Planadeball v. Wyndham Vacation Resorts, Inc. , 793 F.3d 169 ( 2015 )


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  •           United States Court of Appeals
    For the First Circuit
    No. 13-2366
    CARMEN PLANADEBALL,
    Plaintiff, Appellant,
    v.
    WYNDHAM VACATION RESORTS, INC.,
    Defendant, Appellee,
    SHAWYN MALEY,
    Defendant.
    APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
    FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO
    [Hon. Jay A. García-Gregory, U.S. District Judge]
    Before
    Thompson, Barron, and Lipez,
    Circuit Judges.
    Juan R. Dávila Díaz, with whom Mendoza Law Offices and
    Enrique J. Mendoza-Mendez were on brief, for appellant.
    Shiara L. Diloné Fernández, with whom Schuster Aguiló LLC and
    Carl Schuster were on brief, for appellee.
    July 17, 2015
    LIPEZ, Circuit Judge.             Carmen Planadeball appeals the
    district    court's   grant       of   summary    judgment    on   her    claim   of
    retaliation against Wyndham Vacation Resorts, Inc. ("Wyndham")
    under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e
    et seq.    Planadeball contends that Wyndham retaliated against her
    for   making   informal     and    formal      complaints    against     her   then-
    supervisor Shawyn Maley after he subjected her to a hostile work
    environment on the basis of her race and national origin. Adopting
    the magistrate judge's recommendation, the district court granted
    Wyndham's motion for summary judgment.                 Because we agree that
    Planadeball has not presented sufficient evidence to establish a
    retaliation claim under Title VII, we affirm.
    I.
    We recount the facts in the light most favorable to
    Planadeball, who was the non-moving party at summary judgment. See
    Santana-Concepción v. Centro Médico del Turabo, Inc., 
    768 F.3d 5
    ,
    7 (1st Cir. 2014).
    Planadeball was born in Puerto Rico and identifies as
    Hispanic.      She was hired by Wyndham in June 2009 as a sales
    representative at the Bonnet Creek Resort in Orlando, Florida.
    Planadeball    and    the   other      sales     representatives    sold       family
    vacation packages and vacation ownership products.                       In January
    2010, she was transferred to the regional office at the Wyndham Río
    Mar Beach Resort in Río Grande, Puerto Rico.                At the time, she was
    -2-
    supervised by sales manager Ángelo Sánchez.                  In December 2010,
    Wyndham hired Shawyn Maley as a sales manager in the Río Grande
    office.    Subsequently, Planadeball was supervised by both Sánchez
    and Maley.       On February 15, 2011, Sánchez began a period of leave
    under the Family and Medical Leave Act, making Maley the sole
    supervisor       for   Planadeball   and       the   other   Río    Grande    sales
    representatives.
    During his time as the sales manager of the Río Grande
    office, Maley made many derogatory comments about Puerto Ricans and
    African-Americans in front of Planadeball and her co-workers.                  For
    example, he said that the sales representatives should not waste
    their time with Puerto Rican customers because they "don't have any
    money."    He also called Puerto Ricans "stupid" and said that they
    "don't have education."         He referred to Puerto Rico as "a trash
    can" and said "that everything is dirty."                     Additionally, he
    referred to African-Americans as "niggers" and instructed the sales
    representatives to avoid dealing with them because "they were more
    than likely to have bad credit."
    Maley also made many sexist comments, directed primarily
    at Planadeball's co-workers Michelle Pérez and London Miles.                   For
    example, he said, "the perfect woman is [Miles's] tits . . . and
    [Pérez's] ass."         He would also repeatedly call Miles into his
    office    to    discuss   his   sexual    relationships      with    women,   make
    -3-
    derogatory comments about other women's bodies, and stare at her
    breasts.
    Sometime in February or early March 2011, Planadeball
    went to Maley's office on two to three occasions to complain to him
    about the way he was treating her, Pérez, and Miles.                    She told
    Maley    to   stop   making    derogatory     comments   and    "that    it   was
    inappropriate to speak to my friends the way he was talking to
    them."    On one occasion, Maley responded by calling Planadeball a
    liar and throwing her out of his office.           Around the same time --
    she did not recall exactly when -- Planadeball also complained
    about    Maley's     conduct   to   Richard   Wieczerzak,      Wyndham’s      Vice
    President of Sales and Marketing for South Florida and Puerto Rico.
    She told Wieczerzak that "[t]hings have been -- that are happening,
    are inappropriate, things that Shawyn Maley is saying have been
    very inappropriate." However, Planadeball did not file a complaint
    about Maley to the Human Resources Department because she feared
    that she would lose her job.
    From March 15 to April 1, 2011, Planadeball took a
    medical leave of absence so she could recover from gallbladder
    surgery.      Days after Planadeball had returned, she met with Maley
    to discuss her work performance.            During the meeting, Maley told
    her "that [she] wasn't selling, that [her] numbers were very low."
    In her deposition, Planadeball admitted that her sales numbers
    "were not very good" at the time.               After the meeting, Maley
    -4-
    approached Planadeball's desk and "started yelling at [her] in
    front of [her] friends."       Maley told her, "You step up or you step
    out and -- and that's the way it is."             Maley was so close to
    Planadeball that she was afraid that he was going to hit her.
    Shortly after this incident, Planadeball gave a ride to
    work to David Saliceti, another sales representative.             During the
    ride, Saliceti told her, "Be careful, because [Maley] has been
    saying that the next one who's going to be fired is you."               While
    they were talking in the car, Saliceti received a text message from
    Maley.       The text message stated, "You better tell Carmen that
    either she steps up or steps out." Saliceti showed Planadeball the
    message soon after receiving it.
    Planadeball and the other sales representatives received
    commissions on the sales they made for Wyndham.             Sometime in April
    2011,    a    few   days   after   returning   from   her    medical   leave,
    Planadeball noticed that her commission check was subject to a
    chargeback of $4,000.       She inquired about the chargeback to Maley,
    who "couldn't give [her] any details or any information."              She was
    later informed by an administrator that a $40,000 sale that she had
    previously closed had been cancelled by corporate headquarters.
    Someone in corporate subsequently entered into a sale with the same
    client and received the commission on the sale.               In addition to
    impacting negatively Planadeball's sales numbers, the chargeback
    -5-
    resulted in "a lot of pain and suffering with regards to [her]
    finances."
    On April 29, 2011, Pérez complained to Wieczerzak about
    Maley's conduct.    Wieczerzak relayed Pérez's complaint to Lisette
    Lama, Wyndham's Human Resources Director.         On May 2, 2011, Pérez
    and Miles met with Lama and Assistant Human Resources Director
    Kerania Olmo.     Lama and Olmo subsequently began an investigation
    into Maley.    Pursuant to company policy, Maley was suspended from
    employment pending the outcome of the investigation.         As part of
    the investigation, Lama and Olmo interviewed Planadeball, among
    other employees in the Río Grande office.         Planadeball told them
    that Maley had been sexually harassing Miles and Pérez, that he had
    asked an employee to purchase Viagra and drugs for him, and that he
    had   made    "several   comments   that   were   very   inappropriate."
    Planadeball also mentioned that Maley had criticized her work
    performance, had screamed at her at work, and had sent Saliceti the
    text message suggesting Planadeball would be fired if she did not
    improve. However, Planadeball did not specifically mention Maley's
    discriminatory remarks about Puerto Ricans and African-Americans.
    She said she did not "go into details" with Lama and Olmo because
    she feared losing her job.
    After completing its investigation, Wyndham concluded
    that it could not substantiate the allegations against Maley. Lama
    did not find the testimony of Planadeball and her co-workers to be
    -6-
    credible.        Maley was not disciplined and, after a three-day
    suspension, returned to his position as sales manager of the Río
    Grande office.      Lama advised him of the need to maintain a proper
    work environment, and of various company policies and procedures,
    including the company's policy of "zero tolerance on retaliation."
    On    May   26,   2011,   Planadeball   filed   a   charge   of
    discrimination against Wyndham and Maley with the Puerto Rico
    Department of Labor's Anti-Discrimination Unit.         She alleged that
    she was discriminated against on the basis of race and national
    origin.     Pérez, Miles, and Saliceti also filed discrimination
    charges with the Anti-Discrimination Unit.
    On July 15, 2011, Maley was transferred from the Río
    Grande office into a sales manager position at the Wyndham Royal
    Vista Resort in Pompano Beach, Florida.         Angela Estes became the
    new sales manager of the Río Grande office.           Maley had no more
    contact with Planadeball after he was transferred, and Estes became
    her new supervisor.
    On June 19, 2012, Planadeball filed her complaint against
    Wyndham and Maley1 in the district court, alleging that she was
    subject to a hostile work environment on the basis of race and
    national origin and that she was retaliated against for complaining
    1
    On November 7, 2012, Planadeball voluntarily dismissed all
    of her claims against Maley.
    -7-
    about Maley's conduct, in violation of Title VII of the Civil
    Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., and Puerto Rico law.
    After filing the complaint, Planadeball was not "treated
    the same way at work" or "given the same opportunities at work."
    Estes began treating Planadeball differently from the other sales
    representatives.    For example, Estes would ignore Planadeball and
    would refuse to respond to her when she had work-related questions.
    Estes spoke to Planadeball "[i]n a very arrogant way" and yelled at
    her at least three times.    Estes told Planadeball that "[i]f you
    don't like my policies, if you don't like how things are done, you
    should leave."
    Furthermore, before Planadeball had filed the complaint,
    she was provided the opportunity to work directly with existing
    timeshare owners.   Working with existing owners was a special perk
    for front line sales representatives, like Planadeball, who had
    shown a lot of promise.     However, in June and July 2012, Estes
    stopped allowing Planadeball to work directly with existing owners
    as her clients.
    On April 16, 2013, Wyndham moved for summary judgment on
    all of Planadeball's claims.     On July 16, 2013, the magistrate
    judge issued a recommendation to grant the motion, and the district
    court affirmed the recommendation summarily. This appeal followed.
    -8-
    II.
    Our   review   of   a   district   court's     grant    of   summary
    judgment is de novo.         Johnson v. Univ. of P.R., 
    714 F.3d 48
    , 52
    (1st Cir. 2013).      In conducting our "fresh look" at the record, we
    view the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving
    party and draw all reasonable inferences in her favor.                 Gerald v.
    Univ. of P.R., 
    707 F.3d 7
    , 16 (1st Cir. 2013).              Summary judgment is
    appropriate only if there is no genuine dispute as to any material
    fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of
    law.       Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a); 
    Gerald, 707 F.3d at 16
    .                  However,
    "conclusory allegations, empty rhetoric, unsupported speculation,
    or evidence which, in the aggregate, is less than significantly
    probative will not suffice to ward off a properly supported summary
    judgment motion."       Nieves-Romero v. United States, 
    715 F.3d 375
    ,
    378 (1st Cir. 2013) (internal quotation marks omitted).
    On appeal, Planadeball only challenges the district
    court's grant of summary judgment on her federal retaliation
    claim.2       Title   VII    makes    it   unlawful   for    "an     employer    to
    discriminate against any of his employees . . . because [the
    employee] has opposed any practice made an unlawful employment
    2
    While Planadeball also states that she is appealing her
    retaliation claim under Puerto Rico Law 115, P.R. Laws Ann. tit.
    29, § 194a, she provides no argument as to why the Law 115 claim
    was improperly dismissed. Therefore, she has waived that claim.
    See Rodríguez v. Municipality of San Juan, 
    659 F.3d 168
    , 175 (1st
    Cir. 2011) ("[W]e deem waived claims not made or claims adverted to
    in a cursory fashion, unaccompanied by developed argument.").
    -9-
    practice     by    [Title     VII],   or     because    he     has    made    a   charge,
    testified,        assisted,    or     participated        in    any    manner     in    an
    investigation, proceeding, or hearing under [Title VII]."                               42
    U.S.C.   §   2000e-3(a).         As    the    Supreme     Court       explained,       this
    "antiretaliation provision protects an individual not from all
    retaliation, but from retaliation that produces an injury or harm."
    Burlington N. & Santa Fe Ry. Co. v. White, 
    548 U.S. 53
    , 67 (2006).
    Title      VII    retaliation         claims      proceed        under    the
    burden-shifting framework outlined in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v.
    Green, 
    411 U.S. 792
    , 801-03 (1973).                 The plaintiff, first, must
    establish a prima facie case of retaliation by providing evidence
    that "[o]ne, she undertook protected conduct[;] . . . [t]wo, her
    employer took a material adverse action against her[;] . . . [a]nd
    . . . three, a causal nexus exists between elements one and two."
    Medina-Rivera v. MVM, Inc., 
    713 F.3d 132
    , 139 (1st Cir. 2013)
    (citations omitted).
    Once the plaintiff makes out this prima facie case, the
    burden shifts to the defendant to articulate a legitimate, non-
    retaliatory       explanation       for    its     actions.           See    Collazo     v.
    Bristol-Myers Squibb Mfg., Inc., 
    617 F.3d 39
    , 46 (1st Cir. 2010).
    If the defendant carries this burden of production, the burden
    shifts   back      to   the    plaintiff      to   show      that     the    defendant's
    explanation is a pretext for unlawful retaliation.                           See 
    id. To defeat
    summary judgment, the plaintiff need not prove retaliation
    -10-
    by a preponderance of the evidence.             See 
    id. at 50.
          "All a
    plaintiff has to do is raise a genuine issue of fact as to whether
    [retaliation]    motivated   the   adverse     employment   action."       
    Id. (quoting Dominguez-Cruz
    v. Suttle Caribe, Inc., 
    202 F.3d 424
    , 433
    (1st Cir. 2000)) (alteration in original).
    A. Protected Conduct
    Protected conduct "refers to action taken to protest or
    oppose statutorily prohibited discrimination."            Fantini v. Salem
    State Coll., 
    557 F.3d 22
    , 32 (1st Cir. 2009) (internal quotation
    marks omitted).    Protected conduct includes "the filing of formal
    charges   of   discrimination"     as   well   as   "informal   protests   of
    discriminatory employment practices, including making complaints to
    management, writing critical letters to customers, protesting
    against discrimination by industry or by society in general, and
    expressing support of co-workers who have filed formal charges."
    
    Id. (quoting Sumner
    v. U.S. Postal Serv., 
    899 F.2d 203
    , 209 (2nd
    Cir. 1990)).
    Planadeball contends that her protected conduct includes
    her complaints to Maley and Wieczerzak in February and March 2011,
    her complaints to Lama and Olmo in May 2011, filing a charge of
    discrimination against Wyndham and Maley with the Puerto Rico
    Department of Labor's Anti-Discrimination Unit on May 26, 2011, and
    filing her federal complaint in the district court on June 19,
    2012.   Wyndham concedes that the complaints to Lama and Olmo, the
    -11-
    filing of the Anti-Discrimination Unit charge, and the filing of
    the complaint constitute protected conduct.       However, it disagrees
    that Planadeball's complaints to Maley and Wieczerzak are protected
    conduct.   With regard to Maley, Wyndham contends "that complaining
    to the alleged harasser" cannot be considered protected activity.
    With   regard   to   Wieczerzak,   Wyndham   argues   that    Planadeball's
    complaints were not "specific enough to notify management of the
    particular type of discrimination at issue in order to constitute
    protected activity."
    We do not need to resolve this dispute because, as
    explained below, even if the complaints to Maley and Wieczerzak can
    be considered protected conduct, Planadeball's retaliation claim
    still fails.     Therefore, we will assume, without deciding, that
    Planadeball's complaints to Maley and Wieczerzak are protected
    conduct.
    B. Material Adverse Actions
    Planadeball argues that Wyndham took a number of material
    adverse actions against her in retaliation for her protected
    activities. Material adverse actions are actions that are "harmful
    to the point that they could well dissuade a reasonable worker from
    making or supporting a charge of discrimination."            Burlington 
    N., 548 U.S. at 57
    .      However, "'petty slights or minor annoyances that
    often take place at work and that all employees experience'" are
    not material adverse actions and "consequently, fall outside the
    -12-
    scope of the anti-discrimination laws."           Billings v. Town of
    Grafton, 
    515 F.3d 39
    , 54 (1st Cir. 2008) (quoting Burlington 
    N., 548 U.S. at 68
    ); see also Burlington 
    N., 548 U.S. at 68
    ("Title VII
    . . . does not set forth 'a general civility code for the American
    workplace.'" (quoting Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Servs., Inc.,
    
    523 U.S. 75
    , 80 (1998))).
    Planadeball argues that the following three actions by
    Wyndham employees constitute material adverse actions: (1) the
    $4,000 chargeback on her commission check in April 2011; (2)
    Estes's behavior toward her, including denying her the opportunity
    to work with existing timeshare owners in June and July 2012; and
    (3) Maley's threats to fire her in April 2011.3         We address each in
    turn.
    1. The $4,000 chargeback
    Wyndham   concedes   that    the   $4,000    chargeback   "may
    constitute an adverse employment action."          Yet, it argues that
    there is no "causal nexus" to protected conduct.           
    Medina-Rivera, 713 F.3d at 139
    .       Planadeball counters that causation can be
    inferred from the temporal proximity between the chargeback and
    protected conduct.
    3
    "[R]etaliatory actions that are not materially adverse when
    considered individually may collectively amount to a retaliatory
    hostile work environment." 
    Billings, 515 F.3d at 54
    n.13 (citing
    Noviello v. City of Boston, 
    398 F.3d 76
    , 88-90 (1st Cir. 2005)).
    However, Planadeball has not presented any argument about the
    collective effect of these three alleged acts of retaliation.
    Therefore, we consider them independently.
    -13-
    Planadeball    made   informal    complaints    to    Maley   and
    Wieczerzak regarding Maley's behavior in February and March 2011.
    She then went on medical leave from March 15 to April 1.             In early
    April 2011, a few days after she returned to work, she noticed that
    her   commission   check    was    subjected   to   a    $4,000   chargeback.
    Planadeball argues that the close temporal proximity between her
    February and March 2011 complaints and the chargeback establish the
    causal nexus between protected conduct and this adverse action
    taken against her.
    Planadeball is correct that "[t]emporal proximity can
    create an inference of causation in the proper case."             Pomales v.
    Celulares Telefónica, Inc., 
    447 F.3d 79
    , 85 (1st Cir. 2006).                In
    order to draw such an inference, however, "there must be proof that
    the decisionmaker knew of the plaintiff's protected conduct when he
    or she decided to take the adverse employment action."               Id.; see
    also Velazquez-Ortiz v. Vilsack, 
    657 F.3d 64
    , 72 (1st Cir. 2011)
    ("Where the evidence shows only that the decisionmaker knew of the
    complainant's protected conduct at the time the adverse employment
    action was taken, causation may be inferred from a very close
    temporal   relationship     between    the   protected    activity   and   the
    adverse action.").
    Planadeball has failed to make a prima facie showing of
    causation.    There is no evidence in the record to demonstrate that
    the   Wyndham   employees    who   initiated    the     chargeback   had   any
    -14-
    knowledge of Planadeball's complaints to Maley and Wieczerzak.4
    Planadeball was informed that the chargeback was processed because
    corporate had cancelled her $40,000 sale and someone in corporate
    subsequently entered into a sale with the same client and received
    the commission on the sale.      Yet, there is no evidence that anyone
    in   corporate   knew   about   Planadeball's   informal    complaints   in
    February and March 2011. Furthermore, while Planadeball complained
    directly to Maley about the chargeback, Maley told her that he did
    not know why the chargeback was processed.
    2. Estes's conduct
    Wyndham also does not contest that Estes's conduct toward
    Planadeball in June and July 2012, including taking away her
    opportunity to work with existing timeshare owners, may constitute
    a material adverse action. However, it similarly argues that there
    is no evidence of a causal link between Estes's behavior and
    protected   conduct.5      Planadeball    contends   that   the   temporal
    4
    Although Planadeball has presented evidence of other
    instances of protected conduct, her complaints to Maley and
    Wieczerzak are the only conduct that occurred before the chargeback
    was issued, and, therefore, are the only conduct that Planadeball
    contends establishes a causal nexus with this material adverse
    action.
    5
    Wyndham also contends that we should not consider Estes's
    conduct while evaluating Planadeball's retaliation claim because
    Planadeball failed to amend her complaint to incorporate Estes's
    actions that took place after Planadeball had filed her complaint.
    Wyndham relies on Quevedo-Gaitan v. Sears Roebuck de P.R., Inc., a
    district court case in which the court disregarded evidence of age
    discrimination that occurred after the plaintiff had filed her
    complaint because she had failed to amend it. See 536 F. Supp. 2d
    -15-
    proximity between Estes's conduct and the filing of her complaint
    on June 19, 2012, establishes the requisite nexus.
    Planadeball's       claim     fails    for      the   same       reason   the
    chargeback claim fails.         There is no evidence that Estes was aware
    that Planadeball had filed a complaint.               Estes stated that she had
    "no    knowledge   as   to    the   claims      and   allegations         that   Carmen
    Planadeball     ha[d]   brought      against       [Wyndham]       in    any     forum."
    Moreover,    Planadeball       admitted     that      she   does       not    know    what
    information, if any, Estes had with respect to her litigation.                         On
    this record, there is simply no evidence from which a reasonable
    jury    could   infer   that     Estes    had     knowledge       of    Planadeball's
    protected activity.          Therefore, Planadeball cannot establish the
    third element of a prima facie case of retaliation, a causal nexus
    between filing her complaint and Estes's actions.                      See Alvarado v.
    Donahoe, 
    687 F.3d 453
    , 459 (1st Cir. 2012) ("[I]f a supervisor or
    other employee is unaware of the fact that a plaintiff engaged in
    158, 170 (D.P.R. 2008).    Planadeball counters that she was not
    required to amend her complaint at the summary judgment stage
    because she was not asserting a new claim or adding a new
    defendant, but merely was providing additional facts to support her
    retaliation claim, which was already plausibly alleged in the
    complaint. See Rodríguez-Vives v. P.R. Firefighters Corps of P.R.,
    
    743 F.3d 278
    , 283 (1st Cir. 2014) (A "complaint need not allege
    every fact necessary to win at trial, but need only include
    sufficient facts to make it plausible on its face."); see also 
    id. at 286
    (noting that a complaint is not "required to provide the
    exact details of each incident, such as the dates or the precise
    context of the abusive comments, to make [a retaliation] claim
    plausible").    We do not need to resolve this dispute.        Even
    assuming that we can consider Estes's conduct, Planadeball's claim
    still fails.
    -16-
    protected conduct, any actions attributable to him could not
    plausibly have been induced by retaliatory motives.").
    3. Maley's Threats
    Finally, Wyndham contends, and the district court found,
    that Maley's threats toward Planadeball after she returned from
    medical leave in April 2011 were not a material adverse action.
    Maley criticized Planadeball about her work performance, screamed
    at her in front of her colleagues, and made multiple threats to
    fire her.
    Planadeball   argues   that     Maley's    conduct   should    be
    considered a material adverse action, because, as the Supreme Court
    stated in Burlington Northern, material adverse actions are "not
    limited   to   discriminatory    actions   that   affect   the   terms    and
    conditions of employment," nor are they restricted to "ultimate
    employment decisio[ns] . . . such as hiring, granting leave,
    discharging, promoting, and 
    compensating." 548 U.S. at 60
    , 64
    (internal quotation marks omitted).           Rather, they include all
    actions that "could well dissuade a reasonable worker from making
    or supporting a charge of discrimination."              
    Id. at 57.
           This
    standard is phrased "in general terms because the significance of
    any given act of retaliation will often depend upon the particular
    circumstances.    Context matters."       
    Id. at 69.
    We agree with Planadeball that a juror could reasonably
    conclude that Maley's multiple threats to fire her constitute a
    -17-
    material adverse action.        Construing all facts in Planadeball's
    favor, Maley told her to "step up or [] step out," told her co-
    worker Saliceti that she was the "next one who's going to be
    fired," and sent a text message to Saliceti stating, "[y]ou better
    tell [Planadeball] that either she steps up or steps out."            In our
    view, a reasonable juror could thus infer that these multiple,
    consecutive threats, stated to an employee directly and to her
    co-worker who passed the message to that employee, could dissuade
    a reasonable employee from making or supporting a charge of
    discrimination.     See 
    Billings, 515 F.3d at 54
    -55 ("An employee who
    knows that, by [making a charge of discrimination], she risks . .
    . a threat of further, more serious discipline" for deficiencies at
    work "might well choose not to proceed with [such a charge] in the
    first   place."    (internal   quotation    marks   omitted));    Rivera   v.
    Rochester Genesee Reg'l Transp. Auth., 
    743 F.3d 11
    , 26 (2d Cir.
    2012)   (holding    that   a   reasonable   juror   could   conclude    that
    threatening an employee "with the loss of his job" constitutes a
    material adverse action).
    We also find that Planadeball has established a causal
    link between Maley's threats and protected conduct.              The threats
    occurred in April 2011, at most two months after Planadeball
    complained to Maley and Wieczerzak about Maley's discriminatory
    comments.    This two-month gap between protected activity and a
    material adverse action is sufficiently short to establish a prima
    -18-
    facie case of retaliation.        See, e.g., Mariani-Colón v. Dep't of
    Homeland Sec., 
    511 F.3d 216
    , 224 (1st Cir. 2007) ("We conclude that
    the    'temporal   proximity'     between   appellant's   allegations    of
    discrimination in June 2002 and his termination in August 2002 is
    sufficient to meet the relatively light burden of establishing a
    prima facie case of retaliation."); Sánchez-Rodríguez v. AT&T
    Mobility P.R., Inc., 
    673 F.3d 1
    , 15 (1st Cir. 2012) (holding that
    the plaintiff established a prima facie case of retaliation where
    approximately three months had transpired between the protected
    conduct and the material adverse action).
    Because Planadeball has made a prima facie case of
    retaliation based on Maley's threats, the burden shifts to Wyndham
    to show that it had a non-retaliatory reason for the threats.           See
    
    Mariani-Colón, 511 F.3d at 221
    , 223.            We find that Wyndham has
    satisfied this burden.      Maley's threats to fire Planadeball were
    made   in   response   to   her   bad   sales   performance.     In   fact,
    Planadeball acknowledges that Maley threatened to fire her in the
    context of discussing her work performance, and admits that, when
    the threats were made, her sales numbers "were not very good."
    The burden thus shifts back to Planadeball to show that
    Wyndham's reason was merely pretextual. See 
    id. To defeat
    summary
    judgment in a retaliation case, "'a plaintiff must point to some
    evidence    of     retaliation     by   a   pertinent     decisionmaker.'"
    
    Sánchez-Rodríguez, 673 F.3d at 15
    (quoting Randlett v. Shalala, 118
    -19-
    F.3d 857, 862 (1st Cir. 1997)).     Here, Planadeball points only to
    the temporal proximity between her complaints and Maley's threats.
    However, this two-month period is not sufficient, by itself, to
    raise an inference of pretext. The timing of Maley's threats makes
    sense because they occurred soon after Planadeball returned to work
    from surgery, and at a time when her sales numbers were low.          See
    
    Mariani-Colón, 511 F.3d at 224
    (holding that the temporal proximity
    between   a    plaintiff's   complaints   of   discrimination   and   his
    discharge failed to raise an inference of pretext where the timing
    made sense, as plaintiff was fired a few weeks after he voluntarily
    took unpaid leave); 
    Sánchez-Rodríguez, 673 F.3d at 15
    .          Because
    Planadeball has not pointed to any other evidence to establish
    pretext, her retaliation claim fails.
    III.
    Planadeball has not presented sufficient evidence to
    establish a retaliation claim under Title VII.        Hence, we affirm
    the district court's order granting Wyndham's motion for summary
    judgment.
    So ordered.
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