Mems v. City of St. Paul

Decision Date14 June 2000
Docket NumberNo. 99-2782,99-2782
Citation224 F.3d 735
Parties(8th Cir. 2000) ROBERT MEMS; NATHANIAL KHALIQ; JAMES LOGAN; PHILLIP WEBB; THURMAN SMITH; BYRON BROWN, APPELLANTS, v. CITY OF ST. PAUL, DEPARTMENT OF FIRE AND SAFETY SERVICES, APPELLEE. Submitted:
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. [Copyrighted Material Omitted]

Before Murphy, Heaney and Magill, Circuit Judges.

Heaney, Circuit Judge.

Robert Mems, Nathanial Khaliq, Thurman Smith, Byron Brown, James Logan, and Phillip Webb (collectively "Appellants") sued the St. Paul Fire Department ("SPFD"), alleging violations Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), 42 U.S.C. 2000e - 2000e-17 (2000) and the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA), Minn. Stat. 363.03, subd. 1(2)(c) (2000). Appellants claim violations under both disparate treatment and disparate impact theories. The district court granted summary judgment in SPFD's favor on both claims, and Appellants appeal. For the reasons stated below, we affirm in part and reverse in part.

FACTS

In 1992, Brown, Mems, Khaliq, and Smith sued the SPFD for racial discrimination. The parties settled two years later, and as part of the settlement agreement, the SPFD was released from all claims arising before June 17, 1994.

In 1996, the same four plaintiffs, joined by Webb and Logan, brought another action the SPFD for racial discrimination. Pursuant to the settlement agreement, the initial four plaintiffs only sought relief for SPFD conduct occurring after June 17, 1994, whereas Webb and Logan allege discrimination since 1988.

SPFD moved for summary judgment on both claims. The district court granted the motion, concluding that the Appellants failed to allege conduct sufficiently severe or pervasive to create a hostile working environment and that they failed to present sufficient evidence that the SPFD's promotion examinations had a racially disparate impact. Appellants appeal.

DISCUSSION

We review the district court's decision to grant summary judgment de novo. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c). Summary judgment is appropriate where, viewing the record in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, no genuine issue of material fact exists. See id. The movant bears the burden of proving that the facts are undisputed. See Enterprise Bank v. Magna Bank, 92 F.3d 743, 747 (8th Cir. 1996). However, summary judgment seldom should be granted in discrimination cases because such cases often depend on inferences rather than direct evidence. See Crawford v. Runyon, 37 F.3d 1338, 1341 (8th Cir. 1994).

Although the Appellants sue under both Title VII and the MHRA, we look to Title VII case law to analyze both claims. See Hanenburg v. Principal Mut. Ins. Co., 118 F.3d 570, 574 (8th Cir. 1997); Sigurdson v. Isanti County, 386 N.W.2d 715, 719 (Minn. 1986).

I. DISPARATE TREATMENT CLAIM

Title VII prohibits "discriminatory harassment so severe or pervasive as to alter the conditions of employment and create a hostile working environment." Carter v. Chrysler Corp., 173 F.3d 693, 700 (8th Cir. 1999) (citing Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, 524 U.S. 775, 786 (1998)). An employer creates a hostile work environment if: (1) the employee is a member of a protected group; (2) the employee is subjected to unwelcome harassment; (3) a causal nexus exists between the employee's membership in the protected group and the harassment; (4) the harassment affected a term, condition, or privilege of employment; and (5) the employer knew or should have known of the harassment and failed to take prompt and effective remedial action. See id.

The Appellants offer the following evidence in support of their disparate treatment claim. Brown, Mems, Khaliq, and Webb worked the B-Shift at the SPFD, which is the shift that often followed the A-Shift. They state that in retaliation for the 1994 settlement agreement with SPFD, A-Shift employees left windows open in the winter, turned the heat on high or low, misplaced kitchen items, and began inspecting the station for dust at shift change. Further, they testified that the SPFD directed all B-Shift employees to leave the station promptly at 8:00 a.m. each morning, while no other employees were required to leave immediately following their shifts.

In addition, they testified that magazines with racially-offensive cartoons were left at the station and that a photograph of two white firefighters with their middle fingers extended and a note next to it stating "this is our position on the whole thing" was attached to the bulletin board. They also claim that an antique chest being restored by an African-American firefighter was defaced with a hangman and noose. Finally, they claim that a basketball hoop used by B-shift members was torn down.

The Appellants further testified individually to certain discriminatory actions. Mems and Brown stated that they were required to respond to all emergency calls wearing full turnout gear, while white firefighters were not. Mems also testified that his protective gear and fire truck were tampered with, jeopardizing his safety and possibly delaying the emergency-response time. Khaliq stated that two magazines he left at the station were defaced, and that on at least one occasion his work break was restricted.

Webb testified that prior practice with another firefighter was to relieve each other of duty, prior to actual shift change, upon arrival at the station. Without informing Webb, the other firefighter stopped doing so, almost causing Webb to miss several fire runs. The City of Saint Paul Department of Human Rights investigated the incident and found probable cause that the firefighter's actions were in retaliation for a reprimand given to another firefighter or for the 1994 settlement.

Smith stated that a firefighter wrongly accused him of being intoxicated on duty. He also claims that a false report of cocaine possession was filed against him, causing police to search his locker. Finally, he claims that a white firefighter was cited for driving a Medic Rig while under the influence and another required cardiac monitoring because of cocaine use, but neither was ever searched nor disciplined. Logan also testified that racial slurs were used against him and that he was denied work positions because of racial animus.

Based on this evidence, a jury could find that the alleged conduct was sufficiently severe or pervasive to create a hostile work environment. It is undisputed that Appellants are members of a protected class, and they have produced evidence of unwelcome harassment based on their race, which affected their employment.

SPFD argues that there are many plausible, non-racial explanations for the actions alleged by the Appellants. SPFD essentially invites us to make credibility determinations and to draw inferences in its favor which we will not do. First, credibility determinations fall within the fact finder's purview, not ours. Second, when reviewing the district court's summary judgment grant, we must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the Appellants, not SPFD.

SPFD further argues that whenever faced with a complaint of racially offensive behavior, it investigated and promptly took remedial action. Although the evidence shows that SPFD often investigated complaints and that specific behavior was seldom repeated, the evidence also shows that racially offensive behavior continued in other forms. Therefore, whether the SPFD's remedial actions were effective is a jury question. See Carter, 173 F.3d at 229.

Genuine issues of material fact exist with regard to the Appellants' disparate treatment claim. Therefore, the district court erred by granting summary judgment.

III. DISPARATE IMPACT CLAIM

The Appellants argue that SPFD's written examination had a racially disparate impact. Passing the written portion of the examination is a prerequisite to being considered for a promotion to captain in the SPFD. For the four testing years Appellants complain of, white applicants had a higher pass rate than black applicants.

Disparate impact claims under Title VII challenge "employment practices that are facially neutral in their treatment of different groups but that in fact fall more harshly on one group than...

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