Hicks v. Bledsoe, 828 F. Supp. 2d 152

Hicks, an African American woman over 40, worked as a collateral duty counsel in PBGC's EEO Office beginning in 2005.
In May 2006 she was selected for a GS-9 Administrative Specialist position in the EEO Office, with an outstanding rating for 2006.
PBGC employees cited Hicks's performance deficiencies in 2007, including late updates, proofreading errors, and budget/report issues, leading to a non-promotion to GS-11.
Hicks filed a grievance in May 2007 after learning she would not be promoted; later meetings involved disputes over a counseling memorandum and an alleged incident with supervisor Bledsoe during which Hicks was injured.
Hicks was transferred to PBGC's Office of Chief Counsel in July 2007, later accepting a permanent reassignment to OCC at GS-9 with potential promotion to GS-11, which did not occur.
Hicks filed suit in October 2007 (Superior Court), which PBGC removed to federal court; she alleges race, sex, and age discrimination and retaliation under Title VII and the ADEA.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Hicks's non-promotion claims are pretextual	Hicks contends PBGC’s reasons are pretextual and discriminatory.	PBGC offered legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons (performance issues in EEO and lack of observation in OCC).	PBGC's reasons are non-discriminatory; Hicks failed to show pretext.
Whether Hicks's workers’ compensation processing was discriminatory	PBGC slowed processing to discriminate against Hicks.	PBGC processed Hicks's claim without evidence of discriminatory delay; Huff status not sufficiently similar.	No evidence of discrimination; summary judgment for PBGC on this claim.
Whether Hicks states a cognizable hostile work environment claim	The alleged events created a pervasive hostile environment tied to protected status.	No severe or pervasive discriminatory conduct; no causal link shown.	Hostile environment claim fails; no actionable discrimination established.
Whether Hicks's retaliation claim survives	Retaliation occurred via denial of promotions and hostile environment after grievance.	Retaliation claim fails as discrimination/hostile environment claims fail on merits.	Retaliation claim fails along with discrimination claims; judgment for PBGC.

McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792 (U.S. 1973) (establishes the prima facie burden-shifting framework for discrimination)
Brady v. Office of Sergeant at Arms, 520 F.3d 490 (D.C. Cir. 2008) (simplifies McDonnell Douglas framework for pretext in the face of a motion for summary judgment)
Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242 (U.S. 1986) (summary judgment standard: need for genuine issues of material fact)