Hannah v. Walmart Stores, Inc., 2020 WL 521848 (2d Cir. Feb. 3, 2020) (unpublished):

*1 ON CONSIDERATION WHEREOF, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that the orders and judgment of said District Court be and they hereby are AFFIRMED.

 

Appellants-Cross-Appellees Kim Hannah, Zena Irving as personal representative of the estate of Tom Irving, and Michael Barham (collectively, “Employees”) appeal from various orders and entries of judgment of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut (Bolden, J.), including the partial grant of summary judgment for Appellees Walmart Stores, Inc., and Walmart Stores East, LP, (collectively, “Walmart”), several evidentiary rulings, jury instructions in Barham’s trial, the grant of directed verdict to Walmart on Hannah’s failure to rehire claim, the denial of leave to amend the complaint, and the order of sanctions on Employees’ counsel for the filing of a premature appeal. Walmart cross-appeals from the district court’s award of attorneys’ fees and costs, backpay award, and order of reinstatement. We assume the parties’ familiarity with the underlying facts, procedural history, and specification of issues for review.

I. Hannah, Irving, and Barham’s Appeal

Employees’ complaint alleges, in relevant part, that Walmart terminated their employment and failed to rehire them because of racial discrimination and in retaliation for reporting racial discrimination, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. Based on our review of the record, we conclude that Employees have made no meritorious argument on appeal.

A. Summary Judgment and Directed Verdict

We review de novo a district court’s grant of summary judgment. See Jova v. Smith, 582 F.3d 410, 414 (2d Cir. 2009). To make out a prima facie case of retaliation under Title VII, an employee must show that “(1) she was engaged in an activity protected under Title VII; (2) the employer was aware of plaintiff’s participation in the protected activity; (3) the employer took adverse action against plaintiff based upon her activity; and (4) a causal connection existed between the plaintiff’s protected activity and the adverse action taken by the employer.” Cosgrove v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 9 F.3d 1033, 1039 (2d Cir. 1993). “Once a prima facie case is made out, the burden shifts to defendant to demonstrate a legitimate nondiscriminatory reason for its decision. If such a reason is articulated, plaintiff must then prove that the proffered reason was a pretext for retaliation and that defendant’s real motivation was the impermissible retaliatory motive.” Donato v. Plainview-Old Bethpage Cent. Sch. Dist., 96 F.3d 623, 634 (2d Cir. 1996).

We have explained that a Title VII plaintiff can demonstrate causation “indirectly, by showing that the protected activity was followed closely by discriminatory treatment, or through other circumstantial evidence such as disparate treatment of fellow employees who engaged in similar conduct.” Gordon v. N.Y.C. Bd. of Educ., 232 F.3d 111, 117 (2d Cir. 2000). While “[t]he lack of knowledge on the part of particular individual agents [of the defendant] is admissible as some evidence of a lack of a causal connection,” a plaintiff can establish retaliation “even if the agent denies direct knowledge of a plaintiff’s protected activities, ... so long as the jury finds that the circumstances evidence knowledge of the protected activities or the jury concludes that an agent is acting explicitly or implicit[ly] upon the orders of a superior who has the requisite knowledge.” Id. (emphasis in original).

*2 On appeal, Hannah contends that the district court erred in granting summary judgment for Walmart on her retaliatory termination claim. We conclude that the district court did not err. Hannah has shown no direct or indirect evidence that the Walmart employees involved in making job termination decisions in connection with Walmart’s reorganization, Project Apple, knew of Hannah’s protected activity, or were acting on the orders of a superior who was aware. Thus, Hannah’s retaliatory termination claim was rightfully dismissed on summary judgment.

Employees also contend that the district court erred in granting summary judgment on all of Irving’s and most of Hannah and Barham’s retaliatory failure to rehire claims. Here, we agree with the district court that Employees failed to provide sufficient direct or indirect evidence of retaliation, for substantially the same reasons that the district court articulated in its February and June 2016 decisions.