Edwards v. Wallace Community College

• Decision Date: 19 April 1995
• Docket Number: No. 94-6058,94-6058
• Citation: 49 F.3d 1517
• Parties: 67 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 949, 66 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 43,575, 98 Ed. Law Rep. 656 Marcia M. EDWARDS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. WALLACE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, Robert McConnell, Connie Vardaman, Joyce Howell, B. Gene Burton, Leighann Swindal, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit

Page 1517

49 F.3d 1517

67 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 949,

66 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 43,575, 98 Ed. Law Rep. 656

Marcia M. EDWARDS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. WALLACE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, Robert McConnell, Connie

Vardaman, Joyce Howell, B. Gene Burton, Leighann

Swindal, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 94-6058.

United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit.

April 19, 1995.

Julian L. McPhillips, Jr., Montgomery, AL, J.L. Chestnut, Jr., Selma, AL, for appellant.

Jeffery A. Foshee, Foshee & Associates, Harry A. Lyles, Montgomery, AL, for appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama.

Before KRAVITCH, Circuit Judge, GODBOLD and RONEY, Senior Circuit Judges.

GODBOLD, Senior Circuit Judge:

Ms. Marcia Edwards appeals from the district court's summary judgment for defendants. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

After obtaining a right to sue letter from the E.E.O.C., Edwards, an African-American, brought several claims pursuant to Title VII, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000e et seq., and 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 against the defendants, Wallace Community College Selma (WCCS), Dr. Robert McConnell, Connie Vardaman, Joyce Howell, and Leighann Swindal, ¹ alleging racial discrimination. Dr. McConnell, Vardaman, Howell, and Swindal are all employees of WCCS.

Edwards was employed at WCCS as a word processing specialist, a newly created position, from September 1990 until her termination during July 1991. At the time of plaintiff's employment with WCCS Dr. McConnell was the Vice-President of WCCS, and he acted as Edwards' supervisor during the last week of her employment; Vardaman was the secretary for the President, Dr. Julius Brown; Howell was a secretary and taught computer classes for WCCS personnel Edwards alleges that the defendants influenced Dr. Brown to discriminatorily discharge her ² and that defendants created a hostile environment, violating her civil rights.

and Swindal was a secretary for the Business Manager/Treasurer of WCCS. With the exception of her last week of employment Edwards was supervised by Dr. Brown.

DISCUSSION

I. Standard of Review

For issues on which they would not have the burden of proof at trial, the defendants, as the moving parties in this motion for summary judgment, must demonstrate that there is an absence of evidence supporting Edwards' claims. For issues on which they would have the burden of proof at trial the defendants must make an affirmative showing that on all essential elements on which they have the burden of proof at trial, no reasonable jury could find for the non-moving party, the plaintiff in the case at bar. See Fitzpatrick v. City of Atlanta, 2 F.3d 1112, 1115-17 (11th Cir.1993) (thorough discussion of the standard of review for a motion for summary judgment). We review de novo the district court's grant of a motion for summary judgment.

II. Title VII

Edwards sues WCCS and Dr. McConnell in his official capacity for alleged violations of Title VII. ³ R. 83 at pp 4-5. The remaining individual defendants are not sued pursuant to Title VII. Id. at pp 6-8.

A. Disparate Impact

A disparate impact claim under Title VII charges that a facially neutral practice or test of the employer led to a discriminatory impact on a particular group and that the test or practice cannot be justified as a business necessity. Griggs v. Duke Power Co., 401 U.S. 424, 431, 91 S.Ct. 849, 853, 28 L.Ed.2d 158 (1971); Stephen v. PGA Sheraton Resort, Ltd., 873 F.2d 276, 279 (11th Cir.1989). A plaintiff must identify a specific employment practice that leads to the disparate impact. ⁴ Fitzpatrick, 2 F.3d at 1117. A plaintiff also must make a comparison of the racial composition of persons in the labor pool qualified for the position at issue with those persons actually holding that position, and he/she must demonstrate that the allegedly discriminatory practice or test is connected to the disparate impact. Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Atonio, 490 U.S. 642, 657, 109 S.Ct. 2115, 2125, 104 L.Ed.2d 733 (1989). A plaintiff is not required to prove a discriminatory motive. Griggs, 401 U.S. at 432, 91 S.Ct. at 854.

Edwards' disparate impact claim fails because: (1) she failed to identify a practice or test of WCCS used to terminate employees that led to a discriminatory impact on African-Americans and, more specifically, that affected her; (2) she accordingly failed to connect an allegedly discriminatory practice to the asserted disparate impact; and (3) she failed to make the required statistical comparison. ⁵

B. Disparate Treatment

A plaintiff asserting disparate treatment is required to prove discriminatory animus on the part of the defendant. Texas Dep't of Community Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 256, 101 S.Ct. 1089, 1095, 67 L.Ed.2d 207 (1981); McDonnell Douglas

Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 804-05, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 1825, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). The employee has a cause of action against the employer by naming either the employer or supervisory employees as agents of the employer. Busby v. City of Orlando, 931 F.2d 764, 772 (11th Cir.1991). Edwards contends that WCCS and Dr. McConnell discriminated against her by discriminatorily discharging her and by creating and/or permitting a racially hostile work environment.

1. Discharge

To succeed with her discriminatory discharge claim Edwards must show "(1) that [she] is a member of a protected minority, (2) that [she] was qualified for the job from which [she] was discharged, (3) that [she] was discharged, and (4) that [her] former position was filled by a non-minority." Jones v. Lumberjack Meats, Inc., 680 F.2d 98, 101 (11th Cir.1982). See also McDonnell Douglas Corp., 411 U.S. at 802, 93 S.Ct. at 1824. Edwards failed to present evidence that her position was filled by a non-minority following her discharge. ⁶

Edwards correctly says that a prima facie case is not wholly dependant upon meeting the fourth requirement of the McDonnell Douglas test. A plaintiff may have a prima facie case based on the first three requirements despite the fact that the employer hired a minority to fill the vacancy left by the plaintiff. Howard v. Roadway Express, Inc., 726 F.2d 1529, 1534-35 (11th Cir.1984). However, the court must consider whether the fact that a minority was hired overcomes the inference of discrimination otherwise created by the evidence presented by the plaintiff. Courts considering such a situation have looked at several factors including the length of time between the discharge and the replacement, whether the replacement by the hired minority occurred after the filing of an E.E.O.C. complaint, and, if the hired person had a history with the employer, whether it was a positive history. See Howard, 726 F.2d at 1525; Jones v. Western Geophysical Co. of Am., 669 F.2d 280 (5th Cir.1982) (hiring of replacement occurred almost a year later, after a complaint was filed with the E.E.O.C., and the person hired already had been hired and fired for poor performance by the employer). Edwards has not presented any evidence that the filling of the vacancy by a minority was pretextual.

2. Hostile Environment

Edwards has the burden of proof at trial to demonstrate a hostile environment. As the moving parties in the motion for summary judgment, the defendants must either "put on evidence affirmatively negating the material fact or instead demonstrate[ ] an absence of evidence on the issue." Fitzpatrick, 2 F.3d at 1116. To survive the motion for summary judgment, Edwards then must "show that the record in fact contains supporting evidence, sufficient to withstand a directed verdict motion," or Edwards must "come forward with additional evidence sufficient to withstand a directed verdict motion at trial based on the alleged evidentiary deficiency." Id. at 1116-17.

To succeed at trial with her hostile environment claim Edwards must demonstrate that the actions of the defendants altered the condition of the workplace, creating an objectively abusive and hostile atmosphere. Harris v. Forklift Sys., Inc., --- U.S. ----, ----, 114 S.Ct. 367, 370-71, 126 L.Ed.2d 295 (1993) ("When the workplace is permeated with 'discriminatory intimidation, ridicule, and insult' that is 'sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of the victim's employment and create an abusive working environment,' Title VII is violated.") (internal citations omitted). For example, the racial slurs allegedly spoken by co-workers had to be so "commonplace, overt and denigrating that they created an atmosphere charged with racial hostility." E.E.O.C. v. Beverage Canners, Inc., 897 F.2d 1067, 1068 (11th Cir.1990). In deciding whether a hostile environment was created factors to consider include the frequency of the discriminatory conduct, the severity of the discriminatory The district court did not err in holding that the summary judgment record did not substantiate a hostile work environment claim. We have reviewed the summary judgment material. As the court held, some of the incidents relied upon were not made known to Edwards until after her termination and, therefore, could not have contributed to her subjective view of a hostile environment. See Harris, --- U.S. at ----, 114 S.Ct. at 370 (the plaintiff must subjectively view the conduct as hostile). Other alleged incidents, as the court correctly held, were purely speculation by Edwards. Still others concerned statements said to have been made to third parties by fourth parties. Apart from hearsay problems, there was insufficient information as to when the statements were made, how knowledge of them was acquired, and when Edwards was informed of them (if she was). In her answers to interrogatories, Edwards refers generally to racial references concerning her made by co-worker Vardaman. These too were not identified as to how they were made, to whom they were made, and how and when they were made known to Edwards. Edwards also says that she did not receive information pertinent to her employment that Caucasian employees did...