Der Sarkisian v. Austin Preparatory School ( 2023 )

United States Court of Appeals
For the First Circuit
No. 23-1040
NANCY DER SARKISIAN,
Plaintiff, Appellant,
v.
AUSTIN PREPARATORY SCHOOL,
Defendant, Appellee.
APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
[Hon. Douglas P. Woodlock, U.S. District Judge]
Before
Gelpí, Selya, and Lynch,
Circuit Judges.
Rory FitzPatrick, Kyle W. Cunningham, and Cetrulo LLP on brief
for appellant.
Jonathan R. Shank and Jackson Lewis P.C. on brief for
appellee.
November 7, 2023
LYNCH, Circuit Judge. At the beginning of the 2019-2020
school year, Nancy Der Sarkisian, then sixty-nine years old and a
ninth-grade English teacher at Austin Preparatory School ("Austin
Prep"), began what she had told Austin Prep would be a four-week
leave of absence for hip surgery. When Der Sarkisian experienced
complications that required further surgery -- and which her doctor
anticipated would leave her incapacitated for an additional three
months -- Austin Prep extended her leave of absence. Der Sarkisian
then experienced even more complications that required even more
surgery. When Der Sarkisian's doctor told the school that she
would be unable to work with or without accommodations for an
additional three to six months, Austin Prep terminated her
employment and offered her the opportunity to reapply when she was
cleared to work.
Instead, Der Sarkisian brought claims for disability
discrimination in violation of Title I of the Americans with
Disabilities Act ("ADA") and Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151B (Count I)
and for age discrimination in violation of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151B
(Count II). The U.S. District Court for the District of
Massachusetts granted summary judgment for Austin Prep on both
counts. Der Sarkisian v. Austin Preparatory Sch., 646 F. Supp. 3d
174 (D. Mass. 2022). As to Der Sarkisian's disability
discrimination claims, the district court concluded that she had
failed to carry her burden to make out a prima facie case that she
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was a "qualified individual" under the ADA and thus had also failed
to do so under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151B. As to Der Sarkisian's
age discrimination claim, the district court concluded that Der
Sarkisian had failed to demonstrate a genuine dispute of material
fact as to whether Austin Prep's proffered reason for her
termination was pretextual. Der Sarkisian appeals. We affirm.
I.
A.
We recount the facts "in a light as favorable to [Der
Sarkisian] as the record will reasonably allow." Travers v. Flight
Servs. & Sys., Inc., 737 F.3d 144, 145 (1st Cir. 2013).
Austin Prep is a private Catholic school in Reading,
Massachusetts. The school educates around 750 students a year
enrolled in grades six through twelve.
Der Sarkisian began working at Austin Prep in 1996 as a
sixth-grade substitute teacher. The school offered her a full-
time position as a sixth-grade English teacher later that year.
Der Sarkisian continued to teach English to various grades at
Austin Prep. When the events giving rise to this lawsuit occurred,
Der Sarkisian was assigned to teach ninth-grade English, a class
she had taught for the previous two years, in the fall of 2019.
For several school years up to and including the
2018-2019 school year, Austin Prep employed teaching staff under
the terms of an agreement with the Austin Prep Teachers'
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Association (the "APTA Agreement"). The APTA Agreement allowed
teachers to accumulate up to 110 days of unused sick leave and
separately provided for one year of unpaid "[e]xtended [l]eave"
for reasons including "personal health."
The APTA Agreement expired on August 31, 2019, and the
school adopted new policies in its place. Under the terms of the
new sick leave policy, employees could accumulate up to sixty-five
days of unused sick leave. The school also took out a long-term
disability insurance policy on behalf of its employees that paid
sixty percent of the employee's salary during a period of
disability after a ninety-day waiting period. After the APTA
Agreement ended, Austin Prep no longer had a policy of offering
one year of unpaid extended leave.
Just before the 2019-2020 school year began, Der
Sarkisian learned that she would need hip surgery. On August 4,
2019, Der Sarkisian emailed Sean Brennan, Assistant Head and Upper
School Head at Austin Prep, to tell him that she had scheduled her
surgery for September 5th, the third day of the 2019-2020 school
year at Austin Prep. Der Sarkisian stated that her "doctor said
that [she] should figure on being out of school for four weeks."
At the time, Der Sarkisian had accumulated the maximum of sixty-
five unused sick days.
Austin Prep granted Der Sarkisian a leave of absence
until October 2019 to recover from this surgery. Austin Prep
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retained Jonathan Bourdeau as a substitute teacher to cover Der
Sarkisian's ninth-grade English classes during her leave of
absence, which Austin Prep "expected to last for approximately
four weeks." Bourdeau "was retained on a per-diem basis, and did
not have a contract with Austin Prep for any extended period of
time." As such, Bourdeau could not count on sustained employment
with Austin Prep, nor could Austin Prep count on Bourdeau's
availability to cover Der Sarkisian's classes indefinitely.
On October 13, 2019, more than five weeks after her leave
of absence began, Der Sarkisian emailed Brennan and stated that a
complication from her initial surgery meant that "a bone in [her]
hip cracked." As a result a doctor "did a second surgery . . . to
repair the break and actually had to redo the hip replacement."
She described the experience as "a total nightmare" and stated
that "[t]he recovery [was] going to be much more difficult now
because [she] c[ould]n't put any weight on [her] right foot for 12
weeks." She stated that she was "in a critical care rehabilitation
hospital" where she "ha[d] therapy three times a day," that she
"ha[d] no idea how long [she would] be [t]here," and that she would
"[m]ost likely . . . be out for the first semester."
Der Sarkisian's doctor completed a Certification of
Health Care Provider for Employee's Serious Health Condition on
October 28, 2019, in support of her request for further leave. In
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that Certification, Der Sarkisian's doctor stated that she would
be "incapacitated" until January 5, 2020.
In a November 14, 2019, email, John Weber, Austin Prep's
chief financial officer, told Der Sarkisian that the school had
extended her leave of absence to January 6, 2020, and that she
would need to provide clearance from her doctor to return to work.
Weber also stated that Der Sarkisian would "reach the 90-day wait
period for [long-term disability benefits] on December 2, 2019,"
at which point Der Sarkisian "w[ould] have used 59 of [her] 65
available sick days." After using her remaining sick days, Der
Sarkisian "w[ould] not receive any pay from Austin Prep until the
first regular payroll date following [her] return to work." Der
Sarkisian responded on November 23, 2019, that she was "going to
file for [long-term disability benefits] because [she was] going
to be out of school longer than [she] had anticipated because of
the second surgery." Austin Prep continued to use Boudreau on a
per diem basis to teach Der Sarkisian's five classes.
Der Sarkisian had a third surgery on November 27, 2019.
On her portion of the long-term disability benefits application
form, which she dated November 26, 2019, Der Sarkisian originally
wrote "January 2020" as her expected return to work date and then
crossed out that date and wrote "unsure after 3rd surgery." Her
doctor completed his portion of that application on November 27,
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2019, in which he stated that Der Sarkisian would have a "total
temporary disability" for "3-6 months" as of that date.
Der Sarkisian submitted her disability benefits
application to Austin Prep on December 4, 2019. In an email to
Weber the following day, Der Sarkisian stated that she would not
be back at Austin Prep in January 2020 because she had needed a
third surgery on November 27, 2019, after her doctor "found an
infection in the area where the hip replacement was done, so [she]
definitely w[ould] be out longer than [she] expected." She stated
that as part of her recovery she "ha[d] to do an intravenous
injection of antibiotics at home until at least February 7th" and
that she could not "seem to wake up from this 'nightmare.'"
Austin Prep sent Der Sarkisian's doctor an
"Accommodation Request Inquiry Form" in early December 2019. In
it, Austin Prep stated that Der Sarkisian had "requested an
accommodation [under the ADA] from [Austin Prep] in order to do
her job" and that the school was requesting information about
"whether there [wa]s a reasonable accommodation that would allow
[Der Sarkisian] to perform the essential functions of her job."
Austin Prep attached Der Sarkisian's job description to the form.
In his response, dated December 9, 2019, Der Sarkisian's
doctor stated that she was "substantially limited" in her ability
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to perform several "major life activities"1 and was unable to
"walk[], bend[], [use] stairs, squat[], lift[], [or] driv[e]." He
stated that this impairment would last "3-6 months." In response
to the question "What job function(s) is the employee having
trouble performing because of the limitation(s)?" Der Sarkisian's
doctor wrote "All." In response to the question "Do you have any
suggestions regarding possible accommodations to improve job
performance? If so, what are they?" Der Sarkisian's doctor wrote,
in full, "She should be on total temporary disability."
Weber called Der Sarkisian on December 26, 2019, and
stated that Austin Prep was terminating her employment effective
immediately. In a letter dated that day, Weber stated:
Having reviewed the Accommodation Request
Inquiry Form dated December 9, 2019[,]
completed by your medical provider, we
understand that you are currently unable to
work in any capacity. As you know, you have
effectively been out of work since September
4, 2019. We also understand that you expect
to continue to be unable to work for at least
another three to six months. You have
exhausted all available leave under the Family
and Medical Leave Act and all available paid
time off. The completed paperwork necessary
to submit a claim for long term disability
insurance benefits has been submitted on your
behalf and accepted for review.
1 Der Sarkisian's doctor stated that Der Sarkisian was
impaired in her ability to perform the following major life
activities: "Caring for Self," "Performing Manual Tasks,"
"Sleeping," "Walking," "Standing," "Working," "Lifting," and
"Bending."
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Unfortunately, [Austin Prep] has a growing
need to fill your position, and we cannot
provide an extended and continuing leave of
absence with no set end date. As we discussed
today, we are sorry that we are unable to
continue to reserve your position and are
severing your employment with Austin Prep
effective on the date of this letter. When
you are recovered and released to work, you
are welcome to apply for any open positions
for which you are qualified.
Der Sarkisian was sixty-nine years old when Austin Prep terminated
her.
B.
Der Sarkisian filed a complaint in the Massachusetts
Superior Court for Middlesex County on October 2, 2020, which
Austin Prep removed to the U.S. District Court for the District of
Massachusetts on November 13, 2020. Count I of Der Sarkisian's
complaint alleged discrimination on the basis of a disability in
violation of Title I of the ADA and Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151B.2
Count II alleged discrimination on the basis of age in violation
of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151B, § 4.
After attempting mediation without resolution, the
parties did discovery. Austin Prep moved for summary judgment on
both counts on December 15, 2021. The district court heard
2 Count I alleges that Austin Prep's actions were a
"[v]iolation of M.G.L. c. 151B § 1 and 42 U.S.C.A. § 12101." These
are the definitional provisions of their respective statutes;
neither provision prohibits conduct or establishes a cause of
action. The district court construed Count I as alleging claims
under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151B, § 4(16) and 42 U.S.C. § 12112.
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argument on Austin Prep's summary judgment motion on November 30,
2022.
The district court granted Austin Prep's motion as to
both counts in a Memorandum and Order dated December 6, 2022. Der
Sarkisian, 646 F. Supp. 3d at 178. As to Der Sarkisian's
disability discrimination claim, the district court held that
"regular attendance was an 'essential function' of Mrs. Der
Sarkisian's role" at the time she was terminated in December 2019.
Id. at 185. The court concluded that Der Sarkisian had not
satisfied her burden to demonstrate that a reasonable
accommodation existed that would have allowed her to perform this
essential function and thus that she could not make out a prima
facie case of discrimination based on a disability. Id. at 186-
87. As to her age discrimination claim, the district court held
that Der Sarkisian had failed to demonstrate a genuine dispute of
material fact as to whether Austin Prep's stated reason for her
termination was pretextual. Id. at 188-90.
This timely appeal followed.
II.
We review the district court's grant of summary judgment
de novo. Travers, 737 F.3d at 146. Under Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 56, a "court shall grant summary judgment if the movant
shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and
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the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R.
Civ. P. 56(a).
A.
We begin with Der Sarkisian's claims for disability
discrimination under Title I of the ADA and Mass. Gen. Laws ch.
151B, § 4(16). "The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts
[("SJC")] has indicated that federal case law construing the ADA
should be followed in interpreting the Massachusetts disability
law." Ward v. Mass. Health Rsch. Inst., Inc., 209 F.3d 29, 33 n.2
(1st Cir. 2000). We "analyze claims under the ADA and under [Mass.
Gen. Laws ch. 151B] using the same framework." Jones v. Nationwide
Life Ins. Co., 696 F.3d 78, 86 (1st Cir. 2012). Thus, "[a]lthough
we write in terms of the ADA, our comments apply with equal force
to [Der Sarkisian]'s claim under its state-law counterpart, Mass.
Gen. Laws. ch. 151B, § 4." Gillen v. Fallon Ambulance Serv., Inc.,
283 F.3d 11, 20 n.5 (1st Cir. 2002).
We evaluate Der Sarkisian's disability discrimination
claims under McDonnell Douglas's three-step burden-shifting
framework. Flaherty v. Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., 946 F.3d
41, 53-54 (1st Cir. 2019). At step one, Der Sarkisian "has the
initial burden of establishing a prima facie case by showing that
[s]he (1) was disabled within the meaning of the ADA, (2) was a
'qualified individual,' and (3) was discharged in whole or in part
because of h[er] disability." Id. at 53.
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Der Sarkisian's claims fail at step one because she has
not carried her burden to demonstrate at least a genuine issue of
material fact that she is a qualified individual, and thus we
proceed no further. "In order to be a 'qualified individual' under
the [ADA], the burden is on [Der Sarkisian] to show: first, that
she 'possess[es] "the requisite skill, experience, education and
other job-related requirements" for the position, and second,
[that she is] able to perform the essential functions of the
position with or without reasonable accommodation.'" García-Ayala
v. Lederle Parenterals, Inc., 212 F.3d 638, 646 (1st Cir. 2000)
(third and fourth alterations in original) (footnote omitted)
(quoting Criado v. IBM Corp., 145 F.3d 437, 443 (1st Cir. 1998)).
The parties agree that Der Sarkisian generally possesses the
requisite skills and qualifications; they dispute only whether she
has demonstrated that a reasonable accommodation would allow her
to perform the essential functions of her job.
The district court found that regular, in-person
attendance was an essential function of Der Sarkisian's job, Der
Sarkisian, 646 F. Supp. 3d at 184-85, and neither party disputes
that finding on appeal. Der Sarkisian argues she has carried her
burden to demonstrate that her request for a further extension of
her leave of absence would have allowed her to perform this
essential function and was facially reasonable. We disagree.
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First, Der Sarkisian incorrectly argues that the
"[d]istrict [c]ourt concluded, in effect, that the failure of Mrs.
Der Sarkisian and her physician to give a precise date for her
return rendered her accommodation request unreasonable per se."
Our review of the district court's opinion makes clear that the
district court did no such thing. According to the district court
opinion:
Mrs. Der Sarkisian correctly notes that
accommodations in the form of leave requests
"turn[] on the facts of the case." García-
Ayala v. Lederle Parenterals, Inc., 212 F.3d
638, 647 (1st Cir. 2000) (citation omitted).
However, in these circumstances, an additional
extension of leave was not a reasonable
accommodation. Mrs. Der Sarkisian had not set
a return date, and "[s]uch an open-ended
request for additional leave is just the type
of wait-and-see approach that has been
rejected as giving rise to a triable issue on
reasonable accommodation." Henry v. United
Bank, 686 F.3d 50, 61 (1st Cir. 2012).
I recognize the First Circuit has held that
some open-ended leave requests might be
reasonable, but it has done so in
distinguishable circumstances. García-Ayala,
212 F.3d at 649-50 (leave extension reasonable
where employee provided specific return date,
temporary workers filled employee's
responsibility, and employer decided to
terminate employee based purely on company
policy); Criado v. IBM Corp., 145 F.3d 437,
444 (1st Cir. 1998) (leave extension
reasonable where evidence showed that "leave
would be temporary and would allow her
physician to design an effective treatment
program," company provided 52 weeks of paid
disability leave, and company acknowledged
that allowing the employee to recover was
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"more profitable" than hiring and training a
new employee).
In the context of teaching and related
responsibilities of a school, other
considerations are in play. Austin Prep
wanted to ensure that its students had
consistency with respect to their educators.
Moreover, Austin Prep was understandably
concerned that Mrs. Der Sarkisian's temporary
replacement, Mr. Bourdeau, who did not have a
formal contract with the school, would leave
for a position elsewhere, thus exacerbating
the burden of an open ended accommodation to
the school's mission. Accordingly, on these
facts, an additional period of leave without
end date was not a reasonable accommodation.
Der Sarkisian, 646 F. Supp. 3d at 186 n.9 (alterations in
original).
Moreover, the district court correctly concluded that
Der Sarkisian has not carried her burden to demonstrate that her
request for a further leave of absence was facially reasonable.
Der Sarkisian's claims cannot survive summary judgment if she
cannot show, at a minimum, that her proposed accommodation "seems
reasonable on its face," US Airways, Inc. v. Barnett, 535 U.S.
391, 401 (2002) (citing Reed v. LePage Bakeries, Inc., 244 F.3d
254, 259 (1st Cir. 2001)) -- that is, that it is "feasible for the
employer under the circumstances," Reed, 244 F.3d at 259.
"Courts confronted with similar requests . . . have
concluded that such requests are not facially reasonable."
Echevarría v. AstraZeneca Pharmaceutical LP, 856 F.3d 119, 130
(1st Cir. 2017) (collecting cases). As the district court found,
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we have upheld such claims only under circumstances that
demonstrate the facial reasonableness of that request. See, e.g.,
García-Ayala, 212 F.3d at 648-50 (leave extension reasonable where
temporary workers were consistently available to fill employee's
responsibility and employer decided to terminate employee based
purely on company policy against leave of that type); Criado, 145
F.3d at 444 (leave extension reasonable where evidence showed that
"leave would be temporary and would allow her physician to design
an effective treatment program," company provided 52 weeks of paid
disability leave, and company acknowledged that allowing the
employee to recover was "more profitable" than hiring and training
a new employee). Der Sarkisian does not develop any argument for
why her request for a further extension of her leave was facially
reasonable that considers the school's need to provide continuity
and adequacy of instruction in all five of her English classes.
Nor does she argue that the school faced no risk from the
possibility that the substitute teacher who had filled her teaching
role would not continue on a per diem basis and the crisis that
would result if he left. Nor does she address the school's
legitimate concern with its inability to guarantee its ninth-grade
English students high-quality education from a full-time,
permanent instructor during the 2019-2020 school year as a result
of her leave.
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Der Sarkisian argues that Austin Prep's former policy of
offering 110 sick days and a year-long unpaid leave of absence
demonstrates the facial reasonableness of her request. Not so.
The record shows that Austin Prep had deliberately removed both
those policies before the school year at issue and instead offered
a disability insurance policy, from which Der Sarkisian received
benefits. This change -- and Der Sarkisian's assent thereto --
renders her argument meritless.
Der Sarkisian argues that she and Austin Prep "[1] could
have agreed that Mrs. Der Sarkisian would take an unpaid leave of
absence and return in September; . . . [2] could have agreed to
see where things stood with Mrs. Der Sarkisian's health after three
months, the short end of [her doctor's] estimate; . . . [or]
[3] could have discussed whether other faculty members could cover
her classes pending her return." Der Sarkisian did not raise these
arguments to the district court. In fact, at least one of these
newly raised proposed accommodations directly contradicts Der
Sarkisian's argument to the district court that "Austin Prep would
not have had to lower any of its employment standards or reallocate
any essential functions of her job to make other workers' jobs
more onerous in order to accommodate Mrs. Der Sarkisian." These
arguments are waived. See Iverson v. City of Bos., 452 F.3d 94,
102 (1st Cir. 2006) ("This prophylactic rule requires litigants to
spell out their legal theories face-up and squarely in the trial
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court; if a claim is 'merely insinuated' rather than 'actually
articulated,' that claim ordinarily is deemed unpreserved for
purposes of appellate review." (quoting McCoy v. Mass. Inst. of
Tech., 950 F.2d 13, 22 (1st Cir. 1991)).
Even if not waived, these newly raised proposed
accommodations fail. Der Sarkisian failed to develop any evidence
in the record that the belatedly argued "accommodations" would
have satisfied the school's need for instruction of her five
classes and its need to afford its students continuity and avoid
the risk of chaotic disruption. See Echevarría, 856 F.3d at 128("[W]here a plaintiff fails to show facial reasonableness, summary
judgment for the defendant is appropriate."). Further, the school
was "not obligated to offer an 'accommodation' to an employee that
is contrary to medical advice." Jones v. Walgreen Co., 765
F. Supp. 2d 100, 108 n.3 (D. Mass 2011), aff'd, 679 F.3d 9 (1st
Cir. 2012). And Der Sarkisian's proposal that other faculty --
who were already teaching full course loads and subjects other
than English -- should take on her teaching responsibilities is
unreasonable on its face. "[T]he law does not require an employer
to accommodate a disability . . . by reallocating essential
functions to make other workers' jobs more onerous." Richardson
v. Friendly Ice Cream Corp., 594 F.3d 69, 81 (1st Cir. 2010)
(alteration in original) (quoting Mulloy v. Acushnet Co., 460 F.3d
141, 153 (1st Cir. 2006)).
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Finally, because Der Sarkisian has not carried her
burden to demonstrate that a reasonable accommodation existed, we
need not address her argument that the school failed to engage in
an interactive process. Echevarría, 856 F.3d at 133.
Because Der Sarkisian has not carried her burden to set
out a genuine issue of material fact on an essential element of
her prima facie case of disability discrimination, Austin Prep was
entitled to summary judgment on her ADA and Mass. Gen. Laws
ch. 151B disability discrimination claims.
B.
Der Sarkisian argues the district court also erred in
granting summary judgment for Austin Prep on her claim of age
discrimination under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151B. The SJC applies
the McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting framework to age
discrimination claims under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151B. See Abramian
v. President & Fellows of Harvard Coll., 731 N.E.2d 1075, 1084-85
(Mass. 2000). For the purposes of summary judgment no party
disputes steps one or two of this framework.3 Instead, Austin Prep
3 At step one, Der Sarkisian "has the burden to establish
a prima facie case of discrimination by showing that '(1) [s]he is
a member of a class protected by [Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151B];
(2) [s]he performed [her] job at an acceptable level; (3) [s]he
was terminated; and (4) [her] employer sought to fill the
plaintiff's position by hiring another individual with
qualifications similar to the plaintiff's." Id. at 1084 (quoting
Blare v. Husky Injection Molding Sys. Bos., Inc., 646 N.E.2d 111,
115 (Mass. 1995)). At step two, Austin Prep "can rebut the
presumption" created by the prima facie case by "articulating 'a
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argues that Der Sarkisian cannot carry her step three burden to
"show that the reasons advanced by the employer for making the
adverse decision are not true" -- that is, that they are
pretextual. Id. at 1085. The district court concluded that Der
Sarkisian had not demonstrated that a genuine issue of material
fact existed as to pretext. We agree.
Der Sarkisian's pretext evidence consisted entirely of
three teacher comparators, all three of which the district court
rejected. Der Sarkisian, 646 F. Supp. 3d at 189-91. On appeal,
Der Sarkisian argues only that Austin Prep's "disparate treatment"
of one of these comparators -- Austin Prep science teacher Katy
Haughn -- "proves that Austin Prep discriminated against Mrs. Der
Sarkisian due to her age."
As the district court rightly recognized, no such
disparate treatment occurred. Id. at 189. The parties agree that
Haughn, who was thirty-eight years old at the time, began a leave
of absence due to a medical condition in the first semester of the
2019-2020 school year. The parties further agree that when "Ms.
Haughn's medical provider completed an Accommodation Request
Inquiry Form, which indicated that Ms. Haughn was unable to perform
any of the essential functions of her job with or without an
lawful reason or reasons for its employment decision [and]
produc[ing] credible evidence to show that the reason or reasons
advanced were the real ones." Id. (alteration in original)
(quoting Blare, 646 N.E.2d at 115).
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accommodation . . . Austin Prep terminated Ms. Haughn's
employment." As the district court stated, "Austin Prep treated
Ms. Haughn and Mrs. Der Sarkisian in exactly the same manner,
despite their differences in age." Id.
Der Sarkisian develops no further argument on appeal in
defense of her age discrimination claim.
Because Der Sarkisian has not demonstrated a genuine
issue of material fact as to pretext, an essential element of her
claim under the SJC's application of the McDonnell Douglas
framework, Austin Prep was entitled to summary judgment on her age
discrimination claim under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151B.
III.
We affirm.
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