Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Communication Technical Systems, Inc.

MEMORANDUM *

The EEOC and Cynthia Trudeau (collectively “the EEOC”) appeal the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Communication Technical Systems, Inc. and its subsidiary Communication Technical Systems, Inc. (Southwest) (collectively “GTS”) on the EEOC’s pregnancy discrimination claim against GTS. The district court held that the EEOC had not made out a prima facie case of discrimination and that, in any event, GTS had proffered a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for not hiring Trudeau. Because there are genuine issues of material fact, we reverse the summary judgment and remand for trial.

To survive a summary judgment motion, the EEOC needed to produce “very little evidence.” See Chuang v. Univ. of Calif. Davis, Bd. of Trs., 225 F.3d 1115, 1124 (9th Cir.2000). The EEOC was first required to make out a prima facie pregnancy discrimination case by showing that (1) Trudeau was pregnant, (2) she was qualified for the position, (3) she was subject to an adverse employment action, and (4) similarly situated non-pregnant individuals were treated more favorably. See id. *781 at 1123-24 (citing McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792 , 93 S.Ct. 1817 , 36…