Stuart v. General Motors Corp.

Decision Date12 April 2000
Docket NumberNo. 99-2769,99-2769
Parties(8th Cir. 2000) LORA STUART, APPELLANT, v. GENERAL MOTORS CORP., APPELLEE. Submitted:
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri

[Copyrighted Material Omitted]

[Copyrighted Material Omitted]

[Copyrighted Material Omitted] Before: Bowman and Hansen, Circuit Judges, and Carman, 1 Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of International Trade.

Carman, Chief Judge

In 1997, Lora Stuart (Stuart) sued her former employer, General Motors Corporation (GMC), 2 asserting claims of a sexually hostile work environment, retaliation by discipline, 3 and retaliation by termination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), 42 U.S.C. 2000e-2000e-17 (1994), and the Missouri Human Rights Act (MHRA), MO. REV. STAT. 213.055(1) (1996). The District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri (Limbaugh, J.) granted summary judgment to GMC on all claims. Stuart appeals the district court's grant of summary judgment as well as a discovery ruling. We affirm.

I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Stuart was terminated from GMC on January 9, 1997. On March 7, 1997, Stuart timely filed administrative charges with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights (MCHR) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). In her Charge of Discrimination to both the EEOC and the MCHR, Stuart stated:

I worked for the company for over 11 years. The last position I held was journeyman electrician. I was harassed and sexually harassed. In July 1996, I filed a grievance for sexual harassment. I was told that the company would "take me to termination" for the filing the grievance. On January 7 [sic], 1997, I was terminated.

I was told that I was being terminated because I was observed, at work, participating in an indecent act.

I believe that I have been discriminated against by being harassed and sexually harassed because of my sex, female, and that I was terminated in retaliation for filing a grievance on the sexual harassment.

On or about October 10, 1997, Stuart received a right to sue letter, and on October 17, 1997, Stuart filed a complaint against GMC in the Eastern District of Missouri complaining of a sexually hostile work environment, retaliation by discipline, and retaliation by termination by GMC in violation of Title VII, and in violation of the MHRA. In her complaint, Stuart alleged she was "subjected to unwelcome and offensive sexual remarks and conduct by male foremen and by male co-workers and was treated differently and denied the same privileges as her male co-workers." She further alleged that after complaining to GMC about the "aforesaid unwelcome sexual remarks and conduct, and fil[ing] a complaint about the hostile work environment," she was retaliated against. The alleged retaliation included issuing "unwarranted and unjustified" disciplinary actions that were part an "unfair and discriminatory" scheme of "progressive discipline," and "terminating plaintiff's employment based on false and unsupported allegations of misconduct."

The district court granted summary judgment to GMC on all claims. The court concluded Stuart failed to exhaust her administrative remedies relating to her action for retaliation by discipline because that claim was neither specified nor alluded to in her EEOC charge. The Court also concluded Stuart failed to establish a prima facie case for retaliation by termination, failed to prove the proffered reasons for her discharge were a pretext for retaliation, and failed to establish a prima facie case of sexually hostile work environment. The court denied Stuart's motion to compel GMC to answer certain discovery questions.

II. BACKGROUND

Stuart commenced employment at GMC's Wentzville, Missouri plant in April 1985. Stuart worked at GMC as an electrician intermittently from 1985 and continuously from January 3, 1994. During her tenure at GMC, Stuart complained about sexual harassment and discrimination. On January 9, 1997, Stuart was terminated for allegedly engaging in an indecent act with a co-worker while at work.

A. Stuart's Complaints of Sexual Discrimination and a Sexually Hostile Work Environment

On July 14, 1996, Stuart complained to her supervisor, Dave Murphree (Murphree), that she was being treated differently because male employees were allowed longer breaks than female employees. Stuart complained shortly after Murphree ordered her to return to work after what she claims was only a fifteen minute break. Stuart also requested that a call be placed to her union representative.

On July 15, 1996, Stuart reiterated her complaint of discrimination to her union representative, Sam Markovich (Markovich). Stuart also complained to Markovich about sexual harassment at GMC, pointing to the presence of a computer in her work area that contained a pornographic computer program.

Later on July 15, in response to Stuart's complaint, Markovitch notified several union representatives about the computer program, and a GMC manager, and an electrician, among others, were then notified in turn. Stuart showed various GMC and union representatives the pornographic program. Stuart also told Timothy Flavin (Flavin), the Supervisor of Labor Relations at the Wentzville plant, that a number of employees knew of the program and used it, specifically mentioning Murphree. She stated the reason why she was coming forward now 4 with the information was because "of the way her supervisor (Dave Murphree) talked to her -- which was without respect."

After being informed about the pornographic computer program, Steve Schwartz (Schwartz), a supervisor, offered to move Stuart to another area of the plant still in a position as an electrician. Stuart declined the offer. Also, in response to Stuart's complaint, on July 15, 1996, Michael Camp (Camp), the plant manager, directed Alfred Moellenhoff (Moellenhoff), GMC's Equal Employment Opportunity Coordinator, to dedicate his entire work effort into investigating the computer program. Camp also instructed Kevin Runge, a member of GMC's computer operation, to immediately remove the computer in question. Less than a week later, GMC sent Gary Koegelman to the Wentzville plant to inspect every stand-alone computer at the facility to ensure that no other pornographic programs had been installed. Moellenhoff ended up spending more than a week investigating Stuart's complaint. He interviewed at least thirty employees and informed Stuart three times of the investigation's status. At the end of his investigation, Moellenhoff determined the program originated with Fred Dechert (Dechert), a GMC employee, who was on extended disability leave and could not be interviewed. As Dechert retired without returning to work, he could not be disciplined by GMC. In early August, GMC sent a pamphlet describing its sexual harassment policy and a letter to all its employees notifying them of the sexual harassment policy at GMC.

Finally, on July 20, 1996, Stuart complained to Flavin about pornographic photographs that had been found in her locker.5 At some unspecified time prior to July 29, 1996, Moellenhoff investigated the pictures. Because they had been touched by too many individuals, it was determined that fingerprint analysis would be futile.

In her papers before the district court, Stuart elaborated on how her work environment was sexually hostile. Stuart alleged, although she did not directly mention the incidents in her complaint, that her male co-workers routinely commented she had PMS, or had not had sex for a month. Additionally, "offensive" posters were put on her locker, 6 and male employees, frequently in the presence of supervisors, grabbed their genitals and made "hooh-ha" noises. 7

B. GMC's Pre-termination Discipline of Stuart

Although not directly at issue in this matter,8 Stuart alleges the discipline she received between July 14, 1996, and her termination is relevant to her claims of retaliation. The record indicates that prior to her termination, and after making her initial complaint about sex discrimination, GMC took several disciplinary actions against Stuart.

First, on July 18, 1996, Stuart received a notice of disciplinary action and was suspended for the balance of her shift plus one day for taking "excessive relief" on July 14, 1996, from "approx. 10:00 PM to 10:42 PM" based on observations of her supervisor, Murphree. Murphree, however, testified he did not know when Stuart began or ended her breaks.

Second, on July 20, 1996, Stuart received a notice of disciplinary action for insubordination and was suspended for the balance of her shift plus three days. Stuart was cited for "refus[ing] the clear and reasonable order of advisor Murphree" to put an electrical switch in manual and reset the fault. Murphree described Stuart's failure to act as a willfull violation of his direct order.

Third, on July 27, 1996, Stuart was suspended for the balance of her shift plus one week for being under the influence of drugs or alcohol and in an unsafe condition at work. 9

Fourth, on August 9, 1996, Stuart was given a notice of disciplinary action for being late for work and was suspended for the balance of her shift plus two weeks without pay. Stuart alleges she was only five minutes late.

Fifth, on November 8, 1996, Stuart was suspended for the balance of her shift plus thirty days for tardiness. Stuart was twenty-three minutes late because of "an extreme traffic tie up on [the] Interstate." Over 250 GMC employees were also late that day. A union representative, Dan Cook, confirmed the tie-up with the police. Stuart was given a notice of disciplinary action for "not provid[ing] a reasonable explanation" for her tardiness and because she was "previously councelled [sic] concerning . . . being late for work." 10

C. Stuart's Termination by GMC

Stuart was terminated from GMC on January 9, 1997, for allegedly...

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