Barcikowski v. Sun Microsystems, Inc.
| Decision Date | 24 February 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. 04-CV-01009-EWN-MEH.,04-CV-01009-EWN-MEH. |
| Citation | 420 F.Supp.2d 1163 |
| Parties | Marian J. BARCIKOWSKI, Plaintiff, v. SUN MICROSYSTEMS, INC., a Delaware corporation, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Colorado |
Barry Douglas Roseman, Roseman & Kazmierski, LLC, Denver, CO, for Plaintiff.
Robert Stephen Hall, Dorsey & Whitney, LLP, Denver, CO, for Defendant.
This is an employment discrimination case. Plaintiff Marian Barcikowski alleges that by terminating his employment, his former employer, Defendant Sun Microsystems, Inc. discriminated against him on the basis of his age, religion, and disability in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA"), 29 U.S.C.A. § 621 et seq. (2005), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII"), 42 U.S.C.A. § 2000e et seq. (2005), and the Americans with Disability Act ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C.A. §§ 12101-12213 (2005), and interfered with and retaliated against Plaintiffs exercise of his rights provided under the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"), 29 U.S.C.A. § 2601 et seq. (2005). In addition, Plaintiff seeks liquidated damages and punitive damages on his claims. This matter is before the court on "Sun Microsystems Inc.'s Motion for Summary Judgment," filed March 23, 2005. Jurisdiction is premised upon federal question, 28 U.S.C.A. §§ 1331, 1343 (2005).
Plaintiff, a male of Catholic faith born August 21, 1954, worked for Defendant from approximately January 28, 1998 through February 12, 2002. (Compl.¶¶ 3, 13.) Defendant is a publicly held company that creates, produces, and sells computer hardware and software. (Sun Microsystems Inc.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Sun Microsystems Inc.'s Br. in Supp. of Mot. for Summ. J., Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶¶ 1, 4 [filed Mar. 23, 2005] [hereinafter "Def.'s Br."]; admitted at Pl.'s Br. in Opp. to Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Resp. to Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶¶ 1, 4 [filed June 3, 2005] [hereinafter "Pl.'s Resp."].) Defendant also provides its customers with classes and instructional materials relating to its products through its Sun Educational Services ("SES") business unit. (Id., Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 2; admitted at Pl.'s Resp., Resp. to Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 2.) SES is a part of Defendant's Sun Enterprise Services business unit. (Id., Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 2; admitted at Pl.'s Resp., Resp. to Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 2.) Plaintiff worked for Defendant as SES Americas Controller, and reported to Brenda Osborne, SES Controller. (Id., Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶¶ 5, 7; admitted at Pl.'s Resp., Resp. to Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶¶ 5, 7.) Brenda Osborne reported to Mick Murray, vice president of Sun Enterprise Services, who in turn reported to Defendant's chief financial officer. (Id., Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 5; admitted at Pl.'s Resp., Resp. to Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 5.)
As SES Americas Controller, Plaintiff was responsible for accurately analyzing and reporting the financial results of Defendant's SES Americas business unit for incorporation into Defendant's publicly issued financial statements. (Id., Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 7; admitted at Pl.'s Resp., Resp. to Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 7.) In August 2001, Robyn Denholm replaced Murray as vice president of Sun Enterprise Services. (Id., Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 8, Ex. A-3 at 19 [Dep. of Robyn Denholm]; admitted at Pl.'s Resp., Resp. to Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 8.) Similarly to Plaintiff, Denholm is of Catholic faith. (Id., Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 11, Ex. A-1 at 100 [Dep. of Marian Barcikowski], Ex. A-3 at 9 [Dep. of Robyn Denholm]; admitted at Pl.'s Resp., Resp. to Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 11.)
On or about September 10, 2001, Denholm held a meeting in order to review the balance sheets and financial statements of the business units for which she was responsible. (Id., Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶¶ 9, 10, Ex. A-3 at 30-32 [Dep. of Robyn Denholm], Ex. A-4 at 50 [Dep. of Jeffrey Powley]; admitted at Pl.'s Resp., Resp. to Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶¶ 9, 10.) Plaintiff was not present at the balance sheet review meeting. (Id., Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 10, Ex. A-4 at 57 [Dep. of Jeffrey Powley]; admitted at Pl.'s Resp., Resp. to Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 10.) At the time Denholm conducted the balance sheet review meeting, she had not yet met Plaintiff and did not know Plaintiffs age, Plaintiffs religious persuasion, or whether Plaintiff was disabled or regarded as disabled. (Id., Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 11, Ex. A-1 at 69-70 [Dep. of Marian Barcikowski]; admitted at Pl.'s Resp., Resp. to Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 11.)
During the course of the balance sheet review meeting, Denholm learned that SES Americas's financial statements, for which Plaintiff was responsible, reflected several million dollars of accrued revenues and liabilities. (Id., Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 12, Ex. A-3 at 30-32, 36 [Dep. of Robyn Denholm]; admitted at Pl.'s Resp., Resp. to Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 12.) "Accrued" revenues and liabilities are amounts of monies reflected on Defendant's financial statements as revenues and liabilities, but which have not yet been received or paid by Defendant. (Id., Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 13; admitted in relevant part at Pl.'s Resp., Resp. to Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 13.) Accrued revenues and liabilities must be documented and well-substantiated in order to appear on Defendant's financial statements. (Id.) Denholm requested more information regarding the accrued revenues and liabilities. (Id., Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 14, Ex. A-3 at 32, 39-41, 53-57 [Dep. of Robyn Denholm]; deemed admitted at Pl.'s Resp., Resp. to Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 14; Reply Br. of Def. Sun Microsystems, Inc., in Supp. of mot. for Summ. J., Ex. A-17 at 44-47 [Dep. of Robyn Denholm], Ex. A-18 [Dep. of Jeffrey Powley at 50-52, 55] [Dep. of Jeffrey Powley] [filed July 26, 2005] [hereinafter "Def.'s Reply"].) Denholm ultimately opined that insufficient documentation existed to support the accrued revenues and liabilities for which Plaintiff was responsible. (Def.'s Br., Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 15, Ex. A-3 at 53-57 [Dep. of Robyn Denholm]; deemed admitted at Pl.'s Resp., Resp. to Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 15, Ex. B at 142-44 [Dep. of Carl Douglas Brasier].)
On September 25, 2001, Plaintiff experienced symptoms of dizziness and fatigue and sought medical treatment. (Id., Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 16; admitted at Pl.'s Resp., Resp. to Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 16.) Medical professionals diagnosed Plaintiff as suffering from stress, anxiety, and hypertension and give him anxiety and hypertension medications. (Id., Ex. A-8 [Dep. of Michael Schneider, P.A.].) Plaintiff requested, and Defendant granted, permission to take a leave of absence from his employment from September 25, 2001 through January 2, 2002. (Id., Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 17; admitted at Pl.'s Resp., Resp. to Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 17.)
Within a few weeks of the commencement of his leave of absence, Plaintiff's symptoms abated. (Id., Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 26; admitted at Pl.'s Resp., Resp. to Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 26.) On December 20, 2001, Plaintiffs therapist released Plaintiff to return to work on January 2, 2002. (Id.) Plaintiffs therapist limited Plaintiff to working forty hours per week, and opined that Plaintiff was capable of performing the functions of his job on a forty-hour per week basis. (Id., Ex. A-10 at 25 [Dep. of Joel McFarland].) Plaintiff returned to work for Defendant on January 2, 2002. (Id., Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 31; admitted at Pl.'s Resp., Resp. to Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 31.) As of February 1, 2002, Plaintiffs therapist's notes reflect that Plaintiff believed he had met his goals in therapy and his treatment was complete. (Id., Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 30; admitted at Pl.'s Resp., Resp. to Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 30.) Plaintiffs therapist terminated the case, and Plaintiff never consulted his therapist again. (Id.)
During Plaintiffs absence, Doug Brasier filled in for Plaintiff. (Id., Ex. A-9 at 87-88 [Dep. of Carl Douglas Brasier]; admitted at Pl.'s Resp., Resp. to Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 15.) Denholm asked Brasier and the employees who reported to Plaintiff to investigate the accrued revenues and liabilities that Plaintiff had listed on the SES financial statements. (Id., Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 19; admitted at Pl.'s Resp., Resp. to Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 19.) Denholm also met with Plaintiff regarding the accruals. (Id., Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 21, Ex. A-3 at 119-20 [Dep. of Robyn Denholm]; deemed admitted at Pl.'s Resp., Resp. to Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 21.) Denholm summarized the results of her investigation in a memorandum, which she sent to Mike Lehman, Defendant's chief financial officer. (Id., Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 24; admitted at Pl.'s Resp., Resp. to Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 24.) Denholm informed Lehman that the investigation had led her to conclude that Plaintiff had demonstrated "gross misjudgment/misconduct," and Denholm had reversed the accruals. (Id., Statement of...
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