Hunt v. Nebraska Public Power Dist., 00-3632.

Citation282 F.3d 1021
Decision Date11 March 2002
Docket NumberNo. 00-3632.,00-3632.
PartiesLynda HUNT, Appellant, v. NEBRASKA PUBLIC POWER DISTRICT, Appellee.
CourtUnited States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (8th Circuit)

Susan I. Strong, argued, Lincoln, NE (Alan L. Plessman, Lincoln, NE, on the brief), for appellant.

David R. Buntain, argued, Lincoln, NE (Andrea Snowden, Lincoln NE, on the brief), for appellee.

Before McMILLIAN, BEAM and MURPHY, Circuit Judges.

McMILLIAN, Circuit Judge.

Lynda Hunt brought this sex discrimination action in the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska against her former employer, Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD), alleging violations of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, 29 U.S.C. § 206(d) ("EPA"); violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. ("Title VII"); breach of contract; and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Hunt now appeals from final orders entered in the district court (1) granting NPPD's motion for judgment as a matter of law and dismissing her retaliation claim at the close of her case-in-chief; (2) vacating a jury verdict in favor of Hunt, granting NPPD's motion for judgment as a matter of law, and entering an amended judgment in favor of NPPD on her equal pay claim; and (3) denying Hunt's post-trial motions to amend judgment to award back pay and prejudgment interest and for attorneys' fees. Hunt v. Nebraska Public Power District, No. 4:99CV3030 (D.Neb. Sept. 27, 2000) (memorandum and order) ("slip op."). For reversal, Hunt argues that the district court erred in (1) holding that she did not establish a prima facie case of retaliation; (2) holding that a reasonable jury could not have found that she performed work substantially equal to that of her former supervisor; and (3) not allowing her to recover back pay under Title VII, prejudgment interest, and attorneys' fees. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand the case to the district court for further proceedings.

The district court had jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 (federal questions), 1343 (civil rights actions). The notice of appeal was timely filed pursuant to Fed. R.App. P. 4(a)(1)(A). This Court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 (final decisions of district courts).

I. Facts

The facts are herein presented in the light most favorable to Hunt, as required on review of a district court's decision to overturn a jury verdict. See Hathaway v. Runyon, 132 F.3d 1214, 1217 (8th Cir. 1997) (Hathaway) (vacating district court's entry of judgment as matter of law and remanding for entry of judgment on jury verdict for plaintiff on sexual harassment claim).

NPPD generates, distributes, and sells electricity. NPPD is organized into regions, each region is divided into districts, and each district has an office that administers the work of NPPD for customers in that district. Hunt worked for NPPD as a clerk in the Plattsmouth district office in the Eastern Region for seventeen years. Clerical duties in the Plattsmouth district office generally included (1) explaining billing procedures, policies, and rates to customers; (2) updating the Customer Information System and work meter orders; (3) data entry, review, and correction; (4) collecting delinquent accounts; and (5) handling customer payments.

At the time Hunt was hired on October 1, 1979, the Plattsmouth district office consisted of — in order of seniority — one manager, one supervisor, one "general clerk I," one "general clerk II," and a part-time clerk. Bill Lofquest was district office manager when Hunt was hired. Jim Bellows was district supervisor from 1984 until 1987, when he was promoted to regional supervisor. Jerry Craft was district supervisor from 1987 to 1995, when he retired. Dorothy DeBacker was a general clerk from the time Hunt was hired until 1994, when DeBacker retired. Cathy Cundall was a general clerk from 1994 until 1997, when Cundall resigned. Hunt was hired as a part-time clerk, was promoted on March 10, 1980 to full-time general clerk II, and was promoted on December 16, 1985 to general clerk I. There were also other NPPD employees in the Plattsmouth district and the Eastern region, such as meter readers and line technicians, who did not work in the office but interacted regularly with the Plattsmouth district office.

At trial, Bellows testified that he recommended that the district supervisor position remain vacant when Craft announced his retirement because Lofquest was supposed to pick up some of Craft's duties and, in any event, he thought Hunt "was very capable of taking care of things." Acting regional manager Pat Pope said that NPPD was reorganizing, and that as a cost-saving measure, Craft's duties were supposed to be divided and assigned to Lofquest, district superintendent Rocky Matthews, and Hunt.

Hunt testified at trial that, in October 1995, Lofquest promised her that if she took on some of the district supervisor's duties and responsibilities, he would change her job title and increase her pay.1 Hunt testified that she agreed and thereafter began performing many of the functions Craft performed before retirement in addition to her clerical duties. For example, Hunt testified that, after Craft's retirement, she trained, informally disciplined, and evaluated the performance of other employees. She testified that Lofquest only filled in the performance appraisals with the information Hunt provided to him.

Other trial witnesses corroborated Hunt's testimony that she assumed more of the supervisory duties after Craft retired than anyone else, including Lofquest. Jolene Haffke, another clerk in the Plattsmouth office, testified that Hunt trained her, was in charge of the office, and took on all the work Craft had previously done. Matthews, whose office was in Plattsmouth and who interacted daily with the clerks, testified that he never saw Lofquest performing any of the duties he was supposed to perform as a result of Craft's retirement, and that it was Hunt who assumed the bulk of Craft's job and ran the office until the time she was terminated. Lead line technician Lonnie Muller, who also interacted daily with the Plattsmouth office, testified that Lofquest was in the office only one or two days a week and that Hunt was basically responsible for running the office and accountable for anything that was not accurate. Numerous other NPPD employees from outside the Plattsmouth office testified that they turned to Hunt when they needed accurate and efficient information from the Plattsmouth office. Bellows testified that Hunt was the "go-to" person in the office.

NPPD presented testimony to challenge the evidence that Hunt took on a supervisory role after Craft's retirement. Hunt conceded on cross-examination that it was Lofquest's responsibility to supervise the clerks (including Hunt) and a meter reader, and it was Lofquest who was expected to complete the performance appraisals. Hunt also admitted that, after Craft retired, she went to Lofquest when a customer wished to speak to "the supervisor." Moreover, when Lofquest was out of the office, Matthews was in charge, not Hunt, and Hunt did not have the authority to formally discipline other employees.

With respect to compensation, neither Lofquest, Matthews, nor Hunt received raises or promotions arising out of their new responsibilities, but Lofquest and Matthews were already more senior than Craft when he retired and earned more money than Craft ever did. According to the NPPD chart listing the wages for all NPPD clerks and district office supervisors, when Craft retired he earned $3,138.00 per month ($37,656.00 per year). In contrast, in 1996, after Craft retired and Hunt began performing Craft's duties, Hunt earned $1,739.00 per month as a clerk ($20,868.00 per year). Human resources manager Gary Kruse acknowledged that women at NPPD were concerned about being asked to take on the duties of outgoing male employees but not being compensated for doing so.2

Lofquest wrote in Hunt's 1996 performance appraisal that he considered Hunt a real asset to him and to NPPD, noting her role in training the other clerks and citing her "years of experience" and "vast knowledge." Lofquest also commented in that appraisal that Hunt's added responsibilities put quite a strain on her, but that she was handling it very well. Hunt testified that, shortly thereafter, she began complaining about having to do all of the work of a district supervisor without receiving the raise or the promotion she was promised. According to Hunt, when acting regional manager Pat Pope reviewed the 1996 appraisal and Hunt's comments about doing extra work without being compensated accordingly, he directed Lofquest in writing to take on more of the duties he was originally assigned after Craft retired, in order to "manage Hunt's workload and expectations."

Hunt testified that when she continued to verbally complain after the situation did not improve, Lofquest and Bellows advised her to put her concerns in writing. On September 18, 1996, Hunt wrote a memorandum requesting help in training Cundall, whom Hunt said was having difficulty performing her job. In the memorandum, Hunt explained that she was frustrated that she needed to devote so much time to training Cundall, that Cundall was being uncooperative and that she was being held accountable for Cundall's mistakes, and that she never received the formal training to handle such situations that a supervisor would receive.3 Hunt requested either that she be given the pay and training commensurate with a district supervisor, or that she be permitted to return to performing solely the responsibilities of a clerk. In response to Hunt's memorandum, Lofquest and his supervisor, regional manager Ron Hitch, suspended Hunt without pay for one week. Hunt testified that Hitch read aloud to her the suspension memo, did not let...

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