Patel v. Allstate Ins. Co.

• Decision Date: 28 January 1997
• Docket Number: No. 96-1028,96-1028
• Citation: 105 F.3d 365
• Parties: 73 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 64, 70 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 44,633 Gira H. PATEL, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

Page 365

105 F.3d 365

73 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 64, 70 Empl.

Prac. Dec. P 44,633

Gira H. PATEL, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 96-1028.

United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.

Argued May 20, 1996.

Decided Jan. 28, 1997.

Thomas C. Crooks (argued), Tobin & Associates, Chicago, IL, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Gloria M. Portela, Joseph S. Turner (argued), Seyfarth, Shaw, Fairweather & Geraldson, Chicago, IL, for Defendant-Appellee.

Before CUDAHY, COFFEY, and RIPPLE, Circuit Judges.

COFFEY, Circuit Judge.

Gira H. Patel sued her former employer, Allstate Insurance Company, claiming that Allstate had discriminated against her in the terms and conditions of her employment and had discharged her on the basis of her national origin (Indian). Patel alleged that, after allowing her to transfer within the company from the position of a microfiche clerk to that of a cash processor, Allstate failed to provide her with the training necessary to succeed as a cash processor, training which she claims Allstate provided to non-Indian cash processors. Patel also alleged that her supervisor subjected her to other forms of disparate treatment. The district court granted Allstate's motion for summary judgment. We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

From the parties' submissions, it is clear that they disagree on certain facts and the reasonable inferences to be drawn from them. Of course, in this appeal from the entry of summary judgment, we must view the facts in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, Patel. In addition, we must draw all reasonable inferences from those facts in Patel's favor. Logan v. Commercial Union Ins. Co., 96 F.3d 971, 978 (7th Cir.1996). In doing so, however, we must consider the entire record. Id.; Powers v. Dole, 782 F.2d 689, 694 (7th Cir.1986). Accordingly, we will not ignore facts in the record merely because they are unfavorable to Patel; Patel gets the benefit of the doubt only if the record contains competent evidence on both sides of a factual question.

Patel was born in India in 1951. She came to the United States in September 1978 having previously acquired a bachelors degree in economics and statistics, as well as degrees in banking and accounting. She worked for five years for Crum & Foster Insurance as a "rater" (commercial analyst) and was advanced to an "underwriter assistant" position.

Patel stopped working for a year to care for her young child and thereafter was employed by Allstate in 1984 as a "Commercial Analyst A." One year later, she was promoted to "Commercial Analyst B." As a commercial analyst, Patel determined rates for automobile insurance policies. Patel worked as a commercial analyst for three years and then went on maternity leave. After eleven months on maternity leave, her supervisor called her and asked her to return to Allstate in order to work on a six-month project doing work in preparation for computerizing auto rating. When the six-month project was completed, Patel's supervisor asked her to return to her job as a commercial analyst, which she did.

Patel continued her work as a commercial analyst until approximately October 1989. At that time, Patel sought a transfer to the second shift due to child care issues. She was offered and accepted a clerical position in the microfiche department. Sometime thereafter, the microfiche department discontinued its second shift operation and Patel was transferred to the first shift. Subsequently, Patel's supervisor advised employees on the first shift to apply for other positions within Allstate because the microfiche department was being phased out entirely.

Patel applied for a position as a cash processor (with the title, Senior Accounting Assistant) in the accounting department of Allstate's Reinsurance Division. Ildiko Schultz, the Accounting Division Manager, interviewed Patel, as did Tammy Hood and Kathy Kraft, both of whom were accounting unit supervisors under Schultz. Based on Patel's background and employment interview, Schultz concluded that Patel had the intellectual ability to perform the job of a cash processor, though she was not sure she would have hired Patel if Patel had not been previously employed by Allstate. Kraft told Schultz that she felt Patel "could fit right into the accounting department." Because Patel was a current employee and was qualified for the position of cash processor, Kraft and Schultz had no other choice under company policy but to accept Patel as a transfer into the position of cash processor.

Patel was transferred to Kraft's unit on January 17, 1993. Kraft's unit consisted of approximately four cash processors and five account processors. One of the other cash processors in Kraft's unit at the time, Parul Shah, was from India. Shah has stated in her deposition testimony that she had no disagreements with Kraft and "always had a good relationship with her." ¹ Shah left Kraft's unit voluntarily in November 1993 for child care reasons.

Allstate's Reinsurance Division provides reinsurance to other insurance companies. The cash processors in the accounting department of the Reinsurance Division are responsible for collecting balances or making payments to brokers or insurance companies, reconciling Allstate's records with the records of the brokers and resolving discrepancies (i.e., making sure both sets of records match), applying cash receipts, and inputting terms of insurance policies negotiated by underwriters into the department's mainframe computer system (the "ARES" system). The cash processors are also responsible for preparing a monthly status report on their assigned accounts and for completing follow-up reports on open items.

Collections are accomplished largely through telephone contacts between the cash processors and customers. Cash processors also communicate with customers through faxes and short letters. In 1993, these letters and faxes could be prepared by the cash processor by using either "WordPerfect" software on a personal computer or a conventional typewriter, although it was less efficient to use the typewriter. Two other employees, one cash processor and one account processor, used the typewriter to prepare correspondence because they were more comfortable with a typewriter than a personal computer.

New cash processors are given training that generally consists of two to four months of formalized classroom training and one month of on-the-job training (also called "production training"). Training may be extended if a particular employee needs additional attention. Prior to becoming a supervisor, Kraft developed the training program for cash processors, which included an in-depth procedure manual.

Patel began the training program for cash processors upon her transfer into the accounting department. The training program consisted of formal classroom training and individual one-on-one training. In Patel's case, she was the only cash processor in the training program at that time. The other employees in her unit were experienced cash or account processors.

Starting January 20, 1993, Gloria Nikides, the department trainer, instructed Patel in a wide variety of topics and functions related to the cash processor job. Nikides spent about six to seven hours per day with Patel. Part of this time (approximately two hours per day, two to three days per week) was spent in formal classroom training. Patel was instructed to direct all questions related to training to Nikides prior to asking any other employee. Furthermore, she was instructed to consult her manual before asking anyone questions.

Patel's training included one session devoted to "Supercalc," a computer software program. Training in Supercalc was not a normal part of the training program because Supercalc was being used merely as a short-term fix in preparing TPAA reports (monthly balance statements sent to the cash processors' accounts). Nikides was told to provide sufficient training to Patel in Supercalc to enable her to prepare a TPAA. According to Patel, the one to two hours of Supercalc training she received was insufficient to enable her to prepare a TPAA.

Patel also received limited training in how to use "Dataease," a software program which contained a form used to update follow-up activities on preposted and unallocated items. Her training in Dataease was limited to what was necessary to perform the follow-up updates utilizing that particular Dataease form.

Approximately four to five weeks into Patel's training, Nikides told Kraft that Patel could not type. She also reported that Patel had no familiarity with a computer terminal keyboard, though Patel had in fact previously worked on one at Allstate. Patel admits she did not know how to type and that she would not have taken the position if she had known that typing was required. Although the ability to type is not a requirement of the cash-processor job per se or a core competency, basic typing such as preparing short letters and faxes is very helpful in carrying out the duties of a cash processor.

Kraft took the responsibility for improving Patel's typing skills, leaving Nikides to concentrate on training Patel in the core competencies of the position. Kraft contacted the training department at Allstate and inquired about available resources to teach the plaintiff to type. Ultimately, Kraft identified a self-directed, personal computer based tutorial program available at Allstate for Patel. Kraft suggested to Patel that she practice typing each day with the tutorial program and e-mail the results to Kraft. Patel practiced with the tutorial program every work day, unless the room was being used for other purposes and was not available to her. She always communicated her results to Kraft.

Kraft told Patel that she wanted to enroll Patel in an "Introduction to WordPerfect" class by the third quarter of 1993. Based on her experience from having taken this class, Kraft believed that...