Fields v. Shelter Mut. Ins. Co.
| Citation | 520 F.3d 859 |
| Decision Date | 25 March 2008 |
| Docket Number | No. 07-2227.,07-2227. |
| Parties | Sheila FIELDS, Appellant, v. SHELTER MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellee. |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (8th Circuit) |
Austin Porter, Jr., argued, Little Rock, AR, for appellant.
David Patrick Martin, argued, Tim Boe and Brook A. Brewer, on the brief, Little Rock, AR, for appellee.
Before BYE, BEAM, and GRUENDER, Circuit Judges.
Sheila Fields, an African-American, brought a race-discrimination suit against her former employer, Shelter Mutual Insurance, Company (Shelter), pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 42 U.S.C. § 1981. Fields alleged that Shelter treated her differently than its Caucasian employees with respect to her pay. Shelter moved for summary judgment on both claims, and the district court1 granted Shelter's motion. In doing so, the district court held that Fields failed to establish a prima facie case of race discrimination because she failed to adduce evidence that Shelter treated similarly situated employees differently. Fields now appeals. We affirm.
In 1999, after working seven years at State Farm Insurance Company, Fields applied for work at Shelter. Shelter is a regional insurance company with offices in fourteen states, and branches located in several" cities. Fields started working at Shelter on July 6, 1999, as an insurance adjuster in its Little Rock, Arkansas, office. She earned $2,736.00 a month. Shelter determined Fields' starting salary according to its Salary Administration Program. Under this program, an employee's starting salary is determined by a chart that lists the salary range for each position at Shelter. For example, an E4 Claims Supervisor hired in 2003 could earn between $3,469.00 and $5,541.00 per month. Fields never complained about her starting salary.
Fields received periodic raises and promotions throughout her career at Shelter. She received her first raise on February 1, 2000. Her next raise came exactly one year later, on February 1, 2001, resulting in a monthly salary of $3,002.08. On August 1, 2001, approximately two years after Fields started working at Shelter, Shelter promoted her to Senior Claims Adjuster. As a Senior Claims Adjuster, Fields received a monthly salary of $3,302.29.
Fields argues that Tom Klenke, a Caucasian male, discriminated against her. Shelter hired Klenke on May 1, 2002, to serve as branch manager of the Little Rock claims office. After being at Shelter for approximately a month and a half, Klenke promoted Fields to E4 Claims Supervisor. Along with this promotion, Fields received a 9.99 percent raise. Pursuant to Shelter's promotional-increase policy, the maximum raise available was ten percent. After this raise, Fields' monthly salary was $3,632.20. Approximately six months later, in January 2003, Klenke conducted a performance evaluation of Fields and gave her a four ("Meets Expectations") rating and a 2.75 percent raise.2 In July 2003, only one year after Klenke promoted Fields to E4 Claims Supervisor, he promoted her to E5 Claims Supervisor and, this time, gave her the highest promotion raise allowed under company policy — ten percent. As an E5 Claims Supervisor, Fields made $4,105.28 per month.
Fields received a three rating on each of her performance evaluations as an E5 Claims Supervisor. Nevertheless, she still received a merit-based raise after each evaluation. For instance, after her last performance evaluation at Shelter, on July 1, 2005, she received a merit-based raise of 4.5 percent, resulting in a new monthly salary of $4,439.87.
In 2004, Fields sought an "equity raise" because she felt that newly-hired supervisors received higher salaries than she did. Fields' request was reviewed by no less than three persons, who, after reviewing her salary, determined that there was no need for an equity raise. As part of this review, Charles Allen, Shelter's Director of Compensation, prepared a report on Claims Supervisors' salaries. Allen concluded that some of Shelter's Claims Supervisors were hired directly into supervisor positions, some were hired pursuant to the company's new policy of paying outside hires at higher salaries in order to attract the best talent, and that employees starting at Shelter below the supervisor level could receive lower salaries than employees hired into a supervisor position.
On February 10, 2005, Fields filed a Charge of Discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging discrimination based upon race and sex. The EEOC issued Fields a right-to-sue letter on September 28, 2005. On October 10, 2005, Fields resigned from Shelter. Two and a half months later, on December 28, 2005, Fields filed suit in federal district court, alleging racial discrimination under Title VII. Fields later amended her complaint to add a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1981.
After Shelter filed its answer, it moved for summary judgment on all of Fields' claims, arguing, inter alia, that Fields could not establish a prima facie case of discrimination. In an effort to establish her prima facie case, Fields argued that the following Caucasian Claims Supervisors at Shelter were similarly situated to her: Mary Schinbeckler, Hoil Henderson, Terrell Martin, Steven Wanner, Teresa Hutchinson, and Brandon Harris. Regarding these employees, Fields argued the following.
With the exception of Brandon Harris, who worked in Shelter's Tulsa, Oklahoma, office, these Claim Supervisors worked at Shelter's Little Rock, Arkansas, office under the direction of Tom Klenke.
Shelter hired Mary Schinbeckler as an E4 Claims Supervisor, on June 16, 2003. Schinbeckler's starting salary was $4,350.00 a month. Schinbeckler worked at State Farm for approximately eight years before going to Shelter. When Schinbeckler left State Farm, she earned $66,000.00 per year. Schinbeckler was promoted to E5 Claims Supervisor. As an E5 Claims Supervisor, Schinbeckler earned $5,011.57 per month.
Hoil Henderson started working at Shelter's Little Rock claims office on March 2, 2004. Shelter hired Henderson to work as an E4 Claims Supervisor, at a monthly salary of $3,950.00. Henderson had approximately fourteen years experience in the insurance business before going to work at Shelter. Shelter promoted Henderson to E5 Claims Supervisor. In this position, Henderson earned $4,496.80 per month.
In May 2003, Shelter hired Steven Wanner as a Claims Adjuster. Wanner's starting salary was $3,053.00. Shelter later promoted Wanner to E4 Claims Supervisor, and paid him a monthly salary of $3,638.00. Wanner was also promoted to E5 Claims Supervisor, with a monthly salary of $4,141.50.
Teresa Hutchinson started working at Shelter as a clerk typist in 1983, at a rate of $2.43 per hour. Throughout her tenure at Shelter, she was promoted to Senior Claims Adjuster, E4 Claims Supervisor, and E5 Claims Supervisor. Hutchinson's promotion to E5 Claims Supervisor resulted in a monthly salary of $4,572.00.
Shelter hired Terrell Martin on March 12, 1990. Shelter promoted Martin to E4 Claims Supervisor on February 1, 2003. In this position, Martin earned $4,463.93 a month.
Brandon Harris, who did not work in the Little Rock, Arkansas, office, started working at Shelter on March 15, 1999. Shelter hired Harris as a Pool Adjuster, and later promoted him to E4 Claims Supervisor and E5 Claims Supervisor. As an E5 Claims Supervisor, Harris earned $4,442.32 a month.
The district court granted Shelter's motion for summary judgment, concluding that the six Claims Supervisors Fields highlighted were not similarly situated, and, as a result, Fields failed to produce evidence that Shelter treated similarly situated employees differently. Fields then filed this appeal.
We review a district court's grant of summary judgment de novo. Cherry v. Ritenour Sch. Dist., 361 F.3d 474, 478 (8th Cir.2004). In doing so, we apply the same standard as the district court, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party and giving that party the benefit of all inferences that may reasonably be drawn. Id. A movant is entitled to summary judgment "if the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c).
In race discrimination cases,3 a plaintiff may survive a defendant's motion for summary judgment in one of two ways. The plaintiff may present admissible evidence directly indicating unlawful discrimination, that is, evidence showing a specific link between the alleged discriminatory animus and the...
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