Fogel v. Trustees of Iowa College, 88-1220

Citation446 N.W.2d 451
Decision Date20 September 1989
Docket NumberNo. 88-1220,88-1220
Parties57 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 920, 51 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 39,373, 117 Lab.Cas. P 56,454, 56 Ed. Law Rep. 590, 6 IER Cases 313 Warren G. FOGEL, Appellant, v. The TRUSTEES OF IOWA COLLEGE, Appellee.
CourtUnited States State Supreme Court of Iowa

John G. Black of Black, Harvey & Goldman, P.C., Des Moines, for appellant.

John R. Phillips, Frank B. Harty, and Greg A. Naylor of Nyemaster, Goode, McLaughlin, Voigts, West, Hansell & O'Brien, P.C., Des Moines, for appellee.

Considered by McGIVERIN, C.J., and LARSON, LAVORATO, NEUMAN, and ANDREASEN, JJ.

NEUMAN, Justice.

This appeal involves plaintiff Warren Fogel's claim of wrongful termination by his employer, Grinnell College. Four of Fogel's claims--physical disability discrimination, retaliatory discharge, breach of employment contract and breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing--were dismissed by the trial court on Grinnell's motion for summary judgment. Fogel's fifth claim--age discrimination--was rejected by a jury following trial. On Fogel's appeal from these adverse rulings, we affirm the judgment of the district court.

I. Background Facts and Proceedings.

Fogel was employed by Grinnell College as a receiving clerk and custodian in the college's food service department from August 1977 until his dismissal on January 28, 1985. At the time of his hiring, Fogel was fifty-five years of age. Throughout his employment, Fogel's duties were to unload trucks, handle food products, and perform custodial work in student dining halls and kitchen areas.

There was no written employment contract between Fogel and the college. At the time of Fogel's hiring, however, the college gave him a "Grinnell College Staff Handbook" which was later updated specifically for the guidance of food service employees. Pertinent to this appeal are the handbook's terms regarding dismissal from employment:

DISMISSAL. If termination is necessary for reasons not prejudicial to the employee (reasons unrelated to job performance), he/she may expect to receive notice of not less than one month prior to the termination date. Upon receiving such notice, the employee is free both to seek and to accept other work immediately and to receive any accrued vacation pay. When dismissal is necessary because of unsatisfactory work, as much notice as possible will be given, ordinarily not less than two weeks. However, dismissals occurring during the probationary period require no notice. Dismissals necessitated by dishonesty or misconduct become effective immediately upon determination of facts concerning the offense.

While employed by the college, Fogel suffered a number of minor injuries resulting in medical insurance claims and reimbursement. The only incident of a serious nature occurred in September 1983. At that time, Fogel experienced back pain from lifting chairs and mopping which caused him to miss between five and ten days of work. The medical and chiropractic attention necessitated by this injury was covered by insurance. It was not until August 1985, seven months after the discharge triggering this appeal, that Fogel filed a workers' compensation claim for this back injury.

Although Fogel routinely received satisfactory evaluations with respect to his work performance, he was also the subject of numerous disciplinary actions. All but one related to what the personnel director described as a "chronic hygiene problem." In September 1981, Fogel was admonished concerning proper dress and personal hygiene standards. One month later Fogel received a written warning for reporting to work in a dirty uniform. In December 1981, Fogel was suspended and placed on probation for urinating in a mop bucket while on duty. He was also cited for carelessness in 1983 after he backed a college vehicle into a parked car.

The incident giving rise to the present action occurred in December 1984 while the college was in recess for the holidays. Fogel, who then wore long hair and a beard, was told by his hair stylist that she thought he had head lice. Fogel used a recommended treatment shampoo and that same evening attended the food service employees' holiday party. Six days later, Fogel consulted a physician in Grinnell who confirmed the presence of "nits," or lice larvae, in Fogel's eyebrows. Further treatment was prescribed.

During the semester break, Fogel wrote a letter to his immediate supervisor concerning the lice condition and the action he had taken in regard to it. In the letter, he acknowledged that he had been aware of a problem "for quite a few months and just thought of a nerve condition, causing the problem." He also updated her about the medical attention and bills he had incurred for continuing back pain, and the exercise program that he was required to follow "[w]orking or no working."

When classes resumed and Fogel reported for work in mid-January 1985, he was advised by David McConnell, director of food service, that he could not return to his job without a medical release. Fogel obtained the release and returned to work that day. On January 28, 1985, McConnell sent Fogel a letter informing him that he was discharged immediately because he was "unfit to work in a food service establishment." The letter stated that Fogel had put the entire food service operation "in jeopardy by coming to work with head lice," an act McConnell understood to be in violation of state food service establishment laws. The letter also cited the 1981 mop bucket incident as a breach of sanitation standards.

Fogel unsuccessfully appealed his dismissal to the college's executive vice-president and president. He then filed suit in district court charging the college with age discrimination, disability discrimination, wrongful discharge in violation of public policy, breach of contract, and breach of an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Upon completion of discovery, the college moved for summary judgment on all counts of Fogel's petition. It asserted that no material facts were in dispute regarding any of Fogel's claims and that the college was entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

The district court sustained the college's motion on all but the age discrimination claim. There it noted the existence of a prima facie case of discrimination (plaintiff in a protected age group, qualified for the job, discharged, replaced by a younger person) and concluded that a fact question remained concerning whether the college's proffered reason for termination was authentic or pretextual. The issue was ultimately tried to a jury and resolved in favor of the college. Fogel does not challenge the jury's verdict on this appeal. 1

As previously noted, Fogel's other claims fared no better. Viewing the summary judgment record in a light most favorable to Fogel, the district court found a total lack of factual support on the principal element of Fogel's disability discrimination claim: disability. Likewise, the court concluded that the record before it was devoid of any causal link between Fogel's termination and his subsequently filed workers' compensation claim so as to support a claim of retaliatory discharge. The court also summarily rejected Fogel's claim that the college breached an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, a cause of action which has never been recognized by this court.

Finally, the district court concluded that the college handbook was insufficient, as a matter of law, to create a contract of employment between Fogel and Grinnell that would give rise to an action for its breach. The court concluded that Fogel was an at-will employee, subject to termination "at any time for any reason." It is from these rulings that Fogel has appealed.

II. Scope of Review.

Fogel insists that his "economic life should not be snuffed out without a trial." His assertion highlights our principal inquiry on this appeal: Did the trial court err when it granted Grinnell judgment as a matter of law? Familiar rules guide our inquiry. We review them briefly.

Summary judgment is proper when there appears no genuine issues of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Iowa R.Civ.P. 237(c). The burden is upon the moving party to show that no issue of material fact exists. Northrup v. Farmland Industries, Inc., 372 N.W.2d 193, 195 (Iowa 1985). Moreover, the resisting party is afforded every legitimate inference that can be reasonably deduced from the evidence and a fact question is generated if reasonable minds could differ on how the issue should be resolved. Henkel v. R & S Bottling Co., 323 N.W.2d 185, 187-88 (Iowa 1982).

The party resisting summary judgment, however, "may not rest upon the mere allegations or denials of his pleading." Iowa R.Civ.P. 237(e). The resistance must set forth specific facts which constitute competent evidence showing a prima facie claim. Prior v. Rathjen, 199 N.W.2d 327, 330 (Iowa 1972). By requiring the resister to go beyond generalities, the basic purpose of summary judgment procedure is achieved: to weed out "[p]aper cases and defenses" in order "to make way for litigation which does have something to it." Id. (quoting Gruener v. Cedar Falls, 189 N.W.2d 577, 580 (Iowa 1971)). With these principles in mind, we consider the arguments of the parties in the light of the record of pleadings, affidavits, and deposition testimony submitted to the trial court.

III. Arguments on appeal.

A. Disability discrimination. Fogel's claim of disability discrimination rests on the mandate of Iowa Code section 601A.6(1)(a) (1987) that no employer shall "discharge or discriminate against any employee ... on the basis of disability." Disability is defined by statute as a "physical or mental condition of a person which constitutes a substantial handicap." Iowa Code § 601A.2(11). A "substantial handicap" is a "physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life...

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