Boswell

MEMORANDUM **

Plaintiff Johnny Boswell works for the United States Postal Service as a supervisor in the Mail Distribution Operations unit of the San Francisco facility. Boswell contends, among other things, that his supervisors issued two letters of warning to him and withheld his continuation of pay in retaliation for complaints he filed against a supervisor. The Postal Service moved for summary judgment, arguing Boswell “cannot establish a prima facie case of retaliation” because he failed to establish two prongs of his prima facie case. 1 The district court assumed, without deciding, Boswell established a prima facie case. After assuming Boswell established his prima facie case, the district court found the Postal Service articulated a legitimate nondiscriminatory reason for the letters. The district court then concluded “Boswell has not provided any evidence that the Postal Service’s explanation is pretextual. Thus, he cannot prevail on the retaliation claim.”

The district court granted summary judgment on a ground not raised by *663 the Postal Service nor argued by the parties below. The Postal Service’s motion argued only that Boswell failed to establish a prima facie…