Henry v. Lennox Industries, Inc.

• Decision Date: 29 July 1985
• Docket Number: Nos. 84-3523,84-3577,s. 84-3523
• Citation: 768 F.2d 746
• Parties: 42 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 771, 37 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 35,456 Sharon A. HENRY, Plaintiff-Appellant, Cross-Appellee, v. LENNOX INDUSTRIES, INC., Defendant-Appellee, Cross-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

Page 746

768 F.2d 746

42 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 771,

37 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 35,456

Sharon A. HENRY, Plaintiff-Appellant, Cross-Appellee, v. LENNOX INDUSTRIES, INC., Defendant-Appellee, Cross-Appellant.

Nos. 84-3523, 84-3577.

United States Court of Appeals Sixth Circuit.

Argued June 10, 1985.

Decided July 29, 1985.

Robert M. Sanders, argued, Reynoldsburg, Ohio, for plaintiff-appellant, cross-appellee.

Robert F. Weaver, Jr., Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease, Jonathan R. Vaughn, argued, Columbus, Ohio, for defendant-appellee, cross-appellant.

Before CONTIE and WELLFORD, Circuit Judges; and EDWARDS, Senior Circuit Judge.

CONTIE, Circuit Judge.

Sharon Henry and her former employer, Lennox Industries, Inc., appeal and cross-appeal from the district court judgment in Henry's action alleging unequal pay, sex discrimination and constructive discharge pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000e et seq. Lennox challenges the district court's conclusions that Henry was constructively discharged and discriminated against on account of her sex. Henry contends that the district court erred in finding that the differences in pay between her and other similarly situated male employees resulted from factors other than sex. Henry also challenges the district court's calculation of backpay and the court's denial of reinstatement. For the reasons that follow, we remand the case to the district court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

I.

On August 11, 1981, Sharon Henry filed this Title VII action alleging that on September 8, 1980 she was denied the position of International Order Correspondent on account of her sex although she had been performing the duties of that position for three and a half years. She alleged that Jim Nye, who had held a similar position, was paid more than she was, and that Bill Thompson, who was promoted to the position on September 8, 1980 was at a pay grade five levels higher than plaintiff although he had no prior experience in the international department in contrast to plaintiff who had seven years experience. Henry also alleged that Lennox maintained a continuing policy of sex discrimination, and alleged that on September 26, 1980, she was constructively discharged for attempting to assert her constitutional rights. In this action, Henry sought to enjoin Lennox's discriminatory activities, $40,000 in compensatory damages, reinstatement at a salary comparable to Thompson's, costs and attorney fees.

At trial on January 9, 1984, Henry testified that she began work for Lennox in Columbus, Ohio in November 1973 as secretary for vice-president Coit Litton and International Order Correspondent Jim Nye. In 1975 after Litton retired, Henry worked entirely for Nye processing purchase orders. In June 1977, Nye was transferred to Marshalltown, Iowa. Before Nye left, John Opatich, distribution manager, told Henry "we want you to now pick up the duties of having the international shipments go out of Columbus." Henry did some of the work Nye had done and a clerk, Diane Cusick was assigned to do the clerical work Henry had previously done. Henry marshalled equipment, ordered containers, made shipments, and supervised her clerk.

In March 1980, Cusick was transferred and Henry had to do both jobs. In August 1980, Larry Beidelman conducted a study of international department efficiency and told Henry, according to her, that the duties she was performing were labor grade 9, although she was only labor grade 4. All of Henry's performance reviews were good and she received no complaints or disciplinary notices. Beidelman suggested hiring a clerk typist to help Henry.

Henry testified that Manager Chuck Davis told her that the company was bringing in Bill Thompson and that Henry would have to do the clerical duties. Henry was to train Thompson who would then be her supervisor. Thompson was a former forklift operator in the plant. Henry resigned effective September 30, 1980 at a time when she was earning $1,000 per month and Thompson was earning $1,800. Thompson had no experience in the international department. Henry testified:

I felt that by them bringing Bill Thompson into my office for me to train was like another slap in the face, and I felt it was a great injustice to me, and I felt ... that they were telling me that they really didn't value my work that much, there was no place for me to go if they were doing this, there was no place to go, if I was just going to go back to the clerical, and I could not work under those circumstances.

Henry testified that before she resigned Davis offered a $25 per month raise. Henry requested a $100 per month raise to continue with the company as a showing of good faith, but decided to resign when the raise was refused. At the time of trial, Henry was employed by Burlington Northern Air Freight at a salary of $16,000. She began that job in March 1980 at an annual salary of $10,500.

John Opatich, supervisor of the distribution department, testified that Henry was a good, qualified, competent employee. Lawrence Beidelman, who investigated the international department, testified that the study was commissioned because the international department was missing shipping dates. Biedelman said that his report was not derogatory of Henry and did not recommend that she be replaced by Thompson.

Ronald Armstrong, employee relations manager, testified that Opatich absorbed supervision over the international department after Nye left, but was demoted in September 1980 when Thompson was promoted. Armstrong testified that Thompson started at labor grade 9 and that he had transferred from the factory where he was working after being transferred from salaried personnel in May 1980. Armstrong testified that Lennox has a policy of trying to restore salaried personnel who had been involuntarily assigned to the factory.

James Nye testified that Henry was a good, competent and effective worker and that he had no part in the selection of Thompson. Nye testified that there were no weaknesses in Henry's performance and that he had no doubt that Henry could competently perform the duties she had taken over from Nye and which were assigned to Thompson.

William Thompson testified that in August 1980, Charles Davis told him that he wanted Thompson to take over Henry's duties. Thompson, employed by Lennox for 17 years, agreed to accept the position only if he received a raise of $100. Thompson was told that he would supervise Henry, but that she had to train him. Thompson testified that the work "was different ... than anything I had ever done." When Henry left, Cusick replaced her. Thompson testified that he had previously worked for five years in the domestic department and had been commended by corporate headquarters on the amount of money he had saved them on freight costs.

Charles Davis, plant manager, testified that Thompson was hired due to his knowledge of how the product fit into the container, and that he was hired to do Nye's prior duties, to supervise Henry, and to do Opatich's job. Davis testified that Henry was offered a raise of $75 a month. When asked if Henry was considered for the position to which Thompson was appointed, Davis answered:

I would say there was not a lot of consideration given there, but the people that had performed in that area were certainly looked at before the conclusion was reached that due to capabilities and experience and that sort of thing, that Mr. Thompson was the one that would be brought into the area.

On June 11, 1984, the district court entered judgment in favor of Henry for $5,000 plus interest in backpay but denied reinstatement. The court found that the promotion of Thompson and demotion of Henry was motivated by discriminatory animus but that the differential in pay among Nye, Thompson, and plaintiff was justified by legitimate non-discriminatory business reasons. ¹

II.

Preliminarily, we note that we review the district court's findings of fact for clear error. Jackson v. RKO Bottlers of Toledo, Inc., 743 F.2d 370, 374 (6th Cir.1984); Geisler v. Folsom, 735 F.2d 991, 995 (6th Cir.1984); Sones-Morgan v. Hertz Corp., 725 F.2d 1070, 1071 (6th Cir.1984); Fields v. Bolger, 723 F.2d 1216, 1219 (6th Cir.1984). There are no distinctions between ultimate and subsidiary findings of fact, the predominant issue of intent in Title VII cases is factual, and the deferential standard of Fed.R.Civ.Pro. 52 does not apply to questions of law. Pullman-Standard v. Swint, 456 U.S. 273, 102 S.Ct. 1781, 72 L.Ed.2d 66 (1982). In Anderson v. City of Bessemer City, --- U.S. ----, 105 S.Ct. 1504, 1511, 84 L.Ed.2d 518 (1985), the Court reiterated that a reviewing court may only overturn the district court's findings when the court "is left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed." United States v. United States Gypsum Co., 333 U.S. 364, 395, 68 S.Ct. 525, 542, 92 L.Ed. 746 (1948). "The reviewing court oversteps the bounds of its duty under Rule 52 if it undertakes to duplicate the role of the lower court." Anderson, 105 S.Ct. at 1511.

If the district court's account of the evidence is plausible in light of the record viewed in its entirety, the court of appeals may not reverse it even though convinced that had it been sitting as the trier of fact, it would have weighed the evidence differently.

Id. at 1512. Further, "[w]hen findings are based on determinations regarding the credibility of witnesses, Rule 52 demands even greater deference to the trial court's findings; for only the trial judge can be aware of the variations in demeanor and tone of voice that bear so heavily on the listener's understanding of and belief in what is said." Id.

A.

A plaintiff alleging one instance of discrimination establishes a prima facie case justifying an inference of individual racial discrimination by showing that he (1) belongs to a racial minority, (2) applied and was qualified for a vacant position...