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Campbell v. Gambro Healthcare, Inc.

Court: Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
Date filed: 2007-03-09
Citations: 478 F.3d 1282
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                                                                      F I L E D
                                                               United States Court of Appeals
                                                                       Tenth Circuit
                                    PU BL ISH
                                                                      March 9, 2007
                   UNITED STATES COURT O F APPEALS                Elisabeth A. Shumaker
                                                                      Clerk of Court
                                TENTH CIRCUIT



 EUN ICE CA M PBELL,

       Plaintiff – Appellant,
 v.                                                     No. 06-3062

 GAM BRO HEALTHCARE, IN C.,

       Defendant – Appellee.



                 Appeal from the United States District Court
                          for the District of K ansas
                         (D.C. No. 04-CV-2416-CM )


Alan V. Johnson, Sloan, Eisenbarth, Glassman, M cEntire & Jarboe, Topeka,
Kansas (Stephen D. Lanterman with him on the briefs), for Plaintiff–Appellant.

John C . Stivarius, Jr., Epstein, Becker, & Green, Atlanta, Georgia (Jack D. Row e
and Sara J. Kagay, Lathrop & G age, Kansas City, M issouri; and Teresa B.
Stivarius and Brenton S. Bean, Epstein, Becker, & Green, Atlanta, G eorgia, w ith
him on the briefs), for Defendant–Appellee.


Before L UC ER O, M cCO NNELL, and HO LM ES, Circuit Judges.


L UC ER O, Circuit Judge.


      Eunice Campbell appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment to

Gambro Healthcare, Inc. (“Gambro”) on her claims of race discrimination under
42 U.S.C. § 1981, and interference with and retaliation for taking leave covered

by the Family and M edical Leave Act (“FM LA”) under 29 U.S.C.

§§ 2615(a)(1)–(2). On appeal, Campbell has abandoned her § 1981 race

discrimination claim, and challenges the district court’s judgment only as to her

interference and retaliation claims under the FM LA. W e hold that when the

employer cites only factors predating the employee’s return to work to justify the

adverse action, the claim may be brought under either a retaliation or interference

theory. Evaluating Campbell’s claim under both theories, we exercise jurisdiction

pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and AFFIRM .

                                          I

      Campbell began working for Gambro as a Patient Care Technician (“PCT”)

in April 2001 at its Atchison, Kansas clinic. 1 Gambro is headquartered in D enver,

Colorado, and operates a national chain of clinics providing end-stage renal

dialysis and related services. The Atchison clinic is relatively small, with an

optimal capacity of 24 to 26 patients; in fact, the clinic treated substantially fewer

patients throughout Campbell’s tenure. As such, the clinic was leanly staffed,

employing a center director (Ilene Dwyer), a registered nurse, and two PCTs, of

which Campbell was one. The clinic employed a second PCT, Pat Jackson, who

had slightly more seniority than Campbell due to prior work experience.



      1
       Campbell was originally employed by Renal M anagement, Inc. Gambro
purchased Renal M anagement in 2001.

                                         -2-
      Campbell’s duties included working under the nurse’s supervision to

provide patient care; operating, cleaning, and inspecting the dialysis machines;

monitoring patients during dialysis; keeping patient records; communicating

patient statuses to the nurse; and performing other functions as necessary. In

addition to these core PCT duties, Campbell served as the clinic’s inventory

technician and unit secretary. As inventory technician, she was responsible for

tracking the clinic’s inventory utilizing an automated physical inventory computer

system (“PICS”), recording inventory receipts, removing expired supplies from

the shelves, and ensuring that the oldest supplies w ere used first. Her primary

duty was to match physical inventory on the shelves w ith inventory as reflected in

the PICS database. As unit secretary, she was responsible for maintaining

accurate patient data, such as by preparing charts for new patients, adding new

data for existing patients, coordinating patient mailings, and archiving old patient

records.

      On June 15, 2002, Gambro promoted Campbell to PCT II, a job title that

reflected increased pay but no change in duties. Throughout her employment, and

before taking medical leave, Campbell received high marks from her supervisors

for her job performance.

      Beginning in M ay 2003 and extending through the date of Campbell’s

termination, the Atchinson clinic suffered a steady decline in patients, with the

number stabilizing at 13. Rather than lay off either PCT, Gambro asked each to

                                        -3-
accept a reduction in hours, to 24 per w eek, with the option to supplement hours

at neighboring clinics. At a meeting in early August 2003, Richard Pedrick,

Gambro’s Regional Director, met with D wyer, Jackson, and Campbell to discuss

Jackson and Campbell’s options in the face of the dwindling patient count.

Jackson and Campbell both chose to work a reduced schedule w ithout seeking to

supplement their hours elsew here. By reducing labor and other costs, Gambro

managed to keep the Atchison clinic afloat during this period, although it suffered

a steep drop in profitability.

      On or about October 9, 2003, Dwyer went on vacation, leaving the director

of the nearby St. Joseph clinic, Ruby Thompson, in charge. Three days later,

Campbell slipped and fell at her home, injuring her back and aggravating a

preexisting degenerative back ailment. The record establishes that Campbell did

not call or send a text message to Thompson prior to the start of her shift. Both

parties acknowledge that Gambro policy requires an employee to notify a superior

of her absence prior to the start of her shift.

      On October 15 Campbell visited a doctor, who recommended she have

surgery on her back. Surgery was scheduled for N ovember 10, and Campbell

applied for FM LA leave, which was approved from October 13, 2003 through

January 5, 2004. Campbell’s leave was backdated to October 13, the first day she

was absent from work. The next day, after hearing about Campbell’s request for

FM LA leave, Dwyer sent Pedrick an email complaining that Campbell was

                                          -4-
unreliable and had disturbed her vacation on account of her absence. At this

point, Dwyer did not know about Campbell’s fall or the nature of her condition.

      During Campbell’s absence a PCT from the St. Joseph clinic, Gaylene

Caples, was brought into the Atchison clinic to assume Campbell’s inventory

duties. Caples immediately discovered major problems with the clinic’s

inventory. M ost significantly, she discovered a $6,500 discrepancy between the

inventory listed in the PICS database and the items physically present on the

shelves. Gambro mandates that items used or delivered be entered into the

computer system on a weekly basis, and that employees perform a physical

inventory every month. Campbell does not dispute that she failed to properly

update the inventory system as required by Gambro policy.

      At the same time, another Atchison employee, Cindy Keling, took over

Campbell’s unit secretary duties. Keling noticed that several thousand sheets of

old patient records were piled up in Campbell’s back office. This was also a

violation of Gambro policy, which requires that inactive files be sorted and stored

in file cabinets at the clinic or off-site. Keling spent approximately two months

sorting and processing these records. Campbell testified that the records were not

processed because Dwyer redirected her to other tasks.

      On December 26, 2003, just before Campbell was scheduled to return from

FM LA leave, she sent Pedrick and Dwyer an email inquiring about the possibility




                                        -5-
of supplementing her hours at St. Joseph. Pedrick emphatically rejected this idea,

writing, “NOT a good option in my opinion.”

      Campbell returned to w ork on January 5, 2004. She learned that her hours

had been reduced to 21 per week from 24, and that she had been stripped of her

unit secretary and inventory technician duties. It is undisputed that Jackson, the

senior PCT, had also had her hours cut back due to a lower patient count.

Campbell received the same hourly wage and benefits she had received before

taking FM LA leave.

      During her first day back at work, Dwyer presented Campbell with a

“corrective action form,” stating that Campbell had violated G ambro’s procedure

for providing notice of her absence on O ctober 13, 2003. This was the first

disciplinary action to which Campbell had been subject. The form evidences

Dwyer’s annoyance that Campbell interrupted Dwyer’s vacation and closes as

follows: “It caused a serious situation in the unit due to the other PCT not having

any training with inventory and unit secretary duties. . . . This has caused serious

difficulties in the Atchison unit for getting everything back up to date following

the time span with no one taking care of the filing, etc.” Campbell refused to sign

the form, arguing that she had complied with policy by notifying Thompson of

her absence prior to the start of her shift.

      Pedrick sent Campbell an email on January 9, 2004, informing her that

Gambro had decided it could only keep one PCT at the Atchison clinic, and that

                                          -6-
Campbell was being terminated “due to patient census and reimbursement

concerns.” Jackson was selected to remain “[b]ecause of recent performance

concerns” with Campbell. Specifically, the email cites Campbell’s failure to

perform her inventory technician duties and to properly notify Thompson of her

absence on October 13, 2003. Pedrick gave Campbell a choice: She could either

apply for a transfer to another Gambro clinic or resign voluntarily, in w hich case

she would receive six weeks’ severance pay and would be required to sign a

release from legal action. Campbell says she was under the impression that,

pursuant to Gambro policy, she was ineligible to transfer until six months had

elapsed from the corrective action. Gambro admits the existence of the policy,

but Pedrick testified that Gambro was making an exception for Campbell with

regard to the transfer and severance pay policies.

      Campbell turned in her keys to Dwyer on January 14. Dwyer testified that

Campbell’s relinquishment of the keys signaled her resignation, and that

Campbell had asked for the six weeks’ severance pay, but refused to sign a

release. Campbell maintains that she never told Dwyer she wanted to accept the

severance pay and testified that she turned in her keys because her shift had been

changed and she did not want to be questioned about being on the premises during

off-hours. On January 14 Pedrick sent Dwyer an email instructing her to “start

the process of ending [Campbell’s] employment.” Two days later, Campbell

showed up for work for the final time, when Dwyer again offered her the option

                                         -7-
of taking severance pay or seeking a transfer to another Gambro clinic. Campbell

refused to sign any paperwork memorializing her termination and disputes

Dwyer’s characterization of their January 16 conversation.

      Campbell subsequently filed suit against G ambro in federal district court in

Kansas, alleging that Gambro racially discriminated against her in violation of 42

U.S.C. § 1981, interfered with her right to take FM LA leave in violation of 29

U.S.C. § 2615(a)(1), and retaliated against her for taking FM LA leave in violation

of § 2615(a)(2). The district court granted summary judgment to Gambro on all

claims, from which order Campbell appeals.

                                         II

      Campbell appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment to

Gambro only as to her interference and retaliation claims. W e review the district

court’s summary judgment decision de novo to determine whether a genuine issue

of material fact exists, viewing the record in the light most favorable to Campbell.

Garrett v. Hew lett-Packard Co., 305 F.3d 1210, 1216 (10th Cir. 2002).

                                         A

      Campbell asserts two alternate claims under the FM LA: (1) that Gambro

interfered with her right to take FM LA leave, in violation of 29 U.S.C.

§ 2615(a)(1); and (2) that, upon returning to work, Gambro retaliated against her

for taking FM LA leave, in violation of 29 U.S.C. § 2615(a)(2). The two theories

require different showings and differ w ith respect to the burden of proof.

                                        -8-
      To establish an interference claim, Campbell must show: “(1) that [s]he

was entitled to FM LA leave, (2) that some adverse action by the employer

interfered with h[er] right to take FM LA leave, and (3) that the employer’s action

was related to the exercise or attempted exercise of h[er] FM LA rights.” Jones v.

Denver Pub. Sch., 427 F.3d 1315, 1319 (10th Cir. 2005). To make out a prima

facie retaliation claim, Campbell must show that: “(1) she engaged in a protected

activity; (2) [Gambro] took an action that a reasonable employee would have

found materially adverse; and (3) there exists a causal connection between the

protected activity and the adverse action.” M etzler v. Fed. Home Loan Bank of

Topeka, 464 F.3d 1164, 1171 (10th Cir. 2006). W e have characterized the

showing required to satisfy the third prong under a retaliation theory to be a

showing of bad intent or “retaliatory motive” on the part of the employer. Id. at

1171 (quotation omitted). Notably, we interpret retaliation claims under the

burden-shifting architecture of M cDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792,

802-04 (1973), whereas the employer bears the burden of proof on the third

element of an interference claim once the plaintiff has shown her FM LA leave

was interfered with. See M etzler, 464 F.3d at 1170. Due to this difference in

where the burden lies with respect to the third element of each theory, it is not

unusual for a plaintiff to pursue an interference theory while the defendant argues

that the evidence may only be analyzed under a retaliation theory.




                                         -9-
      Beyond differences in the elements and burdens of proof, the two claims

differ with respect to the timing of the adverse action. In order to satisfy the

second element of an interference claim, the employee must show that she was

prevented from taking the full 12 weeks’ of leave guaranteed by the FM LA,

denied reinstatement following leave, or denied initial permission to take leave.

See, e.g., id. at 1181 (holding that second element is satisfied when “FHLB

interfered with [M etzler’s] right to take up to the twelve weeks to which she was

entitled under § 2612(a)(1) and denied her the right to be reinstated to her former

position or an equivalent one upon her return to full-time work”); 29 C.F.R.

§ 825.216(a)(1). In contrast, a retaliation claim may be brought when the

employee successfully took FM LA leave, was restored to her prior employment

status, and was adversely affected by an employment action based on incidents

post-dating her return to work. See, e.g., Doebele v. Sprint/U nited M gmt. Co.,

342 F.3d 1117, 1136-38 (10th Cir. 2003) (analyzing Doebele’s FM LA claim

under a retaliation theory when she was restored to her prior position, but soon

terminated for alleged attendance problems following her return).

      The district court found an interference theory to be inappropriate on these

facts, finding instead that Campbell’s “claims are more properly analyzed as a

single retaliation claim – not as separate interference and retaliation claims.” W e

disagree. W hen, as is the situation before us, the employer cites only factors

predating the employee’s return to work to justify the adverse action, the plaintiff

                                         - 10 -
is not foreclosed from bringing an interference claim. To hold otherwise would

create a perverse incentive for employers to make the decision to terminate during

an employee’s FM LA leave, but allow the employee to return for a brief period

before terminating her so as to insulate the employer from an interference claim.

         Although it vacillated on this point at oral argument, Gambro’s “final

explanation” of Campbell’s termination is limited to factors predating her return

to work. By fall of 2003, the declining patient census allowed for only one PCT

to continue employment; as between Jackson and Campbell, Gambro chose

Jackson due to her seniority and Campbell’s inadequate performance as unit

secretary and inventory technician. Pedrick, who was responsible for setting

staffing levels at the Atchison clinic, had concluded by the end of 2003 that the

clinic could only support one PCT. Although in August 2003 Pedrick chose to

allow the two PCTs to work reduced hours rather than to terminate either one, he

stated in his affidavit that by July 2003 “it was determined that it [might] be

necessary to lay off one of the PCTs, unless one of the PCTs w ould work part-

time at another clinic.” Tellingly, Pedrick did not increase Jackson’s hours to

compensate for Campbell’s absence, but instead reduced Jackson’s hours from 24

to 21.

         Gambro does not argue that any new facts regarding staffing needs at the

Atchison clinic came to light during the period after Campbell returned to work.

Nor does it argue that its understanding of Campbell’s failures as unit secretary or

                                          - 11 -
inventory technician changed meaningfully between Campbell’s return to w ork

and her termination. Although the record shows that Pedrick and Dwyer offered

Campbell the opportunity to explain those problems after she returned, it would

be a synthetic view of the facts to interpret Gambro’s decision to terminate her as

motivated by the inadequacy of her explanations. Rather, it was the fact of her

poor performance as unit secretary and inventory technician, discovered in late

October 2003, that partly motivated Gambro to choose Jackson over Campbell as

the clinic’s sole PCT. Accordingly, Campbell’s termination was a foregone

conclusion by the time she returned to work, and her “restoration” to her prior

duties during the period of January 5-14, 2004 was illusory; on these facts,

Campbell has satisfied the second element of her interference claim, and may

proceed on that claim irrespective of whether she was, in fact, restored to her

prior duties.

                                         B

      W e now turn to the question of whether the district court properly denied

Campbell summary judgment on her FM LA claim under an interference theory.

As Campbell has satisfied the first two elements, we must determine w hether,

viewing the record in the light most favorable to Campbell, a genuine issue of

material fact exists as to whether “the employer’s action was related to the

exercise or attempted exercise of [Campbell’s] FM LA rights.” Jones, 427 F.3d at

1319. Once a plaintiff has proved that her employer has interfered with her right

                                        - 12 -
to take FM LA leave, the employer bears “the burden of proving that an employee,

laid off during FM LA leave, would have been dismissed regardless of the

employee’s request for, or taking of, FM LA leave.” Smith v. Diffee Ford-

Lincoln-M ercury, Inc., 298 F.3d 955, 963 (10th Cir. 2002) (citing 29 C.F.R. §

825.216(a)(1)). However, we have held that “an employee who requests FM LA

leave would have no greater protection against his or her employment being

terminated for reasons not related to his or her FM LA request than he or she did

before submitting the request.” Gunnell v. Utah Valley State Coll., 152 F.3d

1253, 1262 (10th Cir. 1998).

      Review ing the record as a whole, w e determine that Gambro has met its

burden on the third element, and that no genuine issue of material fact exists w ith

respect to its reasons for terminating Campbell. Ample undisputed evidence

points to Gambro’s difficulties maintaining the profitability of the Atchison clinic

as the patient census declined. Pedrick discussed the possibility of reducing

staffing with Dwyer, Jackson, and Campbell in A ugust 2003, well before

Campbell took leave. It is undisputed that the profitability pressures persisted

through the duration of Campbell’s leave. Nor does Campbell contest that she

was responsible for problems with inventory and patient records discovered

during her absence, except to say that she had a valid explanation for some of the

inventory problems.




                                        - 13 -
      M ost of Campbell’s brief attacks the admittedly ham-handed manner in

which Gambro appears to have handled her termination. Although Pedrick told

Campbell he would seek to place her with another clinic, evidence suggests such

a placement may have been infeasible. In addition, he offered Campbell

severance pay without clearly explaining that this was an exception to G ambro’s

normal termination policy. Although Gambro might have handled her termination

in a different manner, such as by firing her soon after the unit secretary and

inventory technician problems w ere discovered, this fact is immaterial to

Campbell’s interference claim, because it does not establish a causal connection

between her termination and her FM LA leave.

      Campbell cites to three pieces of evidence in the record that she argues

could be construed to tie her termination to her taking of FM LA leave: (1)

Dwyer’s email of O ctober 16, 2003, expressing frustration with Campbell’s

unexpected absence and complaining that it had interrupted her vacation, (2) the

corrective action form presented to Campbell on January 5, 2004, and (3)

Pedrick’s email to Campbell of January 9, 2004. Even viewing the record in the

light most favorable to her, we hold that no reasonable jury could, on the basis of

this evidence, find for Campbell. Nowhere does Pedrick’s email reference

Campbell’s FM LA leave – rather, it clearly implicates Campbell’s demonstrated

failure to notify Thompson of her absence on October 13, 2003.




                                        - 14 -
      In contrast, although it is not the most evident reading of either, both the

Dwyer email and corrective action form can be read to (negatively) reference

Campbell’s FM LA leave. Dwyer’s email was sent after Pedrick had informed her

that Campbell “needs immediate medical leave through December,” and states: “I

can’t depend on some folks. Eunice has always thought she could take time off

but I couldn’t.” Although the corrective action form states that the “nature of the

problem” is “incorrect procedure for calling in for STD,” some of the body text

refers to longer-term difficulties associated with finding staff to fill in for

Campbell w hile she was on leave.

      Nevertheless, even if we assume the email and corrective action form

support an inference of D wyer’s bad intent, there is no evidence in the record

demonstrating that Dwyer played a role in the termination decision. Rather, the

evidence shows that Pedrick was the decisionmaker, came to his own independent

conclusion with respect to the termination, and was not a “rubber stamp” for

Dwyer. See Kendrick v. Penske Transp. Servs., Inc., 220 F.3d 1220, 1231 (10th

Cir. 2000) (holding, in the § 1981 discrimination context, that a subordinate’s bad

motive may only be imputed to the decisionmaker if evidence suggests the

decisionmaker w as a rubber stamp for the subordinate’s prejudice). M oreover,

the fact that Dwyer presented Campbell with the corrective action form, together

with other evidence in the record, shows that she did not anticipate Campbell’s

termination, much less agitate in favor of terminating her. Accordingly, Dwyer’s

                                          - 15 -
email and the corrective action form are insufficient to create a material dispute

of fact with respect to the third element of Campbell’s interference claim.

                                          C

      Campbell also challenges the district court’s grant of summary judgment to

Gambro on her retaliation claim. As discussed supra, the burden of proof for

retaliation claims differs from interference claims – the third element of a

retaliation claim is evaluated under the M cDonnell Douglas burden-shifting

framew ork. M etzler, 464 F.3d at 1172. The parties concede that Campbell has

established a prima facie case of retaliation, and that Gambro has articulated a

nondiscriminatory reason for her termination. The burden thus shifts to Campbell

to “show that there is a genuine dispute of material fact as to w hether [G ambro’s]

reasons for terminating her are pretextual.” Id. Campbell may meet this burden

by demonstrating “such w eaknesses, implausibilities, inconsistencies,

incoherencies, or contradictions in the employer’s proffered legitimate reasons for

its action that a reasonable factfinder could rationally find them unw orthy of

credence.” M organ v. Hilti, Inc., 108 F.3d 1319, 1323 (10th Cir. 1997) (quotation

omitted).

      Campbell alleges that five pieces of evidence in the record collectively

establish that Gambro’s stated reasons for terminating her are pretextual: (1) the

close temporal proximity between her return from FM LA leave and her

termination; (2) a pattern of retaliatory employment actions following her return

                                        - 16 -
from leave, including Dwyer’s corrective action form, the removal of her

inventory technician and unit secretary duties, the reduction in her weekly hours,

and, finally, her termination; (3) her prior history of excellent evaluations and

Gambro’s failure to subject her to discipline prior to her taking leave; (4) the

issuance of a corrective action form after only one unscheduled absence; and (5)

the falsity of G ambro’s explanations for its actions.

      Taking these in turn, we have never allowed “even very close temporal

proximity [taken alone] to operate as a proxy for the evidentiary requirement that

the plaintiff demonstrate pretext.” M etzler, 464 F.3d at 1172 (quotations omitted).

Rather, to show pretext Campbell “must . . . present evidence of temporal

proximity plus circumstantial evidence of retaliatory motive.” Id. Campbell’s

argument with respect to alleged retaliatory employment actions could potentially

preclude summary judgment, see M arx v. Schnuck M arkets, Inc., 76 F.3d 324, 329

(10th Cir. 1996), but in this case the cited actions do not “giv[e] rise to an

inference of retaliatory animus.” M etzler, 464 F.3d at 1173. There is no evidence

that Campbell received the corrective action form or had her unit secretary and

inventory technician duties removed in retaliation for taking FM LA leave.

Instead, those actions were taken in response to her undisputed violations of

Gambro policy, which came to light while she was on leave, whereas the

termination itself was clearly motivated by the reasons discussed in analyzing

Campbell’s interference claim. Campbell’s reduction in hours cannot be termed

                                          - 17 -
retaliatory, because it is undisputed that Jackson, the clinic’s other PCT, also had

her hours cut back due to the reduced patient census. Campbell’s hourly wage and

benefits remained the same.

      Evidence of discrepancies between an employer’s prior treatment of a

plaintiff and its treatment of her following her return from leave may be used to

demonstrate pretext. See Jaramillo v. Colo. Jud. Dept., 427 F.3d 1303, 1308 (10th

Cir. 2005). Yet here, where Gambro’s decision to discipline Campbell was

informed by her demonstrated failures to abide by Gambro policy or adequately

perform her unit secretary and inventory technician duties, there is no ground for

deeming such discrepancies retaliatory. Fourth, Campbell argues that Gambro

misapplied its own policy in issuing her a corrective action form. An employer’s

failures to follow written or unwritten policy may support a showing of pretext,

particularly if other similarly-situated employees were treated differently. See

Kendrick, 220 F.3d at 1232. W ith respect to the corrective action form, however,

its issuance was explicitly permitted by written Gambro policy, and it responded to

Campbell’s demonstrated violation of that policy. As such, it cannot be used to

show pretext. M oreover, there is no evidence in the record that Jackson or any

other similarly-situated employee was treated differently under similar

circumstances. Nor could Pedrick’s deviation from normal Gambro severance

policy be termed retaliatory – just the opposite, in fact, as it represented a partly

botched attempt to ameliorate Campbell’s termination. Finally, Campbell argues

                                          - 18 -
that the reasons Gambro cites in support of its disciplinary actions are not worthy

of credence, relying on the Supreme Court’s decision in Reeves v. Sanderson

Plumbing Prods., Inc., 530 U.S. 133 (2000), but this argument must fail for the

same reasons discussed above. Hence, a reasonable jury could not infer a

retaliatory motive therefrom. See M etzler, 464 F.3d at 1178.

      In sum, the record in this case indicates that Campbell was fired due to the

declining patient census at the Atchison clinic, coupled with her poor performance

of her unit secretary and inventory technician duties. None of the evidence cited

by Campbell demonstrates that Gambro’s stated justifications for her termination

“are so weak, implausible, inconsistent, incoherent, or contradictory as to support

a reasonable inference that [Gambro] did not act for those reasons.” Id. at 1179.

Accordingly, we conclude that Campbell has failed to meet her burden to

demonstrate pretext.

                                         III

      The judgment of the district court is AFFIRM ED.




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