Opinion ID: 718191
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Retaliatory Discharge: The Legal Framework

Text: 44 Although Fennell has framed her retaliatory discharge claims in one federal count and two state law counts, the parties agree that the well-established analytical framework used in Title VII retaliation claims applies to the state law counts as well. Thus, for purposes of this appeal, we treat all three counts as subsumed in the Title VII count. 45 Where, as in this case and in retaliation cases generally, there is no direct evidence of the defendant's retaliatory animus, the McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting framework is used to allocate and order the burdens of producing evidence. See Mesnick, 950 F.2d at 827 (explaining the interplay between the burden-shifting framework set forth in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973), and the standards for summary judgment). To establish a prima facie case of retaliation, Fennell must show that: (1) she engaged in protected conduct under Title VII (or here, Maine's Human Rights Act or Whistleblower's Protection Act); (2) she suffered an adverse employment action; and (3) a causal connection existed between the protected conduct and the adverse action. See, e.g., Hoeppner v. Crotched Mountain Rehabilitation Ctr., 31 F.3d 9, 14 (1st Cir.1994). 46 Once a prima facie showing has been made, the burden shifts to the defendant to articulate a legitimate, non-retaliatory reason for its employment decision. See, e.g., Mesnick, 950 F.2d at 827. 9 If the defendant does so, the ultimate burden falls on the plaintiff to show that the proffered legitimate reason is in fact a pretext and that the job action was the result of the defendant's retaliatory animus. See St. Mary's Honor Ctr. v. Hicks, 509 U.S. 502, 510-11, 113 S.Ct. 2742, 2749, 125 L.Ed.2d 407 (1993); Mesnick, 950 F.2d at 827-28. On summary judgment, the need to order the presentation of proof is largely obviated, and a court may often dispense with strict attention to the burden-shifting framework, focusing instead on whether the evidence as a whole is sufficient to make out a jury question as to pretext and discriminatory animus. Id. at 827.