The Second Circuit on Thursday upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by a Trader Joe's executive who alleged her termination was based on sex discrimination. The court determined that Tracy Flanagan, a former regional vice president overseeing stores in Connecticut and New York, failed to provide sufficient evidence that her firing was motivated by bias rather than her decision to vacation during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a unanimous decision, the three-judge panel granted summary judgment in favor of Trader Joe's East Inc. Flanagan had pursued claims under Title VII and the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act, but the judges concluded that her allegations lacked substantive proof connecting her dismissal to sex discrimination.

Trader Joe's provided a legitimate reason for Flanagan's termination, the panel stated. Despite directives issued to regional vice presidents to limit travel during the escalating COVID-19 crisis in March 2020, Flanagan chose to take a vacation in Mexico. This decision came just days after employees at the grocery chain were deemed essential workers, and leadership was asked to prioritize their responsibilities amid the pandemic.

Additionally, the panel highlighted a 2019 written warning Flanagan received for failing to detect an assistant manager's embezzlement of more than $75,000. Trader Joe's attributed this oversight to her lack of "situational leadership."

The judges rejected Flanagan’s claims that these reasons were pretexts for sex bias. While she argued that her supervisor had approved her vacation, the panel emphasized that the COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally altered the nature of her duties.

Flanagan pointed to a male regional vice president who also vacationed in March 2020 but was not terminated. However, the panel dismissed this comparison as irrelevant, noting that his domestic travel occurred before the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, and before Trader Joe's issued its travel directive on March 13. Flanagan's trip, by contrast, began after these critical dates.

Moreover, the male regional vice president had no prior performance warnings, unlike Flanagan. The court concluded that no reasonable factfinder could interpret the evidence as indicative of pretext or sex discrimination influencing Trader Joe’s decision.

Representatives for both Flanagan and Trader Joe's did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Second Circuit panel included U.S. Circuit Judges Denny Chin, Richard J. Sullivan, and Steven J. Menashi.

Flanagan is represented by Meaghan C. Kirby and Joshua R. Goodbaum of Garrison Levin-Epstein Fitzgerald & Pirrotti PC. Trader Joe's is represented by Anjali Sudhir Dalal, Jeffrey R. Babbin, Mary Gambardella, and Caroline B. Park of Wiggin and Dana LLP.

The case is Flanagan v. Trader Joe's East, Inc., case number 24-675, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.