Montgomery v. Am. Airlines, Inc.

Citation626 F.3d 382
Decision Date19 November 2010
Docket NumberNo. 08-3951,08-3951
PartiesAnthony MONTGOMERY, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. AMERICAN AIRLINES, INCORPORATED, Defendant-Appellee.
CourtUnited States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (7th Circuit)

James T. Foley (argued), Foley Law Group, LLC, Westmont, IL, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Cardelle B. Spangler (argued), Winston & Strawn LLP, Chicago, IL, for Defendant-Appellee.

Before EASTERBROOK, Chief Judge, and BAUER and KANNE, Circuit Judges.

KANNE, Circuit Judge.

Anthony Montgomery sued his employer, American Airlines, Incorporated ("American"), alleging two civil rights violations relating to his race. First, Montgomery claimed that American allowed a hostile work environment to persist in a maintenance shop to which he was briefly assigned as a probationary employee. Second, he claimed that his demotion at the end of his probationary period was an adverse action motivated by racial discrimination. After discovery, American Airlines moved for summary judgment. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of American on all counts, and Montgomery timely appealed. Because the record on appeal supports summary judgment in favor of American, we will affirm the decision below.

I. Background

Montgomery began working for American in December 1989 as a Fleet Service Clerk at O'Hare International Airport; he is still employed by American in that position. The events leading to this suit occurred during Montgomery's five-month stint as a probationary mechanic in American's Automotive Shop ("Auto Shop") at O'Hare. Montgomery is and—at all times relevant to this suit—was a member of the Transport Workers Union of America AFL-CIO ("TWU").

A. The Probationary Period

Montgomery requested a transfer into the Auto Shop as a ground support equipment mechanic in the fall of 2006. After vetting his application for sufficient experience, education, or training, American granted Montgomery's request. Montgomery began his probationary period on December 9, 2006.

The collective bargaining agreement ("CBA") between American and the TWU established the probationary period and its qualification requirements. On his first day, a supervisor met with Montgomery and explained the on-the-job training and familiarization Montgomery would undergo during his probationary period. The supervisor further explained that Montgomery needed to pass a tool inspection and a qualification test near the end of the period in order to remain in the Auto Shop. The CBA also required that probationary employees become regular mechanics if they are not given the qualification test within 180 days of starting in the Auto Shop.

Montgomery was one of only three African-Americans working in the Auto Shop during his probationary period. The two others—Clifton Shay (supervisor) and Dwain Wooley (a crew chief and union representative)—did not work on the Auto Shop floor with Montgomery during his shifts. Montgomery allegedly began experiencing harassment and hostility from mechanics and crew chiefs soon after beginning his probationary period. Montgomery concluded that their actions resulted from his race, though it appears he never articulated that belief to his supervisors during his probationary period.

Montgomery worked with three other probationary mechanics—Tim Nguyen, Bill Romano, and Dave Hilt—at some point during his probationary period. Their probationary periods did not wholly coincide with his own. Because Montgomery believed that, in contrast to him, they did not have to take and pass the qualification test at the end of their probationary periods, he complained to Brian Schaefer in late February or early March 2007. Schaefer had been named as Manager of Ground Operations, a position that had been unfilled since December 2005, shortly after Montgomery had commenced his probationary period. Montgomery told Schaefer that he felt it was unfair and racially discriminatory that he had to take the exam; he also notified Schaefer of other issues that he noticed in the shop, including other mechanics sleeping on duty and some supervisors being delinquent. Schaefer answered that the CBA required all probationary mechanics to take the exam and that, under his new management, the CBA's requirements would be strictly observed. Schaefer investigated Montgomery's other allegations, resulting in some policy changes and the resignation of one of the supervisors Montgomery had identified. Montgomery has further alleged that he also discussed at this meeting the racial harassment he was experiencing.

Auto Shop supervisor Richard Helton administered Montgomery's qualification test on April 7, 2007. Helton was assisted by Tim Wells (another supervisor) and was observed by Joe Pacenti (Montgomery's TWU representative). Montgomery was not acquainted with Helton before the date of the exam. At one point, Montgomery improperly performed a temporary repair on a vehicle tire—after lifting the vehicle not in accordance with known safety standards—when he had been asked to perform a permanent repair. He did not demonstrate his familiarity with a trouble-shooting procedure by identifying the steps involved. He did demonstrate a degree of unfamiliarity with parts manuals by flipping through them page-by-page instead of using their cross-referenced indices. Helton, after consulting with Wells, determined that Montgomery had failed the qualifying test. Pacenti agreed that the test had been fairly administered.

Due to his failure of the exam, American removed Montgomery from his probationary position in the Auto Shop. He returnedto his original position as a Fleet Service Clerk on or about April 26, 2007.

B. Montgomery's Complaints to Human Resources

Montgomery had no further contact with coworkers or supervisors from the Auto Shop, and he did not pursue any of his allegations of racial harassment and discrimination until he contacted Customer Service Manager Sonji Nicholas on August 8, 2007. Nicholas directed Montgomery to contact Human Resources or American's hotline, as indicated in American's published policies against racial discrimination and harassment. Nicholas also informed Human Resources Representative Jacqueline Rios of Montgomery's communication.

Rios waited two days for Montgomery to contact her. When he did not, she sought him out to inquire about his concerns. Rios and Montgomery talked for approximately three hours in their initial meeting on Friday, August 10, 2007. In this meeting, Montgomery never indicated that he had complained about racially-motivated harassment and discrimination to his supervisors, even in the written statement he prepared for Rios containing all of his allegations. Rios then met again with Montgomery on Monday, August 13, and on the following Thursday to clarify her understanding of his allegations.

Rios initiated an investigation into Montgomery's allegations immediately following these meetings. She reviewed pertinent documents and interviewed numerous witnesses to the incidents Montgomery alleged—including union representative Pacenti, crew chief Frank Dlugopolski, mechanic Wooley, supervisors Shay and Helton, and manager Schaefer. At the conclusion of her investigation, Rios was unable to substantiate Montgomery's claims.

Rios determined that Montgomery had simply failed his qualification test and tool inspection and that both were administered fairly. She concluded that only two probationary mechanics were made regular Auto Shop employees without passing the qualification test: (1) Nguyen, at a time before Schaefer assumed management responsibility over the Auto Shop, and (2) Romano, whose testing was precluded by the CBA when his seniority date was adjusted pursuant to a union argument regarding his rehiring after a previous reduction in force. Rios also determined that some mechanics claimed their aversion to working with Montgomery was based on his work performance, not upon his race. Finally, Rios determined that mechanic Mike Kogal had made a comment to Montgomery that was inappropriate for the workplace—"I didn't know it was you until you smiled"—even though Kogal maintained that, because of his friendship with Montgomery, Montgomery understood the comment referred to an inside joke between the two. Based on Rios's finding, Schaefer counseled Kogal about the comment and his behavior toward coworkers.

At the conclusion of her investigation, Rios met again with Montgomery on October 8, 2007, to inform him that she was preparing a summary of her investigation and findings. He made no further comments to Rios.

C. Procedural History

Montgomery filed a charge of discrimination against American with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on October 2, 2007. After receiving a Notice of Right to Sue from the EEOC, Montgomery filed suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. His complaint comprised four counts. In Counts I and II,Montgomery alleged that the racial harassment and the hostile work environment to which he was subjected violated 42 U.S.C. § 1981 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., respectively. In Counts III and IV, Montgomery alleged that his demotion to the Fleet Service Clerk position was an adverse action resulting from racial discrimination in violation of § 1981 and Title VII, respectively.

Following discovery, American moved for summary judgment on all counts. The district court found Montgomery had not demonstrated that a genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether the conduct alleged in Counts I and II could be attributed to American as his employer. It further found Montgomery neither presented a prima facie case of racial discrimination in Counts III and IV nor showed that a genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether American's proffered reason for his demotion was a pretext for discrimination. Accordingly, the district court granted summary judgment in favor of American on each of...

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