Substantial Evidence Of Pretext Is Enough To Affirm An EEOC Award
MARION COUNTY CORONER'S OFFICE v. EEOC (July 27, 2010)
Kenneth Ackles, an African-American male, was elected Marion County, Indiana coroner in November 2004. Two deputy coroners -- white male John Linehan and African-American female Alfarena Ballew -- sought the position of chief deputy coroner. The chief deputy coroner is responsible for the day-to-day management of the office. Ackles chose Linehan because he was currently serving in that position on an interim basis. Very early on, Ackles made it clear to Linehan that he wanted to increase the number of African-American employees (particularly deputies) in the office. The relationship between Ackles and Linehan did not go well: Ackles complained that Linehan received a salary increase without his knowledge, Ackles and Linehan disagreed over disciplining Ballew, Ackles instructed Linehan not to report Ballew's tardiness, Ackles told Linehan not to file a police report concerning a missing $3000, and Ackles instructed Linehan not to discipline the janitor who allegedly took the $3000. Finally Linehan filed a hostile work environment complaint with the human resources department. On that very day (November 14), Ackles told Linehan that he was going to make a change in the chief deputy position but that Linehan was to continue performing his duties. Some of those duties were later reassigned but Linehan continued to receive the same salary. A few weeks later (December 2), Linehan received a letter terminating his employment. Although the letter provided no reason for the termination of employment, Ackles testified later that he had "lost confidence and trust" in Linehan. Ackles named Ballew the new permanent chief deputy coroner. Shortly thereafter, Ackles and Ballew canceled an outsourcing contract for autopsies and hired directly several of the company's employees. They hired only African-Americans -- none of the white employees were offered positions. Linehan filed an EEO charge against the coroner's office. He alleged race, sex, and age discrimination as well as retaliation for protected activity. His charge was processed administratively at the EEOC pursuant to the Government Employee Rights Act (GERA). The ALJ found that Ackle's testimony was incredible (among other things), that his reason for terminating Linehan's employment was pretextual, and that Linehan was demoted and fired on account of his race and in retaliation for his complaint. The ALJ awarded front and back pay, attorney's fees, and compensatory damages in the amount of $200,000. The EEOC affirmed. The Coroner's Office petitions for review.
In their opinion, Judges Manion, Evans, and Sykes granted in part, denied in part, vacated in part, and reversed and remanded. The Court noted, under GERA, that it should uphold the decision of the EEOC if it is supported by substantial evidence. Here, the heart of the case is the pretext analysis. Although the Court admitted that this analysis looks only to whether the employer’s explanation was "honestly believed," it nevertheless found a wealth of evidence that the "lost confidence and trust" rationale was pretextual. It cited the testimony concerning the discipline of Ballew, the janitor theft, and Linehan’s raise in support of its conclusion. Next, it considered the issue of the EEOC’s jurisdiction. GERA applies only to policymaking employees chosen by an elected official. The coroner’s office argued that Linehan was not a policymaking employee when he was fired because of the November 14 demotion. The Court rejected the argument. Linehan was certainly stripped of some duties before he was fired but he was never formally demoted, he continued to receive his salary, and the December 2 letter advised that he was being terminated from the position of “Chief Deputy Coroner.” Finally, the Court addressed the $200,000 award of compensatory damages. The Court concluded that the award bore no rational relation to the very scant evidence of Linehan’s suffering and was excessive compared to similar cases. It offered a remittitur of $20,000 or a new hearing on damages.
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Brenda Chaney, an African-American female, worked at the Plainfield Healthcare Center as a nursing assistant for three months in the summer of 2006. Plainfield's policy (possibly undertaken in a good faith belief that it was required by law to do so) was to acquiesce in its residents' racial preferences. Accordingly, every daily assignment sheet noted that particular residents preferred no African-American nursing assistants. Chaney also was the target of a number of derogatory racial comments during her employment. Plainfield did take corrective action when instances of racial remarks were reported. In September of 2006, Chaney and a coworker both refused to come to the aid of a resident. A nurse reported the incident and also reported that Chaney used profanity when she ultimately did respond. Although the unit supervisor's investigation and knowledge of Chaney led her to be skeptical of that charge, the director of nursing decided to fire Chaney. She was informed that the reason for her termination of employment was her use of profanity. Chaney brought an action under Title VII alleging a hostile work environment and an unlawful termination. Judge Barker (S.D. Ind.) granted summary judgment to Plainfield. Chaney appeals.
David Scott owned and operated Scott Truck Systems, a commercial trucking company. Sherry Hantzis, his wife, was its general manager. In 2004, on Hantzis’ recommendation, Scott hired 51-year-old Diana Everroad as a dispatcher. Things did not go very well -- her supervisor complained, two large customers complained, and she had several run-ins with her coworkers. On the other hand, she was the target of several gender-based derogatory comments from those coworkers, one of which came during a conversation she secretly recorded. Within months, Scott and Hantzis created a new job for Everroad as a "data administrator." The hours and the pay were identical to her dispatcher job, but she had to share an office. Her officemate had a habit of making lengthy personal phone calls. Everroad’s complaints resulted in a meeting with Scott, Hantzis, and the officemate in an attempt to resolve the conflict. The meeting lasted a long time and became very tense. Everroad again secretly recorded much of the meeting. There was shouting, crying, eye-rolling, and accusations -- but the meeting did end with some constructive proposals. Scott and Hantzis were upset with Everroad's conduct during the meeting and considered it insubordinate. They were still considering their options when, upon arrival at the office the next morning, Everroad ignored Hantzis' greeting and overreacted to Scott's greeting. Scott terminated her employment at the end of that workday. Everroad sued Scott Truck for gender discrimination and retaliation under Title VII and for age discrimination and retaliation under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). The district court granted summary judgment to Scott Truck. Everroad appeals.
Iyare Egonmwan was a black male jail guard at the Cook County Jail. In 2001, he was transferred into the women's division. The following year, the female superintendent of the division disciplined him for conduct that had occurred prior to his transfer. Several days later, Egonmwan accused the superintendent of sexual harassment. The claim was investigated and determined to be unfounded. In 2003, during a general investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct between guards and prisoners, a female detainee informed the investigators that she and at least one other prisoner had had a sexual encounter with Egonmwan. Although Egonmwan was acquitted of criminal charges in 2004, an administrative hearing board terminated his employment in January of 2005 for violation of institutional rules. Egonmwan brought suit against, among others, Cook County and the Sheriff's Department. He alleged § 1981 race discrimination and § 1983 gender and race discrimination. The district court granted summary judgment to the defendants. Egonmwan appeals.
Swearnigen-El was a black male guard in the women's division at the 
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William McGowan, an African-American male, had over 20 years of employment at Deere & Company when he injured his back. He eventually underwent surgery. He returned to work with a 25-pound weight restriction imposed by the company doctor. His surgeon and physical therapist both cleared him, on separate occasions, to return to work with less onerous restrictions. The weight restriction prevented him from returning to his prior job and also disqualified him from two other positions. McGowan brought an action under Title VII and § 1981, complaining of Deere's refusal to reinstate him and refusal to select him for the other positions. The district court granted summary judgment to Deere. McGowan appeals.
Deborah Dear, an African-American woman, had impressive educational and employment credentials when she was hired by a Veterans Affairs hospital in 2004. She continued to do well and received positive evaluations for a few years. In 2006, however, her supervisor discovered that the morale in her department was very low and staff members were complaining about Dear’s supervision. The supervisor also witnessed Dear engage in inappropriate discipline. Another supervisor asked Dear to develop and submit a plan for improving the situation. Dear did develop and submit a plan -- but it was late and failed to address many of the issues. Dear was temporarily reassigned to a non-supervisory position with a decrease in salary. She was replaced by a white woman. Dear filed an EEO complaint alleging race discrimination. Several days later, she was permanently reassigned to a staff nurse position. Dear filed a lawsuit pursuant to Title VII, alleging race discrimination, retaliation and hostile work environment. The district court granted summary judgment to the defendant. Dear appeals..jpg)
Five technicians employed by Abbott Laboratories left in the middle of their shift one Saturday and went to breakfast. On the following Monday, Scott Antonetti (a white male), Jerald Fuhrer (a white male), Cindy Nadiger (a white female) and Marvin Gloria (a Filipino male) each told a supervisor that he or she had not taken a meal break. Relying on these statements, the supervisor overrode Abbott’s payroll system so that they would be paid as if they had not taken an unpaid break. Juan Luna (a Hispanic male), the fifth employee, did not work on Monday and did not have any communication that day with the supervisor regarding his Saturday shift. Nevertheless, the supervisor overrode the payroll system for Luna as well.
George Jackson was a carpenter in the Public Works Department in the City of Chicago from 1987 until 2003, when he was promoted to foreman. In 2004, the City announced the availability of two jobs as general foreman of general trades – one each in the Departments of Transportation and General Services. Jackson applied for both jobs. He was offered neither. The City promoted Michael Blake to the Department of Transportation job. Blake had more experience as a carpenter, had more experience estimating the material and manpower needs of a project, and significantly outscored Jackson on a written test of communication skills. The City promoted Kevin O’Gorman to the Department of General Services job. O’Gorman received the highest combined score for the interview and work sample. Jackson did not even submit a work sample. Jackson brought an action against the City. He alleged race and age discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. The court granted summary judgment to the City. Jackson appeals the Title VII race discrimination judgment.