Rodriguez v. Brown ( 2022 )

Appellate Case: 21-1124 Document: 010110726534 Date Filed: 08/18/2022 Page: 1
FILED
United States Court of Appeals
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Tenth Circuit
FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT August 18, 2022
_________________________________
Christopher M. Wolpert
Clerk of Court
JEANETTE RODRIGUEZ,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
v. No. 21-1124
(D.C. No. 1:18-CV-02919-KLM)
ARAPAHOE COUNTY SHERIFF (D. Colo.)
TYLER S. BROWN, in his official
capacity,
Defendant - Appellee.
_________________________________
ORDER AND JUDGMENT*
_________________________________
Before MATHESON, EBEL, and PHILLIPS, Circuit Judges.
_________________________________
Plaintiff Jeanette Rodriguez, a deputy sheriff who works at the Arapahoe
County detention center, appeals the district court’s decision granting her employer,
the Arapahoe County Sheriff, summary judgment on Rodriguez’s employment
discrimination claims alleging disparate treatment and hostile work environment
based on her race (Hispanic), sex (female), and national origin (Venezuelan). The
district court also granted the Sheriff summary judgment on Rodriguez’s claims
alleging that the Sheriff retaliated against her when she complained about this
*
This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of law
of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however, for its
persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1.
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discriminatory mistreatment. Having jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, we
AFFIRM summary judgment for the Sheriff because Rodriguez failed to present
sufficient evidence from which a reasonable jury could find that any of the
mistreatment of which she complains was because on her race, sex, or national
origin, or was taken in retaliation for her discrimination complaints.
I. BACKGROUND
We have carefully considered the evidence in detail, viewing it in the light
most favorable to Rodriguez. See Herrmann v. Salt Lake City Corp., 21 F.4th 666,
673 (10th Cir. 2021). Here, we recite that evidence only summarily. Rodriguez has
worked as a deputy at the County detention center since 2008; there has never been
any problem with her job performance. During annual training in 2015, however,
Rodriguez drew the ire of a firearms instructor, Cunningham, during a training
simulation in a “shoot house.” Later that same day, while working with a different
instructor, Rodriguez committed a safety violation at the shooting range, holstering
her weapon while she was in a prone position. As a result of these two problems,
Rodriguez was restricted from using her firearm until she passed additional training.1
Although Rodriguez contends that she performed well enough to pass the
additional training, Instructor Stevie True and another instructor failed Rodriguez.
This began a recurring cycle: Various trainers and supervisors would require
1
Rodriguez was able to continue working despite this firearm restriction because
deputies do not carry firearms in the detention center. But she could not perform all
of her job duties. For example, Rodriguez was not able to transport detainees outside
the jail because that would have required her to carry a firearm.
2
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Rodriguez to undergo additional training, after which the trainers would fail her; her
supervisors would then place Rodriguez on paid administrative leave and recommend
that the Sheriff fire her; the Sheriff—David Walcher—would decline to fire
Rodriguez, but would order her to undergo more training; and the cycle would begin
again. This scenario played out at least three times over four years’ time.
During this course of events, Rodriguez filed a complaint with the EEOC in
January 2017, and amended that complaint in October 2017. When the EEOC issued
Rodriguez a right-to-sue letter, she initiated this litigation in November 2018. After
a new Sheriff—Tyler Brown—was elected, Rodriguez passed remedial training and
her firearm restriction was lifted.
This litigation, however, continued. Rodriguez sued the Sheriff, in his official
capacity,2 asserting four claims: 1) a Title VII claim for disparate treatment
discrimination and hostile work environment based on Rodriguez’s race (Hispanic),
sex (female), and national origin (Venezuela); 2) the same discrimination claims
asserted under the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (“CADA”); 3) a Title VII
retaliation claim; and 4) a retaliation claim under CADA. Following discovery, the
district court3 granted the Sheriff’s motion for summary judgment on all of
Rodriguez’s claims. Rodriguez appeals that decision.
2
When Rodriguez initiated this litigation in 2018, David Walcher was the Sheriff.
But because Rodriguez sued the Sheriff in his official capacity, Tyler Brown was
substituted as the defendant after he took office.
3
The parties consented to a magistrate judge deciding this case. See 28 U.S.C.
§ 636(c).
3
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II. STANDARD OF REVIEW
We review the district court’s summary judgment decision de novo, viewing
the evidence in the light most favorable to Rodriguez and drawing all reasonable
inferences in her favor. See Herrmann, 21 F.4th at 673. A court must grant summary
judgment “if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material
fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a).
III. LEGAL DISCUSSION
Before addressing the merits of the district court’s summary judgment
decision, we note a couple of preliminary matters that affect the scope of our
analysis. Procedurally, Title VII required Rodriguez to exhaust her administrative
remedies by filing a complaint with the EEOC within 300 days after each alleged
discriminatory practice occurred. See 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(e)(1); Bullington v.
United Air Lines, Inc., 186 F.3d 1301, 1310 & n.2 (10th Cir. 1999), overruled in part
on other grounds by Nat’l R.R. Passenger Corp. v. Morgan, 536 U.S. 101, 105
(2002). In light of that, the district court ruled: Rodriguez could base her Title VII
disparate treatment and retaliation claims on only discrete adverse employment
actions occurring on and after March 9, 2016, which was 300 days before Rodriguez
filed her first EEOC complaint in January 2017. See Morgan, 536 U.S. at 105, 122.
But Rodriguez could rely on earlier incidents to support her Title VII hostile work
environment harassment claim because she had identified at least one incident that
was part of the alleged ongoing harassment that occurred after March 9, 2016. See
id. Rodriguez does not challenge these rulings on appeal.
4
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The district court’s timeliness ruling, however, was limited to Rodriguez’s
Title VII claims. Her state-law CADA claims were subject to a different, six-month
requirement for timely exhausting state administrative remedies. See Colo. Rev.
Stat. § 24-34-403 (referencing § 24-34-306); see also Deneffe v. SkyWest, Inc.,
No. 14-cv-00348-MEH, 2015 WL 232128, at *4–5 (D. Colo. Jan. 16, 2015)
(unreported) (applying state-law requirements for timely filing administrative
complaint for CADA claims while applying federal time requirements for filing
EEOC complaint for Title VII claims). In the district court, the Sheriff neither
separately addressed and challenged the timeliness of Rodriguez’s exhaustion of her
CADA claims, nor did he cite any authority suggesting that the Title VII timeliness
analysis should apply to the CADA claims. He does not address these CADA
timeliness issues on appeal, either. Because the Sheriff asserts no statute of
limitation defense as to the CADA claims, for purposes of this appeal we consider
Rodriguez’s CADA claims without any time limitations. See generally Deneffe,
2015 WL 232128, at *4–5 (treating statute of limitations for a CADA claim as an
affirmative defense); San Juan Basin Consortium, Ltd. v. EnerVest San Juan
Acquisition Ltd. P’ship, 67 F. Supp. 2d 1213, 1224, 1226 (D. Colo. 1999) (applying
relevant Colorado statute of limitations in diversity action, noting defendant can
waive affirmative statute-of-limitations defense); John R. Sand & Gravel Co. v.
United States, 552 U.S. 130, 133 (2008) (noting that “the law typically treats a
limitations defense as an affirmative defense . . . that is subject to forfeiture and
waiver”).
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Substantively, the same legal standards apply to both Title VII and CADA
claims. See Lamb v. Montrose Cnty. Sheriff’s Off., No. 19-1275, 2022 WL 487105,
at *3 (10th Cir. Feb. 17, 2022) (unpublished) (citing Johnson v. Weld Cnty., 594 F.3d
1202, 1219 n.11 (10th Cir. 2010)). Therefore, the following substantive analysis
applies to both Rodriguez’s Title VII and CADA claims. Because procedurally there
is no time restriction on the incidents on which Rodriguez can base her CADA
claims, we consider all of the alleged incidents she cites in the following substantive
analysis with regard to the CADA claims. We turn first to Rodriguez’s disparate
treatment and hostile work environment claims before addressing her retaliation
claims.
A. Disparate treatment and hostile work environment claims4
Title VII makes it “an unlawful employment practice for an employer . . . to
discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms,
4
It is not at all clear that plaintiff is asserting a separate hostile work
environment claim. She never separately addresses the elements of a hostile work
environment claim apart from her disparate treatment discrimination claim. We give
her the benefit of the doubt in this discussion because even if she did raise a separate
hostile work environment claim, it would fail for the same reason her disparate
treatment claim fails—she fails to allege and put on any evidence that the treatment
and environment of which she complains was because of her race, sex, or national
origins. She generally asserts “harassment” only in a conclusory fashion. The
elements of a disparate treatment claim differ from the standard of hostile work
environment claims, but we do not dwell on those difference here because both
claims require that the complained of conduct be based on or related to her race, sex,
and/or national origin. On appeal, Rodriguez did not address all the elements
necessary to state a prima facie hostile work environment claim. However, that
appears to be because in the district court the Sheriff only moved for summary
judgment on the question of whether the “harassing conduct” was motivated by
Rodriguez’s race, sex, or national origin. (Aplt. App. 61.)
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conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s race, color,
religion, sex, or national origin.” 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(1). Such unlawful
employment practices include harassment based on a protected trait that creates a
hostile work environment. See Morgan, 536 U.S. at 115–16. CADA provides
employees with the same protections. See Colo. Rev. Stat. § 24-34-402(1)(a). “[A]n
unlawful employment practice is established when the complaining party demonstrates
that race, color, religion, sex, or national origin was a motivating factor for any
employment practice, even though other factors also motivated the practice.” 42
U.S.C.A. § 2000e-2(m).
As explained in greater detail below, the district court granted the Sheriff
summary judgment on Rodriguez’s disparate treatment and hostile work environment
claims, ruling that Rodriguez failed to present sufficient evidence from which a
reasonable jury could find that the conduct of which she complained was “because
of” her race, sex, and/or national origin. We uphold that determination. See Throupe
v. Univ. of Denver, 988 F.3d 1243, 1253 (10th Cir. 2021) (holding in that case that
plaintiff’s failure “to raise a triable fact about whether the defendants discriminated
against him because of his sex . . . sinks both his hostile work environment and
disparate treatment claims”).
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1. Disparate treatment claims
a. This claim requires proof that the challenged conduct was based
on a protected trait
Rodriguez sought to prove disparate treatment discrimination indirectly, using
the burden-shifting McDonnell Douglas paradigm.5 Under that familiar analytical
framework, an employee first must establish a prima facie claim for discrimination
by showing that she 1) fell within a protected group, 2) was qualified for her position,
and 3) suffered an adverse employment action under circumstances giving “rise to an
inference of unlawful discrimination,” Burdine, 450 U.S. at 253. “The prima facie
case serves an important function in the litigation: it eliminates the most common
nondiscriminatory reasons for the plaintiff’s rejection.” Id. at 253–54.
[T]he prima facie case “raises an inference of discrimination only because
we presume these acts, if otherwise unexplained, are more likely than not
based on the consideration of impermissible factors.” Establishment of
the prima facie case in effect creates a presumption that the employer
unlawfully discriminated against the employee. If the trier of fact believes
the plaintiff’s evidence, and if the employer is silent in the face of the
presumption, the court must enter judgment for the plaintiff because no
issue of fact remains in the case.
Id. at 254 (quoting Furnco Constr. Corp. v. Waters, 438 U.S. 567, 577 (1978)).
If an employee succeeds in establishing a prima facie claim, the burden shifts
to the employer to proffer a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for the challenged
employment actions. Id. at 253. The employer’s burden is only one of production.
5
McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792 (1973); see also Tex. Dep’t of
Comty. Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 252–56 (1981) (explaining the McDonnell
Douglas analytical framework).
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Id. at 254–56. Here, the Sheriff satisfied his burden by asserting that he took the
challenged personnel actions because Rodriguez “demonstrated poor safety and
decision-making skills despite her ongoing training, and [she] could thus not perform
the duties of the deputy position.” (Aplt. App. at 1727.) The Sheriff’s proffered
explanation sufficiently rebutted any presumption of discrimination created by
Rodriguez’s prima facie discrimination claim. See Burdine, 450 U.S. at 254–55.
“The ultimate burden of persuading the trier of fact that the defendant
intentionally discriminated against the plaintiff remains at all times with the plaintiff.”
Id. at 253.
The plaintiff retains the burden of persuasion. She now must have the
opportunity to demonstrate that the proffered reason was not the true
reason for the employment decision. This burden now merges with the
ultimate burden of persuading the court that she has been the victim of
intentional discrimination. She may succeed in this either directly by
persuading the court that a discriminatory reason more likely motivated
the employer or indirectly by showing that the employer’s proffered
explanation is unworthy of credence.
Id. at 256 (citing McDonnell Douglas, 411 U.S. at 804–05).
In granting the Sheriff summary judgment, the district court ruled that
Rodriguez had failed to establish the third element of her prima facie claim because
she “has not demonstrated that the adversary employment actions occurred under
circumstances which give rise to an inference of unlawful discrimination,” that is
discrimination because of a protected trait like her race, sex, and/or national origin.
(Aplt. App. 1744.) The district court further ruled that, at the third step of the
McDonnell Douglas analysis, Rodriguez had also failed to rebut the Sheriff’s
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legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons for the challenged actions he took against
Rodriguez.
b. Rodriguez incorrectly asserts that she did not need to produce
evidence of the Sheriff’s discriminatory motive or intent in support
of her disparate treatment claim
Contrary to the preceding discussion, Rodriguez erroneously contends, for the
first time on appeal, that she does not have to produce any evidence that the Sheriff
acted with a discriminatory intent or motive in order to support her disparate
treatment claim. Rodriguez’s argument is not entirely clear.
If Rodriguez is asserting that she does not have to produce evidence of the
Sheriff’s discriminatory intent or motive because she is invoking
McDonnell-Douglas’s method of indirectly proving discrimination, Rodriguez
forfeited that argument by not raising it in the district court. See Throupe, 988 F.3d
at 1254. Moreover, that argument fails on its merits. The plaintiff’s protected status
“need only be a ‘motivating factor’ in the unlawful employment practice,” but “[t]o
maintain a claim under Title VII, the plaintiff must demonstrate that he was discriminated
against because of a protected status, like sex,” race, or national origin. Id. at 1251
(quoting 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(m)). As we have just explained, even under the
McDonnell Douglas indirect-proof analytical framework, Rodriguez had to present
sufficient evidence from which a jury could reasonably infer that the Sheriff took the
challenged actions, at least in part, because of Rodriguez’s protected trait(s).
If Rodriguez is, instead, arguing here that the district court erred by requiring
her to prove more than that—that the district court instead required her to produce
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direct evidence of the Sheriff’s subjective discriminatory intent—that argument lacks
merit. Our review of the district court’s decision indicates that the court did not
require Rodriguez to prove more than what the relevant McDonnell Douglas analysis
mandates.
Rodriguez relies on two grounds to support her assertion that she does not
have to produce any evidence that the Sheriff acted with a discriminatory intent or
motive. First, she relies on two Supreme Court cases— Albemarle Paper Co. v.
Moody, 422 U.S. 405, 422–23 (1975), and Griggs v. Duke Power Co., 401 U.S. 424,
432 (1971)—that address disparate impact, rather than disparate treatment,
discrimination claims. See Ricci v. DeStefano, 557 U.S. 557, 577–78 (2009). The
Supreme Court has “long”
distinguished between “disparate treatment” and “disparate impact”
theories of employment discrimination.
“‘Disparate treatment’ . . . is the most easily understood type of
discrimination. The employer simply treats some people less favorably
than others because of their race, color, religion [or other protected
characteristics.] Proof of discriminatory motive is critical, although it can
in some situations be inferred from the mere fact of differences in
treatment. . . .
“[C]laims that stress ‘disparate impact’ [by contrast] involve
employment practices that are facially neutral in their treatment of
different groups but that in fact fall more harshly on one group than
another and cannot be justified by business necessity. Proof of
discriminatory motive . . . is not required under a disparate-impact
theory.”
Hazen Paper Co. v. Biggins, 507 U.S. 604, 609 (1993) (emphasis added) (Age
Discrimination in Employment Act case quoting Int’l Bhd. of Teamsters v. United
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States, 431 U.S. 324, 335–336 n. 15 (1977) (construing Title VII)) (alterations added
in Hazen Paper). Because Rodriguez alleged only disparate treatment claims, her
reliance on disparate impact cases like Albemarle and Griggs is misplaced.
Second, Rodriguez relies on Bostock v. Clayton County, which held that when
an employer fires an employee “for being homosexual or transgender,” the employer
violates Title VII’s prohibition against discrimination based on sex. 140 S. Ct. 1731,
1737 (2020). The employers in Bostock conceded that the reason they fired the
plaintiffs was because they were homosexual or transgender. Id. at 1744. So, unlike
this case, there was no dispute in Bostock as to the employers’ intent or motivation in
acting against the employees. The question presented there, instead, was whether
that conceded motivation based on plaintiffs being homosexual or transgender
amounted to discrimination based on sex. Id. at 1737. The Supreme Court
concluded that it did. Id. In reaching that conclusion, Bostock reiterated that Title
VII “imposes liability on employers only when they ‘fail or refuse to hire,’ ‘discharge,’
‘or otherwise . . . discriminate against’ someone because of a statutorily protected
characteristic like sex”; discrimination means treating an “individual worse than others
who are similarly situated”; and “[i]n so-called ‘disparate treatment’ cases like today’s,
. . . the difference in treatment based on sex must be intentional.” Id. at 1740(emphasis added). Consistent with Bostick’s admonition and the language of Title
VII itself, this court, post-Bostock, has continued to hold that in order “[t]o maintain a
claim under Title VII, the plaintiff must demonstrate that he was discriminated against
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because of a protected status, like sex,” race, or national origin. Throupe, 988 F.3d at
1251 (emphasis added).
In sum, then, Rodriguez is incorrect that she does not have to produce
evidence from which a reasonable jury could find that the Sheriff acted with a
discriminatory intent or motive because of a protected trait like her race, sex, and/or
national origin. We conclude next that Rodriguez failed to present such evidence.
c. Rodriguez failed to produce evidence from which a jury could
find or reasonably infer that the Sheriff took the challenged
employment actions against Rodriguez because of her protected
trait(s)
We focus on the third step in the McDonnell Douglas analysis, where it was
Rodriguez’s “ultimate burden” to persuade “the trier of fact that the defendant
intentionally discriminated against” her because of her race, sex, and/or national
origin. Burdine, 450 U.S. at 253. In response to the Sheriff’s assertion of a
legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for the challenged employment actions,
Rodriguez had to produce evidence that the Sheriff’s “proffered reason was not the
true reason for the employment decision[s].” Id. at 256. “She may succeed in this
either directly by persuading the court that a discriminatory reason more likely
motivated the employer or indirectly by showing that the employer’s proffered
explanation is unworthy of credence.” Id.6
6
Although we focus our discussion on the third step of the McDonnell Douglas
analysis, the district court was also probably correct that, at step one, Rodriguez did
not state a prima facie disparate treatment claim because she failed to demonstrate
“that the adversary employment actions occurred under circumstances which give
rise to an inference of unlawful discrimination,” that is discrimination because of a
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Rodriguez adds one additional layer of analysis to her disparate treatment
claim by relying at least in part on a “cat’s paw” theory. “Under a cat’s-paw theory
of recovery (also known as ‘subordinate bias’ or ‘rubber stamp’ theory), an employer
who acts without discriminatory intent can be liable for a subordinate’s
discriminatory animus if the employer uncritically relies on the biased subordinate’s
reports and recommendations in deciding to take adverse employment action.”
Tudor v. Se. Okla. State Univ., 13 F.4th 1019, 1032 (10th Cir. 2021) (quoting
Thomas v. Berry Plastics Corp., 803 F.3d 510, 514 (10th Cir. 2015)). Here,
Rodriguez asserted that it was Instructors Cunningham and True who were biased
against Rodriguez because of her race, sex, and/or national origin and that their bias
influenced the Sheriff’s decisions to take adverse employment actions against
protected trait like her race, sex, and/or national origin. (Aplt. App. 1744.) We have
still other concerns about Rodriguez’s prima facie claim. Chief among those
concerns is whether Rodriguez established that she suffered a sufficiently adverse
employment action—that is, “‘a significant change in employment status, such as
hiring, firing, failing to promote, reassignment with significantly different
responsibilities, or a decision causing a significant change in benefits.’” Throupe, 988
F.3d at 1252 (quoting Hiatt v. Colo. Seminary, 858 F.3d 1307, 1316 (10th Cir. 2017)).
Here, the Sheriff did not fire or demote Rodriguez from her deputy position. Those in her
chain of command placed Rodriguez on a performance improvement plan, or PIP, and
several times placed her on paid administrative leave. But those actions usually are not
sufficiently adverse to support a disparate treatment claim. See Paige v. Donovan, 511
F. App’x 729, 734–35 (10th Cir. 2013) (unpublished) (PIP); Juarez v. Utah, 263 F. App’x
726, 731, 737–38 (10th Cir. 2008) (unpublished) (paid administrative leave).
Furthermore, although we need not decide the question definitively, we doubt that
requiring Rodriguez to undergo remedial training was sufficiently adverse to support her
disparate treatment claim. Cf. Couch v. Bd. of Trustees of Mem’l Hosp., 587 F.3d 1223,
1237–38, 1243 (10th Cir. 2009) (holding, in First Amendment case, that required training
was not sufficiently adverse to support retaliation claim, applying more expansive
definition of “adverse” than applies in Title VII disparate treatment claims).
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Rodriguez. “To survive summary judgment on a ‘Cat’s Paw’ theory,” Rodriguez had to
establish (1) “bias by the subordinates,” (2) “their influence in the decision-making
process,” and (3) the Sheriff’s adoption of a “biased recommendation without an
independent investigation.” Ward v. Jewell, 772 F.3d 1199, 1205 (10th Cir. 2014) (citing
cases).7
With Rodriguez’s theories in mind, we next explain why we agree with the
district court that Rodriguez failed to present sufficient evidence from which a
reasonable jury could find that the conduct of which she complained occurred
because of her race, sex, and/or national origin. The evidence which the district court
7
As explained next, Rodriguez failed to present sufficient evidence from which a
reasonable jury could find that either Cunningham or True were biased against
Rodriguez because of her race, sex, and/or national origin. But, in addition, there are
a number of other problems with Rodriguez’s cat’s paw theory. For example, even if
Cunningham was biased against Rodriguez because of her race, sex, and/or national
origin, there was no evidence implicating him in any adverse action taken against
Rodriguez except for the initial February 2015 report on her poor performance in the
“shoot house.” While True was involved in a number of the remedial trainings that
followed, so were a number of other instructors who also failed Rodriguez, yet
Rodriguez does not allege that those other trainers acted with any discriminatory
animus. Additionally, before placing Rodriguez on paid leave and recommending
that the Sheriff fire Rodriguez, members of her chain of command first met with
Rodriguez to hear her side of the story. Generally, under a cat’s paw theory, the fact
that a supervisor meets with the employee is sufficient to break any taint flowing
from a biased subordinate. See Hiatt, 858 F.3d at 1321; Ward, 772 F.3d at 1205.
Moreover, although members of Rodriguez’s chain of command recommended that
the Sheriff fire her, the Sheriff did not accept that recommendation, which preludes a
reasonable jury from finding that the Sheriff just rubber-stamped and uncritically
accepted his allegedly biased subordinates’ recommendation. See Tudor, 13 F.4th at
1032. Furthermore, before requiring Rodriguez to undergo more training, the Sheriff
first met with her and twice ordered an independent investigation into complaints she
made that her instructors were discriminating against her. In light of all of these
problems, Rodriguez’s cat’s paw disparate treatment claim cannot survive summary
judgment. See id.; Hiatt, 858 F.3d at 1321; Ward, 772 F.3d at 1205.
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rejected as insufficient included Rodriguez’s belief that Instructors Cunningham and
True were biased against her because of her race, sex, and/or national origin, her
assertion that the Sheriff better treated deputies who were similarly situated to
Rodriguez but who did not share her protected characteristics, and other
miscellaneous evidence.
i. There is insufficient evidence from which a reasonable jury
could find that either Cunningham or True acted against
Rodriguez because of her race, sex, and/or national origin
Rodriguez testified at her deposition that neither Cunningham nor True
directed any racist or sexist comments toward her. Nevertheless, Rodriguez believed
that they mistreated her because of her race, sex, and/or national origin. No matter
how earnest her subjective and otherwise unsupported belief is, however, it alone is
not sufficient for her claims to survive summary judgment. See, e.g., Bones v.
Honeywell Int’l, Inc., 366 F.3d 869, 875–76 (10th Cir. 2004).
In further support of her belief, Rodriguez points to two earlier incidents
involving Cunningham and True. Sometime between 2008 and 2011, at least four
years before the events at issue here began, Cunningham, in conducting a shoot/don’t
shoot drill, used targets shaped like hands. Participants in the drill were not to shoot
the white hands—the good guys—but were to shoot the brown hands—the bad guys.
An Hispanic male deputy, Trujillo, asked Cunningham why the brown hands had to
be the bad guys. According to Deputy Trujillo, Cunningham responded, “‘Oh, I’ll
change it’ or ‘Don’t worry about it,’ or something to that effect.” (Aplt. App. 1319.)
There is no indication that Cunningham continued to use the white and brown targets
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after Deputy Trujillo’s question and no evidence of discriminatory motive or that
Rodriguez was made aware of this matter.
In 2008—seven years before the events at issue here began—Instructor True,
while booking into the detention center individuals charged with being in the United
States illegally, “expressed joy over the deportation of undocumented aliens of
Hispanic heritage by saying, ‘Woo-hoo! We got another one.’” (Id. at 1734-35.)
The district court aptly noted that this comment is ambiguous. True could have
simply been pleased at the deportation of undocumented aliens because they were
immigrants without regard to whether they were Hispanic.
Each of these two incidents was ambiguous as to whether either Cunningham
or True were intentionally acting with a bias against Hispanics. Furthermore, these
incidents were isolated and occurred years before the course of events involving
Rodriguez. In light of that, they provide no insight into Cunningham’s or True’s
motivation for taking the challenged actions against Rodriguez. These two incidents,
then, are insufficient, alone or considered together, to support a reasonable jury
finding that Cunningham and/or True acted were biased against Rodriguez because of
her race, sex, and/or national origin.
ii. There is insufficient evidence that the Sheriff treated
Rodriguez less favorably than he treated similarly situated
deputies who do not share Rodriguez’s protected traits
Moving beyond Cunningham’s and True’s alleged discriminatory motive,
Rodriguez next asserts that the Sheriff’s proffered non-discriminatory reason for
requiring her to undergo additional training— because “she demonstrated poor safety
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and decision-making skills despite her ongoing training” (id. at 1727)—was
unworthy of belief and was, instead, a pretext for discrimination based on
Rodriguez’s race, sex, and/or national origin. In support of that assertion, Rodriguez
contends that the Sheriff and his subordinates treated Rodriguez less favorably than
they treated similarly situated deputies who do not share Rodriguez’s protected traits.
Rodriguez points to the following deputies as comparators:
1. Deputy Brieske, a white male, accidentally shot himself while holstering
his weapon during a training exercise, suffering minor injuries. Deputy
Brieske received a letter of reprimand and successfully completed remedial
firearms training. His use of a firearm was never restricted.
2. Deputy Hunt, a white woman, accidentally fired her weapon at a target
during a training exercise, while unloading it. Deputy Hunt was subjected to
on-the-spot remediation.8
3. Deputy Hanson, a white male, while on duty at the detention center,
inadequately patted-down a detainee, missing a knife that was then smuggled
into the jail. After Internal Affairs (“IA”) investigated him, his supervisor
suspended Hanson without pay for one or two days, he received a letter of
reprimand, and his supervisor made a notation in his electronic TrakStar
personnel record.
4. Deputy Carter, a black male, while on duty in the “Alternative Sentencing
Program”—a program where detainees have greater freedom than they have in
the detention center—left his firearm in an unsecured cubicle, which inmates
8
Hunt shares Rodriguez’s protected status as a woman. It is Rodriguez’s theory,
however, that her protected traits should be considered together; that is, she contends
that she was discriminated against and harassed because she is an Hispanic woman
originally from Venezuela. For summary judgment purposes, the district court
accepted Rodriguez’s contention. We do the same. The Tenth Circuit has recognized
Title VII claims based on discrimination because of more than one protected trait.
See Frappied v. Affinity Gaming Black Hawk, LLC, 966 F.3d 1038, 1045 (10th Cir.
2020) (“Title VII also prohibits discrimination based on a combination of protected
characteristics, such as ‘sex-plus-race’ discrimination, i.e., discrimination targeted only at
employees of a particular race and sex.”).
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could access. Carter received a letter of reprimand and the violation was noted
in his TrakStar record. A few days later, Carter left his “general access keys”
unattended in an area inmates could access. This resulted in an IA
investigation, and another letter of reprimand and TrakStar notation. Carter
then resigned his position with the “Alternative Sentencing Program.”9
Id. at 1729, 1732.
An employee can
“show pretext ‘by providing evidence that he was treated differently from
other similarly situated, nonprotected employees who violated work rules of
comparable seriousness,’” provided the “similarly situated” employee shares
the same supervisor, is subject to the same performance standards, and
otherwise faces comparable “relevant employment circumstances.” Green v.
New Mexico, 420 F.3d 1189, 1194 (10th Cir. 2005) (quoting Kendrick[ v.
Penske Transp. Servs., Inc.], 220 F.3d [1220,] 1232 [(10th Cir. 2000]).
E.E.O.C. v. BCI Coca-Cola Bottling Co., 450 F.3d 476, 489 (10th Cir. 2006). Here, for
summary judgment purposes, the district court accepted Rodriguez’s assertion that
these comparators were subject to the same performance standards as she was and
that their safety violations were of comparable seriousness to one of Rodriguez’s
safety violations—the violation for holstering her weapon in the prone position on
the firing range—because all of these violations fell under the same Sheriff’s policy.
Even so, the comparators were not similarly situated to Rodriguez.
9
In addition to these four deputies, Rodriguez also points to Deputy Vigil, an
Hispanic male who forgot to bring his weapon with him while transporting an inmate
for medical treatment, yet suffered no adverse consequences. The Sheriff’s Office,
however, had no record of this safety violation and Rodriguez submits no evidence
that this incident was ever brought to the attention of Vigil’s supervisors. We,
therefore, have no basis to compare the Sheriff’s treatment of Vigil with his treatment
of Rodriguez.
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Comparators Brieske, Hunt, and Hanson committed only a single safety
violation. Rodriguez, on the other hand, on the same day that she holstered while in
the prone position at the firing range, also reportedly exhibited poor judgment during
the training simulation in the “shoot house.” Comparator Carter had more than one
safety violation. But he self-corrected his problems by resigning from the
Alternative Sentencing Program.
A further difference between Rodriguez and the proffered comparators was
that Rodriguez continued to have trouble remediating the training officers’ concerns
about her judgment in using her firearm. While True was one of the instructors who
noted these continuing problems, and Rodriguez asserts that True harbored a
discriminatory animus against her, Rodriguez, as previously explained, failed to
provide evidentiary support for that assertion. Moreover, it was not just True who
noted Rodriguez’s continuing problems exercising judgment as to how and when to
use her firearm. A number of other instructors echoed those concerns, instructors
that Rodriguez has not alleged harbored a discriminatory bias against her, including
Johnston, Van Hook, Hallett, Gabriel, Dyffryn, and Hoffman. Rodriguez has not
identified any proffered comparator who had similar continuing difficulties passing
remedial training. The district court, therefore, properly rejected Rodriguez’s
comparison of her situation to the situation of these other four deputies.10
10
Although the Sheriff has not raised the issue, another problem with the proffered
comparators is that Rodriguez has not shown that they share the same supervisor as
Rodriguez. “Generally, to be similarly situated, employees must ‘deal with the same
supervisor,’ McGowan v. City of Eufala, 472 F.3d 736, 745 (10th Cir. 2006), because
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iii. Other evidence of discriminatory bias
Rodriguez asserts other evidence that she contends suggests that the Sheriff’s
asserted nondiscriminatory reasons for requiring her to undergo more training were a
pretext for discrimination. Rodriguez points, for example, to a 2013 settlement that
then-Sheriff Robinson entered into with the U.S. Department of Justice because the
Sheriff had “improperly restricted law enforcement positions to U.S. citizens
notwithstanding the fact that no law, regulation, executive order, or government
contract authorized it to restrict employment in this manner.” (Aplt. App. 1741
(quoting DOJ Press Release).) Because this settlement and the policy it addressed
pre-date Walcher becoming Sheriff, they are not relevant to whether Sheriff Walcher
acted with any bias against Rodriguez.
Rodriguez next points to the TrakStar entry her supervisor, Lt. Wickstrom,
made indicating that Rodriguez “successfully completed” the first remedial firearms
training on February 13, 2015, contrary to Instructors True’s and Van Hook’s
assertion that Rodriguez failed that training. But the Sheriff presented undisputed
‘[d]ifferent supervisors will inevitably react differently’ to employee misconduct.
Kendrick v. Penske Transp. Servs., Inc., 220 F.3d 1220, 1230 (10th Cir. 2000).” Luke v.
Hosp. Shared Servs., Inc., 513 F. App’x 763, 766 (10th Cir. 2013) (unpublished).
Furthermore, the evidence in this case indicates that firearms instructors have discretion
in how they deal with safety violations occurring at the shooting range. Here, however,
we do not know who the instructors were who addressed comparators Brieske’s and
Hunt’s firearms safety violations. Nor do we know what supervisors addressed
comparator Hanson’s and Carter’s work-related safety violations. Like Rodriguez, they
all worked for the Sheriff. But, while the Sheriff was actively involved in the challenged
employment actions involving Rodriguez, it does not appear that he was involved in any
of the proffered comparators’ cases.
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evidence that Lt. Wickstrom meant only to note that Rodriguez had successfully
“qualified” with her firearm during the remedial training. Qualifying involves a
deputy accurately firing a specified number of rounds at a target in a set time period.
Qualifying does not mean that Rodriguez passed other firearm training addressing a
deputy’s judgment in how and when to use a firearm. Thus, Lt. Wickstrom stated
that she only meant to indicate that Rodriguez had successfully “qualified,” not that
she had dispelled all of the concerns about her judgment in using her firearm.
Moreover, Lt. Wickstrom had not attended the training and so had no first-hand
knowledge of what transpired during the training.
Further, there were during the ensuing months and years a number of other
instructors—instructors to whom Rodriguez does not attribute a discriminatory
animus, including Van Hook, Hallett, Dyffryn, and Hoffman—who also expressed
similar concerns with Rodriguez’s judgment in using her firearm. Those instructors’
reports corroborated, rather than contradicted, the Sheriff’s belief that Rodriguez
exhibited poor judgment in using her firearm. In light of that evidence, Lt.
Wickstrom’s TrakStar entry was insufficient to create a triable issue of fact as to
whether the Sheriff’s asserted non-discriminatory reason for requiring Rodriguez to
undergo additional training was a pretext for discriminating against Rodriguez
because of her race, sex, and/or national origin.11
11
In her appellate brief, “Rodriguez adamantly denies” that she continued to commit
safety violations throughout her ongoing training. (Aplt. Br. 31.) Even if the other
instructors were mistaken about Rodriguez’s continuing struggles in passing the
remedial firearm training—she does not allege that these other instructors were
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Lastly, Rodriguez asserts that the district court erred in failing to consider
evidence from her co-workers indicating, among other things, that they had never
seen any deputy treated in the manner in which she was treated, and that True lied
about training Rodriguez when she attended the training academy in 2008. We find
no error in the district court’s treatment of this or any other evidence. We, thus,
agree with the district court that Rodriguez failed to present sufficient evidence from
which a reasonable jury could find that the adverse employment actions she
challenges occurred because of her race, sex, and/or national origin.
biased against her because of her race, sex, and/or nation origin—thus, her assertion
is insufficient to suggest that the Sheriff’s proffered non-discriminatory reasons for
requiring Rodriguez to undergo further training was a pretext for discrimination on
the bases she alleges.
“Evidence that the employer should not have made the [adverse
employment] decision—for example, that the employer was mistaken or
used poor business judgment—is not sufficient to show that the employer’s
explanation is unworthy of credibility.” . . . “The relevant inquiry is not
whether the employer’s proffered reasons were wise, fair or correct, but
whether it honestly believed those reasons and acted in good faith upon those
beliefs.”
Hiatt, 858 F.3d at 1316 (quoting Swackhammer v. Sprint/United Mgmt. Co., 493 F.3d
1160, 1169–70 (10th Cir. 2007)).
In determining whether the proffered reason for a decision was pretextual,
we examine the facts as they appear to the person making the decision,”
Zamora v. Elite Logistics, Inc.], 478 F.3d [1160,] 1166 [(10th Cir. 2007) (en
banc)] (quoting Watts v. City of Norman, 270 F.3d 1288, 1295 (10th Cir.
2001)); we do not look to the plaintiff’s subjective evaluation of the situation,
see McKnight v. Kimberly Clark Corp., 149 F.3d 1125, 1130 (10th Cir.
1998).
E.E.O.C. v. C.R. England, Inc., 644 F.3d 1028, 1044 (10th Cir. 2011).
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2. Harassment/hostile work environment claims
Giving Rodriguez the benefit of the doubt, we assume that she also alleged
harassment that made her work environment hostile.12 To establish actionable
harassment, Rodriguez had to show that 1) she is a member of a protected group,
2) she was subjected to unwelcome harassment, 3) the harassment was based on her
protected trait(s), and 4) the harassment was sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter
the terms and conditions of her employment and create an abusive working
environment. See Payan v. United Parcel Serv., 905 F.3d 1162, 1170 (10th Cir.
2018) (emphasis added). Most relevant here, then, to survive summary judgment,
Rodriguez had to “produce evidence from which a rational jury could infer that she
was targeted for harassment because of her gender, race, or national origin.”
Sandoval v. City of Boulder, Colo., 388 F.3d 1312, 1327 (10th Cir. 2004); see also
Payan, 905 F.3d at 1170.
The district court granted the Sheriff summary judgment on Rodriguez’s
harassment claims because “the evidence does not demonstrate that Cunningham’s,
True’s, or any other decision-makers’ actions constitute a race, gender, or national
origin-based hostile work environment. Without such evidence, [Rodriguez] cannot
12
In her complaint, Rodriguez alleged “harassment.” Hostile work environment
describes generally a subset of harassment claims actionable under Title VII. See
Jones v. Needham, 856 F.3d 1284, 1289 (10th Cir. 2017) (distinguishing between
“quid pro quo” sexual harassment and “hostile work environment” sexual
harassment). The type of harassment claim asserted by Rodriguez is hostile work
environment harassment.
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show the purported hostile work environment was based on a protected trait.”13
(Aplt. App. 1745.) We agree with the district court.
“A hostile work environment claim is ‘composed of a series of separate acts that
collectively constitute one unlawful employment practice.’” Throupe, 988 F.3d at 1251
(quoting Morgan, 536 U.S. at 117). To prove a claim of harassment, Rodriguez could
rely on acts that are overtly taken because of race, sex, or national origin, as well as acts
that might seem neutral but when viewed in the context of other, overtly discriminatory
conduct, are also part of the allegedly discriminatory work environment. See id. (quoting
Sanderson v. Wyo. Highway Patrol, 976 F.3d 1164, 1174 (10th Cir. 2020)); O’Shea v.
Yellow Tech. Servs., Inc., 185 F.3d 1093, 1097 (10th Cir. 1999). Rodriguez could
also rely on discriminatory acts taken against others in her workplace, so long as she
shows that she was aware of those acts at the time she claims she was subject to a hostile
environment based on her race, sex, or national origin and so long as such acts
contributed to the hostile work environment she alleges. See Hernandez v. Valley View
Hosp. Ass’n, 684 F.3d 950, 959 (10th Cir. 2021); Tademy v. Union Pac. Corp., 614
F.3d 1132, 1146 (10th Cir. 2008). This is true whether Rodriguez witnessed the
discriminatory acts against others or heard about them second hand. See Herrera v.
Lufkin Indus., Inc., 474 F.3d 675, 681 & n.5 (10th Cir. 2007).
13
The district court did not address whether Rodriguez had established that the
harassment of which she complained was sufficiently severe or pervasive “as it was
not argued in” the Sheriff’s summary judgment motion. (Aplt. App. 1745 n. 7.) As
we have stated previously, we have doubt whether this record establishes that the
alleged harassment was sufficiently severe or pervasive. But we do not rely on that
because this point was not raised in the district court or in this appeal.
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To prove her harassment claims, Rodriguez relied on the same events on which
she based her disparate treatment claims. In fact, she did not address her harassment
claims separately from her disparate treatment claims. But as previously explained,
Rodriguez did not assert any acts taken against her that were overtly because of her race,
sex, or national origin. She acknowledged, for example, that neither Cunningham nor
True, nor anyone else in her workplace, made derogatory comments based on her race,
sex, or national origin. There was, then, no discriminatory context through which a
reasonable jury could infer that any of the neutral acts taken against her were actually
because of her race, sex, or national origin.
Deputy Trujillo testified at his deposition that he experienced discrimination at the
Sheriff’s Office because he was Hispanic, including his supervisor Aspinall refusing to
call Trujillo by his name, but instead referring to Trujillo by other Hispanic surnames.
The same supervisor physically assaulted Trujillo. But Rodriguez has not established
that she was aware of these acts against Trujillo at the time she complained that her work
environment was hostile to Hispanics.14
As previously explained, Cunningham’s white hands/brown hands drill, which
was discontinued, and True’s glee at nabbing an immigrant not lawfully in the country
occurred long before the events involving Rodriguez and were at most ambiguous. Nor
14
Trujillo also testified about discrimination against him because of a perceived
disability. There is no indication that Rodriguez was aware of these incidents but, in
any event, they would not support her claims of a hostile work environment because
of race, sex, or national origin.
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has Rodriguez established that she was present for white hands/brown hands drill. If not,
she failed to address when she first heard about it. She also does not explain how the
Sheriff’s Office’s settlement with DOJ or any conduct it involved affected her work
environment. She otherwise makes vague assertions about other discriminatory
comments or conduct, but fails to establish those incidents in any detail. The district
court, thus, correctly granted the Sheriff summary judgment on the hostile work
environment claims.
3. Conclusion: Summary judgment for the Sheriff on Rodriguez’s
disparate treatment and hostile work environment claims was proper
There is no evidence from which a reasonable jury could find that Rodriguez’s
alleged mistreatment was because of her race, sex, and national origin. “Not all
offensive or hurtful conduct within the workplace is actionable under Title VII,”
Throupe, 988 F.3d at 1255; only conduct undertaken because of an employee’s protected
trait(s). The district court, therefore, properly granted the Sheriff summary judgment
on Rodriguez’s disparate treatment and hostile work environment claims.
B. Retaliation claims
We also uphold the district court’s decision to grant the Sheriff summary
judgment on Rodriguez’s claims alleging that the Sheriff retaliated against her for
complaining that she was being discriminated against. In explaining why, we first
state the relevant legal principles, briefly set forth Rodriguez’s retaliation claims, and
then discuss the fatal flaws the district court identified in these claims.
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1. Relevant legal principles
Both Title VII and the CADA protect employees from an employer’s retaliation
for opposing discrimination. See 42 U.S.C.A. § 2000e-3(a); Colo. Rev. Stat.
§ 24-34-402(1)(e)(IV). Where, as here, Rodriguez did not present direct evidence of
retaliation, she can prove her claim indirectly, using the McDonnell-Douglas
burden-shifting framework. See Parker Excavating, Inc. v. Lafarge W., Inc., 863 F.3d
1213, 1220 (10th Cir. 2017). Under that framework, the employee must first establish a
prima facie retaliation claim by
plausibly alleg[ing] “(1) that [s]he engaged in protected opposition to
discrimination, (2) that a reasonable employee would have found the
challenged action materially adverse, and (3) that a causal connection
existed between the protected activity and the materially adverse action.”
See Khalik[ v. United Air Lines], 671 F.3d [1188,] 1193 [(10th Cir.
2012)].
Reznik v. inContact, Inc., 18 F.4th 1257, 1260 (10th Cir. 2021).15
If the employee succeeds in establishing a prima facie retaliation claim, the
burden shifts to the employer to assert a legitimate non-retaliatory reason for the
challenged adverse action. See Edmonds-Radford v. Sw. Airlines Co., 17 F.4th 975,
994 (10th Cir. 2021) (applying McDonnell Douglas framework to retaliation claim
under Americans with Disabilities Act).
15
In the retaliation context, a materially adverse employment action is one that
“could well dissuade a reasonable worker from making or supporting a charge of
discrimination.” Burlington N. & Santa Fe Ry. Co. v. White, 548 U.S. 53, 57 (2006). A
broader range of materially adverse employment actions, then, can support a retaliation
claim than can support a disparate treatment discrimination claim. See id. at 56–57, 63–
67.
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Once the employer asserts a non-retaliatory reason for the challenged actions,
the burden shifts back to the employee to show that the employer’s asserted
non-retaliatory reason was a pretext for unlawful retaliation. See id. The employee
ultimately bears the burden of proving that “that the desire to retaliate was the but-for
cause of the challenged employment action.” Univ. of Texas Sw. Med. Ctr. v. Nassar,
570 U.S. 338, 352 (2013).
2. Rodriguez’s specific retaliation claims
Rodriguez alleged the following retaliatory actions, which we list
chronologically:
1) Rodriguez complained about discrimination to Sergeant Walker, during the
June 2015 IA investigation, and on August 19, 2015, Lieutenant Burson, who
was overseeing the IA investigation, decommissioned Rodriguez, placed her
on paid leave, and recommended that the Sheriff terminate her as a deputy.
2) Rodriguez alleged that, after she complained about discrimination to the
Sheriff on August 26 and September 1, 2015, the Sheriff retaliated against her
by placing her on a PIP in November 2015. But the evidence indicates that it
was the training sergeant, Chase, who recommended placing Rodriguez on a
PIP, and her chain-of-command agreed. There is no indication that it was the
Sheriff who ordered Rodriguez placed on the PIP.16
3) In November 2015, Rodriguez complained about discrimination to her
immediate supervisor, Sergeant Steffa, and soon thereafter, the PIP was
extended.
16
Perhaps because of this evidentiary problem, Rodriguez, for the first time on
appeal, argues more generally that the Sheriff retaliated by requiring her to undergo
more training. Because she did not assert this argument to the district court,
however, she has forfeited it. See Singh v. Cordle, 936 F.3d 1022, 1043 (10th Cir.
2019). Nevertheless, even on the merits it cannot survive summary judgment, as
explained below.
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4) Rodriguez complained to the Sheriff about discrimination in June 2016.
She did not specifically allege, however, any adverse employment action
resulting from that complaint. (This may be part of Rodriguez’s claim, raised
for the first time on appeal, that the Sheriff retaliated against her by requiring
more training.)
5) Rodriguez filed a complaint with the EEOC on January 3, 2017, alleging
discrimination and retaliation, and the next day, January 4, Chief Line,
accompanied by Lieutenant Knight, decommissioned her, placed her on paid
administrative leave, and told her he was again recommending that the Sheriff
terminate her as a deputy. But the evidence is undisputed that the EEOC
complaint was not served on the Sheriff’s Office until January 5. Rodriguez
points to no evidence indicating that anyone in the Sheriff’s Office knew about
the EEOC complaint until Rodriguez told Chief Line about it on January 4.
That was after Line informed her of these challenged adverse personnel
actions. The undisputed evidence further indicates that she was returned to
work within an hour of being placed on administrative leave on January 4,
while the Sheriff investigated her discrimination claims.17
The record, then, does not support Rodriguez’s second and fifth factual
allegations of retaliation, and her fourth claim is inadequate. But those allegations,
as well as the others, fail for other reasons too, as explained next.
3. Rodriguez failed to show that the persons taking these adverse actions
against her knew at the time that Rodriguez had complained about
discrimination
In order to establish the third element of her prima facie retaliation claims,
Rodriguez had to show a causal connection between her protected activity opposing
discrimination and the adverse employment actions of which she complains. See
17
In the district court, Rodriguez also alleged that, a few months after the new
sheriff, Brown, was elected, his undersheriff, Nicastle, retaliated against Rodriguez
by requiring her to undergo still more training. And Rodriguez alleged a cat’s paw
argument based apparently on True holding a retaliatory animus against Rodriguez
for complaining that True was discriminating. Rodriguez, however, does not reassert
those claims on appeal. In any event, summary judgment for the Sheriff on those
claims was appropriate.
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Reznik, 18 F.4th at 1260. In order to show a causal connection, Rodriguez had to
show that at the time an actor took the challenged adverse action against her the actor
knew about Rodriguez’s protected opposition to discrimination. See Singh, 936 F.3d
at 1043. Several of Rodriguez’s retaliation claims lack this causal connection.
Specifically, Rodriguez failed to present evidence that either Chief Line or
Lieutenant Knight knew that she had filed a complaint with the EEOC before they
placed her on paid administrative leave in January 2017.
4. Pretext
Even if Rodriguez was able to establish a prima facie claim as to the rest of her
retaliation claims, the Sheriff proffered a non-retaliatory reason for requiring
Rodriguez to undergo more training—“[T]he officers training [Rodriguez]
consistently found that she demonstrated poor safety and decision-making skill
despite her ongoing training” (Aplt. App. 1727). Rodriguez contends,
unpersuasively, that this reason was a pretext for retaliation. On appeal, however,
she addresses this argument in only a perfunctory manner, relying on some of the
same evidence that she contends shows discrimination.
As a starting point, Rodriguez’s chain of command, and the Sheriff in
particular, consistently asserted, throughout this four-year course of events and the
ensuing litigation, that they took the adverse actions against Rodriguez because they
believed that she had demonstrated poor judgment and committed numerous safety
violations during her remedial training sessions. “The consistency of their
explanations cuts against a finding of pretext.” Hiatt, 858 F.3d at 1319.
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Rodriguez argues that it was incorrect that she continued to make safety errors
and show poor judgment during her training. But she has failed to present any
evidence that the Sheriff or the rest of her chain of command asserted these reasons
to cover up their desire to retaliate against Rodriguez. Nor does she assert any
evidence suggesting that the Sheriff or Rodriguez’s subordinate chain of command,
even if mistaken, did not honestly believe that Rodriguez had failed her remedial
training. See id. at 1316; C.R. England, 644 F.3d at 1044.
In the district court, Rodriguez again relied on Lieutenant Wickstrom’s
notation in TrakStar that Rodriguez “successfully completed” the first remedial
training in February 2015. That, again, is insufficient to create a disputed question of
fact as to whether the Sheriff honestly believed that Rodriguez had shown poor
judgment throughout the remedial training, warranting more training. The two
trainers who conducted the February 2015 remedial training, as well as numerous
trainers after that—trainers to whom Rodriguez does not attribute any retaliatory
motive, including Van Hook, Hallett, Dyffryn, and Hoffman—corroborated
Rodriguez’s poor judgment and safety record in using her firearm. Those reports
bolster, not contradict, the non-retaliatory reasons the Sheriff and Rodriguez’s chain
of command asserted to justify the adverse actions they took against her.
5. Temporal proximity
Finally, Rodriguez contends that the close temporal proximity between her
discrimination complaints and the allegedly retaliatory adverse actions she incurred is
sufficient alone for her retaliation claims to survive summary judgment. Even if
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Rodriguez could rely on close temporal proximity here to establish a prima facie
retaliation claim, see Bekkem v. Wilkie, 915 F.3d 1258, 1271 (10th Cir. 2019), it is
insufficient for her to meet her ultimate burden of proving that a retaliatory motive
was the “but for” cause of those adverse actions, see Bird v. W. Valley City, 832
F.3d 1188, 1204 (10th Cir. 2016) (citing cases). The district court, then, did not err
in granting the Sheriff summary judgment on Rodriguez’s retaliation claims.
IV. CONCLUSION
The district court properly granted the Sheriff summary judgment on all of
Rodriguez’s claims. Fatal to her disparate treatment and hostile work environment
claims, Rodriguez failed to present sufficient evidence from which a reasonable jury
could find that the challenged adverse actions taken against her were either because
of her race, sex, and/or national origin or taken in retaliation for her claims of
discrimination. Nor could a reasonable jury find that her work environment was
hostile because of harassment based on race, sex, or national origin. We, therefore,
AFFIRM the district court’s summary judgment decision.
Entered for the Court
David M. Ebel
Circuit Judge
33