Being placed on a “performance improvement plan” did not constitute an adverse employment action that supported a former employee’s age bias claim, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has found.
Plaintiff Joanne Walsh was 55 in 2019 when a new supervisor put her on a three-month performance improvement plan for “hiding in the IT room” and what he described as her “contentious” behavior and her reluctance “to engage with employees proactively.”
During the PIP period, Walsh’s team leader at the time, who later became her supervisor, allegedly told her the company was not “getting its return on investment” with her and that she could be replaced by “younger, cheaper people.”
Though Walsh successfully completed the PIP, she claimed her work environment deteriorated under her new supervisor to the point that she — along with another older worker who had been placed on a PIP at the same time — had no option but to resign.
A U.S. District Court judge granted the employer’s motion for summary judgment on Walsh’s subsequent federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act claim, ruling that being placed on the PIP did not amount to an adverse employment...
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