Berry v. General Motors Corp.

• Decision Date: 30 November 1993
• Docket Number: No. 88-2570-JWL.,88-2570-JWL.
• Parties: James A. BERRY, et al., Plaintiffs, v. GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Kansas

838 F. Supp. 1479

James A. BERRY, et al., Plaintiffs, v. GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION, Defendant.

No. 88-2570-JWL.

United States District Court, D. Kansas.

November 30, 1993.

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COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Dennis E. Egan, The Popham Law Firm, Kansas City, MO, Christopher Iliff, Stillwell, KS, Michael K. Whitehead, Kansas City, MO, for plaintiffs.

Michael J. Grady, Paul Scott Kelly, Jr., Gage & Tucker, Overland Park, KS, John J. Yates, Paul Scott Kelly, Jr., Marietta Parker, Rosalee M. McNamara, Jean Paul Bradshaw, II, Gage & Tucker, Kansas City, MO, Stephen A. Murphy, Westwood, KS, for defendant.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

LUNGSTRUM, District Judge.

This action arises out of a restructuring and shifting of personnel associated with the closing of one General Motors Corporation plant in Kansas City, Kansas, and the opening of another in 1987. Fifteen plaintiffs brought suit against General Motors Corporation ("GM"), alleging various theories of recovery, including race discrimination and retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2 et seq.; sex discrimination under Title VII; age discrimination under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA"), 29 U.S.C. §§ 623 and 626(c); and breach of an implied contract of employment.

The procedural history of this case is long and complicated, as the original complaint was filed over four years ago. The case was originally tried to a jury beginning August 11, 1992, but the court declared a mistrial on September 9, 1992, because the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict.¹ The case was rescheduled for jury trial in July of 1993. However, the plaintiffs and the defendant, in an effort to limit expense and avoid the then looming possibility that funds to compensate civil jurors might be unavailable, agreed to waive the right to a jury and submit the case to the court. The parties stipulated that the court would decide the case based on the evidence admitted in the August, 1992 trial, along with certain supplemental damage evidence put on at a hearing July 27, 1993. Following post-trial briefing, on September 27, 1993, oral arguments were heard from all parties. This case is now ripe for decision.

After careful consideration of all the evidence, the court finds, by a preponderance of the evidence, that no implied contract existed to create a legal right in favor of any of the plaintiffs to be accorded treatment as set out in "Working with General Motors," the corporation's employee policy manual. After considering the conduct of the parties, the usages of the business, the situation and objectives of the parties giving rise to the employment relationship, the nature of the employment, negotiations between the parties, and other circumstances surrounding the employment relationship, the court finds that the parties did not mutually intend a contract based on the terms of "Working With General Motors" ("employment manual"). As a result, the court concludes that GM had the right to treat plaintiffs as month-to-month employees, and grants judgment in favor of the defendant General Motors Corporation as to all implied contract claims.²

The court also finds that none of the plaintiffs has met their burden of persuasion regarding discrimination claims against GM. The court grants judgment in favor of GM on all discrimination claims as well.

Pursuant to F.R.C.P. 52(a), the court makes the following findings of fact and conclusions of law.

I. Findings of Fact

A. Findings Applicable to All Plaintiffs

1. In February and March of 1985, GM announced the opening of a new plant ("Fairfax II") to be built in Kansas City, Kansas next to its existing Fairfax Plant ("Fairfax I"), to facilitate the development of a new type of mid-sized car targeted to compete with its foreign competitors. Auto assembly at Fairfax II would be technologically advanced and would require several hundred fewer employees for its operation. A "downsizing"³ of personnel was required. At the outset of the downsizing, employees at the Fairfax I Plant were told by GM management it was intended that no salaried employee be laid off or terminated as a result of the move to Fairfax II.

2. In 1986, GM announced it intended to conduct a reduction-in-force to reduce the corporation's entire salaried work force by twenty-five percent. The purpose of the reduction was to make GM operations more efficient and profitable in an increasingly competitive marketplace. The change in operations was a response, in part, to the decline in profits and in market share of domestic automobile sales that GM was facing in the late 1970's and 1980's.

3. Gus Beirne was appointed plant manager of Fairfax I in April of 1985, and was in charge of the construction of Fairfax II until the plant was scheduled to be completed in May of 1987.

4. After the announcement of the move to Fairfax II, GM held two meetings at Kemper Arena for both salaried and hourly Fairfax employees to provide information about the future changes in plant operations and personnel. GM did not represent to salaried employees at either of these meetings that "Working With GM" would apply to the downsizing. Employees were told, however, that no layoffs would occur as a result of the downsizing and that any reductions would be handled by natural attrition.

5. In order to reduce the work force in Fairfax II, GM offered incentives to employees to leave the corporation voluntarily. Two programs were put into place: (1) an early retirement program; and (2) a "buyout" program, through which employees could receive cash payments based on years of service if they elected to separate from GM. Plaintiffs in this case were offered these two options (retirement only if qualified) and at least one other: return to the hourly roles if they were eligible. It is unclear whether a fourth option, to remain salaried, was offered to plaintiffs.⁴

6. The skills required to be a supervisor in the new Fairfax II plant were to be different from those required in Fairfax I. A new management style would be in place, a "cultural change," that would change the supervisor position to a type of "team leader" who had strong skills in dealing with people and could act more as a coach than as a boss.

7. Over the years, GM had published and distributed a personnel policy manual entitled "Working With General Motors," establishing procedures that GM pledged to follow when making employment decisions relating to qualified employees. The manual, however, specifically included a disclaimer stating that it was not intended to create a contract and stated specifically that all salaried employees worked on a month-to-month basis. Relevant portions of the manual are as follows:

Introduction

"Working With GM" describes personnel policies and procedures that guide relationships as we work together in General Motors.

In moving forward it is important for you to know the personnel policies and procedures that apply to you. "Working With GM," we think, provides a clear summary of the most significant of these policies and procedures and we are pleased to make it available to you.

Page 4.

Regular Employe⁵

As a regular employe, your employment is on a calendar month-to-month basis.

Regular employe status enables you to share in the privileges associated with salaried employment, as described throughout this handbook.

Page 25.

General Motors formal policy with respect to employment security for classified salaried employes is contained in the following policy statement:

"Salaried employes with one year of service whose performance is consistent with GM's standards will not be laid off due to outsourcing, productivity improvements and new technology. Layoffs may occur as a result of declines in volume of business, shifts in market preferences or reorganizations...."

Page 27.

In the event that outsourcing, productivity improvements or introduction of new technology result in the need for fewer salaried employes, units will first attempt to achieve the necessary reductions through the separation of non-regular employes. If salaried manpower is still in excess of unit needs, redundant regular salaried employes will be identified through the existing reduction-in-force policy. However, those employes will not be laid off but will be placed in transitional status.

If layoffs become unavoidable, reductions in the work force are made separately by each department and job classification....

Reductions will be made generally in the order of least total Corporate length of service for employes with five or more years of length of service and with a performance rating of Good Competent or higher.

Page 32.

This booklet has been written in a general way, to cover what are considered to be the most important highlights of GM's salaried personnel policies.

To better meet the needs of GM people and GM, policies have been modified from time to time. GM believes this should occur only when absolutely necessary, and that when it does occur, you should receive a prompt and full explanation of the changes and the reasons behind them.

While the policies and procedures in the booklet do not constitute a legal contract, and do not modify the month-to-month employment relationship (which in fact may not be altered, amended or extended by any employe, representative or agent of GM) described on page 4, GM does believe they represent a good basis for a productive relationship between you and GM. For this reason, we are committed to their full implementation in every GM unit and to their sound administration. (emphasis added).

8. The court finds that the words used in the employment manual excerpts set forth above do not indicate an intent to be contractually bound. Phrases like "guide relationships," "clear summary of the most significant of these policies and procedures," and "reductions will be made generally" in a particular way do indicate an intent to try to establish...