Brannum v. Missouri Dept. of Corrections

• Decision Date: 03 March 2008
• Docket Number: No. 07-1598.,07-1598.
• Citation: 518 F.3d 542
• Parties: Lola Ann BRANNUM, Appellant, v. MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

518 F.3d 542

Lola Ann BRANNUM, Appellant, v. MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, Appellee.

No. 07-1598.

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

Submitted: December 10, 2007.

Filed: March 3, 2008.

Robert M. Miller, argued, High Ridge, MO, for Appellant.

Michael S. Meyers, Assistant Attorney General, argued, St. Louis, MO (Richard Vannoy III, Assistant Attorney General, on the brief), for Appellee.

Before COLLOTON, BEAM, and BENTON, Circuit Judges.

BEAM, Circuit Judge.¹

Lola Ann Brannum appeals from a grant of summary judgment in favor of her employer, the Missouri Department of Corrections (MDOC), on her retaliation claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. The district court² held that Brannum failed to establish a prima facie case of retaliation and, furthermore, that Brannum did not prove MDOC's proffered reasons for the adverse employment actions she suffered were a pretext for retaliation. We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

We recite the facts in the light most favorable to Brannum, the nonmoving party, and give her the benefit of all reasonable inferences. Cherry v. Ritenour Sch. Dist., 361 F.3d 474, 476 (8th Cir.2004). Brannum is a correctional officer employed by MDOC at the Potosi Correctional Center. In the summer of 2003, Brannum worked in the Special Needs Unit (SNU), a unit for developmentally disabled and mentally ill inmates.

On June 23, 2003, Brannum was working a shift with a new officer, William Bjork, when they were approached by Sharon Gifford, the functional unit manager of the SNU. Gifford asked Bjork whether he was enjoying his SNU placement. Bjork responded that the SNU was not what he had expected and that he planned to "bid out of the [SNU]" eventually. Gifford became visibly upset, and told Bjork he could not continue working in the SNU without special training. Brannum, who witnessed this exchange, then reminded Gifford that she (Brannum) had worked in the SNU for over a year without the required SNU training. In response, Gifford allegedly told Brannum, "[y]ou don't need the training, women are better by and large as they do a better job than men do anyway and are more patient and nurturing than men and we have had no complaints about you." Gifford then went to several other correctional officers on duty and told them she was removing Bjork from his post. Bjork was removed from the SNU for the remainder of the day, but he remained assigned to the unit and returned to work there the following day.

On June 23, Bjork filed a memorandum with Captain Garry Branch describing his conversation with Gifford and accusing Gifford of sexual harassment. Brannum signed the memorandum as a witness to the conversation. On June 27, Bjork filed a formal employee grievance with MDOC Superintendent Don Roper, relating Gifford's comment and accusing her of sexual harassment and "prejudice towards opposite sex (men)." Brannum was also listed on this document as a witness to the conversation.

On July 1, 2003, Brannum was on duty in the SNU when an inmate, Bruce Samson, became upset with her. Brannum asked Officers John Barker, Reuben Cook and Rodney Beers, also on duty in the SNU at the time, to speak with Samson and attempt to calm him down. According to Brannum, those officers and Samson briefly exchanged words and the officers eventually escorted Samson back to his cell using a "soft empty hand" escort.³ According to Samson, however, the officers roughly grabbed him by the arm and forced him into his cell, slamming his leg in the cell door in the process. Samson reported the incident to Sergeant Kelley Brownlee, another correctional officer, that same day. Pursuant to MDOC policy, officers must immediately notify a superior about any use of force (other than a soft empty hand escort or verbal command), fill out a use-of-force report and submit the report to a supervisor before going off duty. The following day, Sergeant Brownlee notified Gifford of Samson's allegations after Brownlee determined that none of the officers on duty at the time reported the incident to a supervisor or recorded it in the control room log.

MDOC also has a nondiscretionary policy that requires an investigation be made into any alleged unreported use of force. Pursuant to that policy, MDOC launched an investigation into Samson's allegations. The day after the alleged incident, MDOC Investigator Tom King photographed bruises on Samson's arm and shoulder area and his right thigh. Shortly thereafter, MDOC Investigator Mike O'Brien interviewed Samson and the officers on duty at the time of the incident, as well as another inmate, just paroled, who witnessed the incident. The former inmate corroborated Samson's allegations. Similarly, Officer Cook admitted to O'Brien that he and the other officers used force against Samson. On August 18, 2003, O'Brien submitted a final investigative report to MDOC authorities regarding the incident. In his report, O'Brien concluded that Samson was likely the victim of an unreported use of force, but was unable to determine whether the force used was excessive. O'Brien also concluded that Brannum had violated MDOC policy by discussing the ongoing, confidential investigation with persons inside and outside MDOC, including the former inmate. On October 16, 2003, Brannum was permanently removed from her post in the SNU and reassigned to a position as a temporary utility officer.

In October of 2003, Brannum filed an administrative charge of discrimination, with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Missouri Commission on Human Rights, alleging unlawful retaliation. She received a Right to Sue Notice dated June 15, 2005. On December 2, 2003, George Lombardi, MDOC Director of the Division of Adult Institutions, issued a formal letter of reprimand to Brannum as a result of the Samson incident. Brannum was reprimanded for failing to summon a supervisor during or after the incident, failing to report the use of force, collaborating to mislead the investigation, soliciting and submitting false testimony to investigators, providing false responses to investigators, and engaging in unauthorized discussions about a confidential grievance that was under review. As a result of this letter, Brannum was prevented from applying for promotions within MDOC for one year.

Brannum filed this action on July 2, 2005, and filed an amended complaint on July 20, 2005, alleging unlawful retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3(a). Brannum contends that MDOC initiated the investigation into the Samson incident, removed her from her SNU post and reprimanded her in retaliation for her assistance to Bjork in reporting Gifford's alleged harassment. MDOC subsequently moved for summary judgment, which the district court granted. The district court found Brannum could not establish a prima facie case of retaliation, because she could not have reasonably believed she was objecting to conduct made unlawful by Title VII. Moreover, the district court found Brannum failed to rebut MDOC's legitimate, nonretaliatory reasons for its actions. This appeal followed.

For reversal, Brannum argues the district court erred in finding she did not engage in protected activity by assisting Bjork in reporting Gifford's comments. She also contends she raised a genuine issue of material fact as to pretext.

II. DISCUSSION

We review the district court's grant of summary judgment de novo, Twymon v. Wells Fargo & Co., 462 F.3d 925, 933 (8th Cir.2006), and may affirm on any ground supported by the record. Simpson v. Des Moines Water Works, 425 F.3d 538, 541 (8th Cir.2005). "We will uphold the judgment if the evidence, `viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, demonstrates no genuine issue of material fact exists and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.'" Cherry, 361 F.3d at 478 (quoting Trammel v. Simmons First Bank, 345 F.3d 611, 613 (8th Cir.2003)).

Title VII's anti-retaliation provision prevents employers from retaliating against employees who have acted to vindicate their statutorily protected rights by reporting harassment or discrimination in the workplace. Wallace v. DTG Operations, Inc., 442 F.3d 1112, 1118 (8th Cir. 2006). Thus, an employer may not take adverse action against an employee because the employee has "opposed any practice made an unlawful employment practice by [Title VII]," or "made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under [Title VII]." 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3(a). "`The two clauses of this section typically are described, respectively, as the opposition clause and the participation clause.'" Barker v. Mo. Dep't of Corr., 513 F.3d 831, 834 (8th Cir. Jan. 24, 2008) (quoting Gilooly v. Mo. Dep't of Health & Senior Servs., 421 F.3d 734, 741 (8th Cir.2005) (Colloton, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part)).

We analyze Brannum's Title VII claim under the familiar burden-shifting framework of McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973), which both parties invoke. Under this analysis, Brannum bears the initial burden of establishing a prima facie case of retaliation. Buettner v. Arch Coal Sales Co., 216 F.3d 707, 713-14 (8th Cir.2000). To do so, Brannum must show that she engaged in statutorily protected activity, she suffered an adverse employment action, and there is a causal connection between her involvement in the protected activity and the adverse employment action that she suffered. Wallace, 442 F.3d at 1119. This court has held that "a plaintiff employee need not establish that the conduct he opposed was in fact prohibited under Title VII" to satisfy the first element. Bakhtiari v. Lutz, 507 F.3d 1132, 1137 (8th Cir.2007). Rather, at least in the opposition clause context,⁴ Brannum must simply prove she "had a `good faith, reasonable belief that the underlying...