Serene Dudhi v. Temple Health Oaks Lung Center ( 2020 )

NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
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No. 20-1720
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SERENE DUDHI,
Appellant
v.
TEMPLE HEALTH OAKS LUNG CENTER;
TEMPLE UNIVERSITY HEALTH SYSTEM, INC.
__________
On Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
(D.C. No. 2:18-cv-03514)
District Judge: Honorable Gene E.K. Pratter
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Submitted Under Third Circuit L.A.R. 34.1(a)
on November 20, 2020
Before: JORDAN, KRAUSE, and RESTREPO, Circuit Judges
(Filed: December 1, 2020)
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OPINION *
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*
This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not
constitute binding precedent.
RESTREPO, Circuit Judge.
Serene Dudhi sued her former employer alleging pregnancy-related discrimination
claims. The District Court granted her employer’s motion for summary judgment, finding
that Dudhi had failed to establish a prima facie case. We will affirm.
I. BACKGROUND
Dudhi previously worked as a permanent medical assistant at Temple Lung Center
(“TLC”). On June 26, 2017, she was assigned an afternoon shift in the clinic. At the time,
Dudhi had recently returned from parental leave after giving birth and was nursing. While
on duty that afternoon, she left her work area to express breastmilk. Dudhi did not get
permission to leave or ensure that her patients would be cared for while she was gone. The
only other medical assistant on duty that afternoon was Aaliyah Hosten, and she too was
absent from the clinic while Dudhi was expressing milk. Hosten did not have permission
to leave the work area either.
One of the doctors working in the clinic that afternoon notified Dudhi’s supervisor,
Beth Knowles, that he could not see patients because there were no medical assistants in
the clinic. While attempting to locate Dudhi and Hosten, Knowles noticed medication spin-
ning in an unattended centrifuge. She also encountered a patient looking for Dudhi. After
failing to locate either medical assistant, Knowles called Dudhi and asked her to return
immediately.
Three days after that incident, Dudhi’s employment with TLC was terminated for
violating Work Rule D.5, which states that employees are prohibited from “[l]eaving an
assigned work area without permission and without proper relief when responsible for
2
patient or client care, or the security of an area or person.” App. 6. Her employment termi-
nation was effective immediately. Hosten, who was a temporary medical assistant, was
also disciplined. She was disqualified from consideration for permanent employment but
permitted to complete the remainder of her temporary assignment. After Hosten completed
her temporary assignment, her employment with TLC ended.
In 2018, Dudhi initiated an employment discrimination lawsuit against TLC, alleg-
ing violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Pennsylvania Human Relations
Act (“PHRA”). Specifically, Dudhi alleged that her employer “w[as] hostile to [her] preg-
nant/nursing condition, and [that she was] terminated . . . because of that animus.” App.
183. 1
TLC moved for summary judgment. First, the District Court found that Dudhi failed
to set forth a prima facie case under the framework laid out in McDonnell Douglas Corp.
v. Green, 411 U.S. 792 (1973). Second, the Court also found, even if she had, TLC prof-
fered a legitimate nondiscriminatory reason for its actions and Dudhi failed to rebut that
reason. Accordingly, the District Court granted summary judgment. Dudhi now appeals.
II. DISCUSSION 2
Dudhi’s claims are analyzed under the McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting frame-
work. See In re Carnegie Ctr. Assoc., 129 F.3d 290, 294–95 (3d Cir. 1997). Under that
1
Dudhi also alleged race-based discrimination claims, however, she appeals the
District Court’s order only as it relates to her pregnancy-related discrimination claims. See
Appellant Br. at 17–18.
2
The District Court had jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1367(a), and we
have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review the District Court’s grant of summary
3
framework, Dudhi bears the burden of presenting evidence sufficient to support a prima
facie case of discrimination. Doe v. C.A.R.S. Protection Plus, Inc., 527 F.3d 358, 364 (3d
Cir. 2008). If she establishes a prima facie case, the burden of production shifts to TLC to
identify a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for its adverse employment decision. See
Texas Dep’t of Cmty. Affs. v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 252–53 (1981). If TLC offers such
evidence, the burden shifts back to Dudhi, who must then show that TLC’s nondiscrimina-
tory reason was pretextual. Id.To establish a prima facie case of pregnancy-related discrimination under Title VII
and the PHRA, Dudhi must show that (1) “she is or was pregnant and that her employer
knew she was pregnant,” (2) “she was qualified for her job,” (3) “she suffered an adverse
employment decision,” and (4) “there is some nexus between her pregnancy and her em-
ployment termination that would permit a fact-finder to infer unlawful discrimination.”
C.A.R.S., 527 F.3d at 366.
Dudhi sought to support her claims by offering comparator evidence. Dudhi argued
that TLC treated Hosten, a similarly situated non-breastfeeding employee, more favorably
by allowing Hosten to finish her temporary assignment after she also violated Work Rule
D.5. The District Court, however, determined that Dudhi and Hosten were not similarly
situated, and because Dudhi offered no other evidence to support an inference of preg-
nancy-related discrimination, it found that Dudhi failed to set forth a prima facie case. We
agree.
judgment de novo and apply the same standard as the District Court. Bletz v. Corrie, 974
F.3d 306, 308 (3d Cir. 2020).
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A plaintiff may not “selectively choose a comparator,” Simpson v. Kay Jewelers,
142 F.3d 639, 645 (3d Cir. 1998), but should identify “objective qualification[s] or factor[s]
that [she] can use as a yardstick to compare herself with similarly situated employees,”
Ezold v. Wolf, Block, Schorr & Solis-Cohen, 983 F.2d 509, 529 (3d Cir. 1992). 3 The context
of each case determines which factors are relevant, but where allegations of disparate treat-
ment arise in the disciplinary context, relevant factors often include “the standards that the
employees had to meet.” Johnson v. Kroger Co., 319 F.3d 858, 867 (6th Cir. 2003). In this
instance, as the District Court correctly noted, Hosten and Dudhi were not subject to the
same discipline standards. As a permanent employee, the Work Rules mandated that
Dudhi’s employment be terminated immediately. That same mandate, however, did not
apply to temporary employees like Hosten. This difference distinguishes Dudhi from
Hosten. See id. Thus, the District Court correctly concluded that they were not similarly
situated.
Because we conclude that the District Court rightly resolved this issue at step one
of the McDonnell Douglas framework, we need not reach the District Court’s pretext find-
ing.
III. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, we will affirm the District Court.
3
While we have not explicitly stated what constitutes a similarly situated employee,
other Courts have noted that a comparator must be similar in all relevant respects. E.g.,
Johnson v. Kroger Co., 319 F.3d 858, 867 (6th Cir. 2003).
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