Jason Nielsen v. Trofholz Technologies, Inc.

MEMORANDUM

Jason Nielsen fails to raise a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons offered by his employer, Trofholz Technologies, Inc. (TTI), for criticizing his work performance and subsequently terminating him were pretext for retaliation. See Hashimoto v. Dalton, 118 F.3d 671, 680 (9th Cir.1997); Arteaga v. Brink’s, Inc., 163 Cal.App.4th 327 , 77 Cal.Rptr.3d 654, 667 (Ct.App.2008). Specifically, Nielsen fails to show why TTI’s explanation that it fired Nielsen for his failure to return from a leave of absence is unworthy of credence, given that the Human Resources action notice upon which Nielsen exclusively relies does not purport to approve additional leave, TTI’s President and Human Resources Manager both testified that the notice was not an approval, and Nielsen failed to come forward with evidence that he had received approval. See Hashimoto, 118 F.3d at 680 . Nor does Nielsen’s contention that he received negative performance reviews after participating in the protected activity, standing alone, create a genuine issue of material fact with respect to pretext, given TTI’s documentation of problems with Nielsen’s work and…