Ruiz v. Posadas de San Juan Associates

• Decision Date: 03 June 1997
• Docket Number: No. 97-1065,97-1065
• Parties: 78 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 641, 72 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 45,135 Ivan RUIZ, et al., Plaintiffs, Appellants, v. POSADAS DE SAN JUAN ASSOCIATES, Defendant, Appellee. . Heard
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — First Circuit

Page 243

124 F.3d 243

78 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 641,

72 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 45,135

Ivan RUIZ, et al., Plaintiffs, Appellants, v. POSADAS DE SAN JUAN ASSOCIATES, Defendant, Appellee.

No. 97-1065.

United States Court of Appeals First Circuit.

Heard June 3, 1997.

Decided Aug. 18, 1997.

Jose L. Rivero Vergne, Hato Rey, PR, for appellants.

Nilda M. Navarro-Cabrer, Hato Rey, PR, for appellee.

Before SELYA, CYR, and BOUDIN, Circuit Judges.

CYR, Circuit Judge.

Appellants Ivan Ruiz and Estela Daz, husband and wife, challenge various district court rulings relating to their claims against appellee Posadas de San Juan Associates, Inc. ("Posadas" or "Hotel"), alleging, inter alia, age discrimination under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq., and Puerto Rico "Law 100," 29 L.P.R.A. § 146 et seq. As we conclude that appellants failed to generate a trialworthy dispute regarding their federal claims, we affirm the district court judgment.

I BACKGROUND ¹

In 1985, appellant Ivan Ruiz began work as a housekeeper at the "Hotel San Juan & Casino" ("Hotel"), owned by Posadas, a New York corporation. By 1987 Ruiz had been promoted to Team Leader, Housekeeping Department, responsible for supervising housekeeping in Hotel "public areas" (e.g., offices, meeting rooms, gymnasium). Beginning in 1991, he worked five nights a week on the 8:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. shift.

As a Team Leader, Ruiz received mixed performance ratings. During the period from 1987 through 1993, the average annual performance rating Ruiz received ranged from lows of 3.30 in 1987 and 1989, to a high of 4.02 in 1990. ² Ruiz received regular salary increases throughout his tenure. In addition he received three merit certificates for excellent supervisory performance and a "good" overall rating in 1992.

During his tenure, however, Ruiz received some criticism. In 1988, he was criticized by Felix Joseph, his supervisor at the time, for "total negligence ... or total and complete disregard of ... Company Policy or both," following an unannounced one-day absence from work. In 1990, a different supervisor, Eddie Ortiz, noted "major cleaning deficiencies" in the areas for which Ruiz was responsible--specifically, trash not picked up, rooms not cleaned, and furniture not dusted--as well as a general "lack of attention" to cleaning responsibilities in the Hotel corporate offices. Finally, in 1993, yet another supervisor, Jorge Serrano, warned Ruiz about poor cleaning in the gymnasium and filed a contemporaneous disciplinary report against him.

Ruiz, on the other hand, dates most of his employment problems from late 1993, when Luis Rivera, age 32, became Hotel Executive Housekeeper. Rivera regularly criticized Ruiz, verbally and in writing, on his job performance. ³ In March 1994, Rivera rated Ruiz's performance for 1993 as "need[ing] improvement" in three areas: accepting criticism, solving problems, and quality of performance. Rivera noted that Ruiz blamed others for his own deficiencies, responded lackadaisically to guest requests, and provided inadequate supervision to subordinates. After Ruiz complained to Rivera, the performance evaluation was changed from "need[ing] improvement" to "satisfactory," but Rivera did not soften the negative written commentary. The average rating Ruiz received for 1993 was 3.69. ⁴ See supra note 2.

Beginning in 1993, Victoria Greber, Executive Assistant Manager, "Rooms Division," likewise complained that Hotel public areas were found to be untidy following Ruiz's shift. Felipe Mercado, the night manager ultimately responsible for supervising Ruiz, complained directly to Greber about uncleanliness in areas for which Ruiz was responsible. Other unfavorable comments relating to the untidiness of Hotel public areas following Ruiz's shift were noted in the Hotel log books--daily diaries describing, inter alia, the physical condition of the Hotel--by various Hotel employees including Rivera.

During the Spring of 1994, the occupancy rate at the Hotel dropped dramatically, resulting in severe shortfalls in Hotel revenues and prompting work-force reductions by the administration. In May 1994, Greber met with Rivera and Egidio Coln, Human Resources Director, to evaluate the personnel records of all employees holding an employment position within any category targeted for reduction, which included a Team Leader position in the Housekeeping Department, "Rooms Division." ⁵

After the personnel file on each Team Leader in the Housekeeping Department had been reviewed, and following receipt of input from Coln and Rivera, Greber determined to discharge Ruiz. According to both Coln and Greber, the dispositive factors were the negative written evaluations (Ruiz posted the lowest average scores of any Team Leader), the negative commentaries, the disciplinary warnings, the complaints from night manager Felipe Mercado, and the negative log-book notations regarding the uncleanliness of the public areas following Ruiz's shifts.

On June 2, 1994, Ruiz was fired, after being told that the Hotel was undergoing "reorganization," and "adjustments" in the "Rooms Division" were necessary. Following Ruiz's dismissal, supervisory responsibility for the night shift was divided between Carrasquillo and Waters, both of whom continued to serve as Team Leaders on their daytime shifts as well. ⁶

On June 7, 1994, Ruiz filed age-discrimination charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Antidiscrimination Unit of the Puerto Rico Department of Labor, requesting reinstatement. On November 18, 1994, a preexisting Team Leader position in the Housekeeping Department became vacant when Mr. Rosado, see supra note 5, was promoted to Public Areas Manager. The Hotel did not inform Ruiz of the vacancy, however, instead promoting Alexis Vargas, age 26, to Team Leader.

On March 24, 1995, his administrative remedies exhausted and a "right to sue" letter in hand, Ruiz (and spouse) filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, alleging that the Hotel, during 1993-94, had a policy of discharging older employees, in violation of the ADEA and "Law 100." Following extended discovery proceedings, the Hotel moved for summary judgment. In their opposition, appellants asserted, for the first time, that the Hotel's failure to rehire Ruiz, and its hiring of Vargas, likewise violated Puerto Rico "Law 100." Thereafter, appellants sought leave to amend their original complaint to state additional ADEA claims, alleging a failure to rehire based on age and claiming retaliation in response to Ruiz's filing of administrative charges against the Hotel.

The district court granted summary judgment for the Hotel, after determining that the proffered evidence on the ADEA discriminatory discharge claim was inadequate for a prima facie showing that the Hotel either failed to treat age neutrally or replaced Ruiz with a younger worker, see McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973); Woodman v. Haemonetics Corp., 51 F.3d 1087 (1st Cir.1995). It also dismissed the pendent Commonwealth claim under "Law 100," as there was no longer an independent basis for asserting federal jurisdiction. Finally, the court denied the motion to amend the complaint, on the ground that its new allegations, "even if supported, ... [would] not sustain an ADEA claim. That is, plaintiffs would [sic] have established a prima facie case of age discrimination."

II DISCUSSION ⁷

A. Wrongful Discharge Claim Under ADEA

1. Prima Facie Case

Our analysis is governed by the familiar burden-shifting framework enunciated in McDonnell Douglas, 411 U.S. at 802-04, 93 S.Ct. at 1824-25 and adapted for use in ADEA cases, see, e.g., Woodman, 51 F.3d at 1091. Absent direct evidence of age discrimination, a claimant whose employment was terminated through a reduction in force ("RIF") first must make a prima facie showing that: 1) he was at least forty years old; 2) met the employer's legitimate job expectations 3) was fired; and 4) that age was not treated neutrally in implementing the RIF, or younger individuals were retained in the same position. Id. We need not consider the fourth prong, however, including Ruiz's contention that the Hotel retained two younger employees--i.e., Rosado and Carrasquillo--in the same occupational classification, since there is an alternative ground for affirmance. See Polyplastics, Inc. v. Transconex, Inc., 827 F.2d 859, 860-61 (1st Cir.1987). We therefore assume, without deciding, that Ruiz made out a prima facie case of age discrimination by demonstrating that younger workers were retained in the same position. See Pages-Cahue v. Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana, 82 F.3d 533, 538 (1st Cir.1996).

2. Pretext

In order to rebut the presumption that arises upon the establishment of a prima facie case--i.e., that the employer engaged in intentional age-based discrimination, see Woodman, 51 F.3d at 1091--the employer need only produce enough competent evidence, taken as true, to enable a rational factfinder to conclude that there existed a nondiscriminatory reason for the challenged employment action, see St. Mary's Honor Center v. Hicks, 509 U.S. 502, 509, 113 S.Ct. 2742, 2748, 125 L.Ed.2d 407 (1993); Woodman, 51 F.3d at 1091 (same). At that point, the employee "must demonstrate that the proffered reason for the adverse employment action was simply a pretext for age discrimination," Goldman v. First Nat'l Bank of Boston, 985 F.2d 1113, 1117 (1st Cir.1993), which in turn requires that the employee proffer enough competent evidence to support two findings: 1) the employer's proffered reason was pretextual; and, 2) its true motive was age discrimination. Udo v. Tomes, 54 F.3d 9, 12-13 (1st Cir.1995). The burden of persuasion remains on the plaintiff employee at all times. LeBlanc, 6 F.3d at 842.

There is no dispute that the Hotel experienced significant financial difficulties in...