred away from Yartzoff in February 9, 1981, less than two months after the civil rights office finished investigating his charges at Corvallis on December 12, 1980. See Miller, 797 F.2d at 731-32 (holding that an employer's knowledge of protected activity and the discharge of employees less than two months after negotiation of EEOC settlement agreements was sufficiently probative of a causal link to withstand summary judgment). Thus, Yartzoff set forth sufficient evidence on which to establish a prima facie case on these claims. 25