Merrick v. Hilton Worldwide, Inc., No. 14-56853 (9th Cir. 2017)
Annotate this CaseThe Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment for Hilton on plaintiff's age discrimination claims. Plaintiff was 60 years old when he was terminated from his position as part of a reduction-in-workforce (RIF) in 2012. Applying the McDonnell Douglass test, the panel held that plaintiff satisfied the elements for establishing a prima facie case of discrimination; Hilton produced evidence showing that it acted for a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason; and plaintiff failed to introduce sufficient evidence to raise a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the reasons Hilton articulated were pretexts for age discrimination. The panel considered the context of this case, including Hilton's lost profits during the economic downturn, a series of layoffs, the overall age of the workforce, the fact that plaintiff survived previous RIFs, and the business reasons for selecting his position for elimination. Consequently, plaintiff's remaining claims also failed.
Court Description: Age Discrimination. The panel affirmed the district court’s summary judgment in favor of Hilton Worldwide, Inc., and CHH Torrey Pines Tenant Corp. on a former Hilton employee’s age discrimination claims. The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) prohibits employers from discharging or dismissing employees over the age of forty based on their age. Cal. Gov’t Code §§ 12926(b), 12940(a). Plaintiff Charles Merrick was 60 years old in July 2012, when he was terminated from his position as Director of Property Operations at a Hilton hotel as part of a reduction-in- workforce (“RIF”). The panel applied the three-part McDonnell Douglass burden-shifting test to analyze Merrick’s age discrimination disparate treatment claims under FEHA. First, the panel held that Merrick satisfied the elements for establishing a prima facie case of discrimination. The panel noted that the district court erred in requiring Merrick to show that he was replaced by a younger employee. The panel held that employees terminated during a RIF, instead of showing proof of replacement, may instead show through evidence that discharge occurred under circumstances giving rise to an inference of age discrimination. The panel MERRICK V. HILTON WORLDWIDE 3 concluded that Hilton acknowledged Merrick’s duties were outsourced or assumed by other employees, and, accordingly, Merrick satisfied the elements for establishing a prima facie case of discrimination. Second, the panel held that the burden shifted to Hilton to produce admissible evidence showing that it terminated Merrick for a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason. The panel concluded that Hilton produced evidence that it terminated Merrick for legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons. Finally, the panel held that the burden shifted back to Merrick to produce sufficient evidence to allow a jury to conclude that Hilton’s proffered reasons were pretexts, and that age was a substantial motivating factor in his termination. The panel held that considering the context of the case – the lost profits during the economic downturn, a series of layoffs, the overall age of the workforce, the fact that Merrick survived previous RIFS, and the business reasons for selecting his position for elimination - Merrick did not present sufficient evidence to infer that Hilton’s actual motive was discriminatory. The panel held that Merrick’s other claims were derivative of his FEHA age discrimination claim, and necessarily failed along with that claim. 4 MERRICK V. HILTON WORLDWIDE
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