Saxton v. American Tel. & Tel. Co., 92-1545

• Citation: 10 F.3d 526
• Decision Date: 03 December 1993
• Docket Number: No. 92-1545,92-1545
• Parties: 63 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 625, 63 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 42,713, 62 USLW 2362 Marcia L. SAXTON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. AMERICAN TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH COMPANY, successor to AT & T Bell Laboratories, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (7th Circuit)

Page 526

10 F.3d 526

63 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 625,

63 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 42,713, 62 USLW 2362

Marcia L. SAXTON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. AMERICAN TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH COMPANY, successor to AT &amp T Bell Laboratories, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 92-1545.

United States Court of Appeals Seventh Circuit.

Argued Dec. 10, 1992.

Decided Dec. 3, 1993.

James W. Holman (argued), Cellucci, Yacobellis & Holman, Naperville, IL, for plaintiff-appellant.

Charles C. Jackson, Lee P. Schafer (argued), Seyfarth, Shaw, Fairweather & Geraldson, Thomas H.W. Sawyer, James M. Staulcup, Jr., AT & T Technologies, Chicago, IL, for defendant-appellee.

Before CUDAHY and ROVNER, Circuit Judges, and ESCHBACH, Senior Circuit Judge.

ILANA DIAMOND ROVNER, Circuit Judge.

Marcia Saxton sued American Telephone & Telegraph Co. ("AT & T") under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000e, alleging that she was sexually harassed by her supervisor at AT & T Bell Laboratories. ¹ The district court granted summary judgment in favor of AT & T, and Saxton appeals. We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Facts

The facts underlying the district court's summary judgment ruling are largely undisputed. ² Saxton began working for AT & T's Design Engineering Staff ("DES") in Naperville, Illinois in 1986. In June 1987, she met Jerome Richardson, a supervisor in AT & T's International Division. The two had lunch together several times during the remainder of that year and discussed the possibility of Saxton transferring to Richardson's group. Richardson boasted that he could bring Saxton into his group with Member of Technical Staff ("MTS") status, although this classification typically required a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering or a related field from a reputable university; Saxton had a Bachelor of Arts degree in computer science from a lesser-known college, which ordinarily would qualify her only for the lesser classification of Senior Technical Associate ("STA"). Jan Ronchetti, Saxton's DES supervisor, told her she doubted that Saxton could be transferred as an MTS. Saxton nonetheless accepted Richardson's offer and transferred into his group in January 1988. In February or March, Richardson informed her that she had transferred as an STA rather than an MTS. Richardson explained that Saxton could still earn MTS classification if she proved her abilities, but she never received that promotion.

In April 1988, Saxton and Richardson met for drinks after work at Richardson's suggestion. Saxton had been trying to meet with Richardson in order to discuss her dissatisfaction with her initial lab assignment. After spending two hours at a suburban nightclub, they drove to a jazz club in Chicago, again at Richardson's suggestion. While they were at the jazz club, Richardson placed his hand on Saxton's leg above the knee several times and once he rubbed his hand along her upper thigh. Saxton removed Richardson's hand each time and told him to stop, warning him that he could get into trouble for that kind of conduct. When they left the club, Richardson pulled Saxton into a doorway and kissed her for two to three seconds until she pushed him away. After they returned to Richardson's car, Saxton told him not to do that again, and he agreed. ³ When Saxton repeated her admonition at work the following morning, Richardson apologized and assured her that it would not happen again.

About three weeks later, Richardson invited Saxton to lunch to discuss work-related matters. As Richardson was driving Saxton back to her car after lunch, he detoured through the Morton Arboretum, stopped the car, and got out to take a walk. Saxton decided to do the same and walked off on her own. As she did so, Richardson suddenly "lurched" at her from behind some bushes, as if to grab her. Saxton dashed several feet away in order to avoid him. She again told Richardson that his conduct was inappropriate, and he became sullen. They returned to Richardson's car and finished the drive back to her automobile without further incident.

This was the last time Richardson made any sexual advances toward Saxton. She discussed his conduct with a coworker and considered reporting it to AT & T, but decided against making a complaint at that time.

Saxton subsequently perceived a change in Richardson's attitude toward her at work. Although Richardson gave her a more rewarding work assignment, he refused to speak with her, treated her in a condescending manner, and teased her about her romantic interest in a coworker. In addition, Richardson seemed inaccessible and on several occasions canceled meetings that he had scheduled with Saxton. ⁴ In October 1988, Saxton approached AT & T supervisor Kamla Garg, concerned that her work environment had deteriorated. Saxton mentioned the two incidents that had occurred in April. Garg told Saxton that she could speak with AT & T ombudsperson Patricia Kitterman. Saxton considered the suggestion but did not speak with Kitterman until January 1989, at which time she asked Kitterman whether she could transfer to another department.

In February 1989, Saxton lodged a formal internal complaint alleging sexual harassment. In accord with AT & T procedure, Saxton's department head, Michael Holmes, investigated her complaint. Holmes interviewed Saxton, several witnesses she identified to corroborate her story, and Richardson. Holmes permitted Saxton to work at home during the investigation of her complaint.

Holmes found the evidence of sexual harassment to be inconclusive. In a written report, Holmes noted that Saxton and Richardson had provided conflicting accounts of the relevant events. Richardson had acknowledged that he and Saxton had kissed and held hands but also had suggested that these contacts were consensual and had ended amicably when Saxton expressed a lack of romantic interest in him. Holmes also noted that Fay Trespalacious, a coworker whom Saxton had identified as another victim of Richardson's harassment, had denied any wrongdoing on Richardson's part and had charged that Saxton was harassing her by spreading rumors of an alleged sexual relationship between Trespalacious and Richardson. Finally, the other individuals with whom Saxton had discussed the incidents had disclaimed any first-hand or detailed knowledge of what had occurred.

Holmes nonetheless concluded that Richardson had exercised poor judgment in attempting to initiate a personal relationship with a subordinate employee and that there was no longer adequate trust and communication between him and Saxton. Holmes therefore decided that Richardson and Saxton should be separated and that Richardson should take a refresher course on AT & T's sexual harassment policy. Holmes considered the possibility of suspending Richardson for one week without pay, but ultimately decided against that sanction. Holmes did decide that his entire department should also be given a refresher course on sexual harassment, which proceeded as planned. Richardson never took the course.

Holmes discussed his findings with Saxton on March 19, 1989 and asked whether she would be interested in transferring to another department. Although Saxton previously had expressed an interest in doing so to Kitterman, she declined Holmes' offer. Holmes thus decided that Richardson should be transferred.

On March 27, 1989, Holmes arranged for Richardson's transfer to the Domestic Division of AT & T Bell Laboratories, which was located in a separate building one-half mile away. The transfer was effective April 24, 1989, and Richardson had cleared out his office by May 1. Saxton continued to work at home during the intervening five weeks. Holmes subsequently learned that Saxton saw Richardson in her department on several occasions when she reported to the office shortly after his transfer, although the two did not speak. Holmes responded by admonishing Richardson to avoid any contact with Saxton.

After Richardson's transfer, Holmes attempted to integrate Saxton back into his department. At a May 15, 1989 meeting, Holmes asked Saxton to review an ongoing project and assess which portion of the work would best match her skills and experience. Holmes indicated that he would assign Saxton a particular task once she had done so.

Saxton was dissatisfied with the available opportunities. On May 18, she sent Holmes an electronic message indicating that she was having difficulty identifying an appropriate project assignment that had not already been claimed by someone else. She also criticized AT & T's handling of her sexual harassment complaint and outlined a series of conditions that she viewed as essential to her return to work at AT & T.

Holmes responded via electronic mail on the same day. He assured Saxton that there was plenty of work available on the project and reiterated his request that she identify the type of work she was interested in doing. Holmes expressed his support for Saxton and indicated that he would meet with her the following week to discuss a specific assignment.

Saxton wrote to Holmes again on May 23, stating that "it's pointless to try and discuss job objectives when there are still outstanding issues to be resolved." Saxton enclosed a copy of a letter from her attorney, which identified the following issues: (1) a recent merit rating that Saxton believed was unacceptable; ⁵ and (2) her request that she be reimbursed for the attorney's fees she had incurred in connection with the sexual harassment charge and for her medical expenses. ⁶ Saxton indicated that her lawyer would handle these concerns and that she would like personal time off until the situation was resolved.

In a June 23, 1989 letter to Saxton, Holmes noted that Saxton had been absent from work since May 12 and that efforts to contact her by telephone and electronic mail had been unsuccessful. He requested that she inform him immediately of her intentions regarding continued employment with AT & T. Holmes followed up via electronic...