Eliassaint v. RTG Furniture Corp.
| Decision Date | 29 July 2021 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 8:19-cv-3001-KKM-CPT |
| Citation | 551 F.Supp.3d 1293 |
| Parties | Michelet ELIASSAINT, Plaintiff, v. RTG FURNITURE CORP., Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Middle District of Florida |
Tiffani-Ruth Imani Brooks, Derek Smith Law Group, Miami, FL, for Plaintiff.
Phillip J. Harris, Constangy, Brooks & Smith, LLP, Tampa, FL, for Defendant.
Defendant RTG Furniture Corporation (RTG) moves for summary judgment against Plaintiff Michelet Eliassaint on all counts. (Doc. 28). After reviewing the motion, Eliassaint's response in opposition (Doc. 33), the parties’ statement of undisputed facts (Docs. 29 & 34), RTG's reply (Doc. 40), and the record, the Court grants the motion in full for the reasons discussed below.
On December 6, 2019, Eliassaint filed a ten-count complaint against Rooms To Go Central Corp., alleging a discrimination claim based on race and national origin under 42 U.S.C. § 1981, Title VII, and the Florida Civil Rights Act (FCRA); a hostile work environment claim under § 1981 and Title VII; a retaliation claim under § 1981, Title VII, and the FCRA; a negligent retention claim; and a negligent infliction of emotional distress claim. (Doc. 1). Rooms To Go Central Corporation answered Eliassaint's complaint on February 28, 2020. (Doc. 9). Around eight months later, the parties moved to substitute RTG for Rooms To Go Central Corp. after "[counsel] for [Eliassaint] ... discovered the correct Defendant is RTG Furniture Corp." (Doc. 14). The Court granted the motion. (Doc. 15). After completing discovery and mediation—which resulted in an impasse, (Doc. 21)—RTG now files a motion for summary judgment on Eliassaint's claims, (Doc. 28), which Eliassaint opposes, (Doc. 33).
In 1986, Eliassaint moved to the United States from Haiti. (Doc. 29-1 at 4). He started working for RTG as a truck loader in RTG's distribution center in Seffner, Florida, around ten years later. (Id. at 5–6). RTG engages in the retail sale of furniture and operates numerous distribution centers to supply its retailers. (Doc. 34 at 1). After working as a loader, Eliassaint "went to Shop tech to fix furniture." (Doc. 29-1 at 7). He then "went to Shop," eventually becoming a Shop Supervisor and transferring to the Lakeland location. (Id. at 8). Not long after his transfer to Lakeland, he started as the Shop Area Supervisor for the second shift. (Id. at 9). Eliassaint worked as the Shop Area Supervisor for the second shift for fifteen years—from 2005 to 2020. (Id. at 9). As Shop Area Supervisor, Eliassaint oversaw furniture repairs; supervised and disciplined associates; and conducted performance reviews. (Doc. 34 at 3). For most of his time as Shop Area Supervisor, Tony Wilson was Eliassaint's supervisor. (Id. ).
In his supervisory position, Eliassaint's salary increased from $30,000 to $50,000 over the course of fifteen years. (Doc. 29-1 at 10). In addition to his salary, Eliassaint was eligible to earn bonuses through RTG's tri-annual bonus plan. (Doc. 34 at 3). Under the plan, employees could earn three bonuses per year based on their performance rating issued by management. (Id. at 4). The performance ratings included "S" (for superior performance), "A" (for excellent performance), "B" (for above average performance), "C" (for average performance), and "D" (for below average performance), and the amounts spanned from zero dollars (for a D rating) to one-thousand dollars (for an S rating). (Id. ). Supervisors’ ratings and bonuses turned on several criteria, including performance, work ethic, technical skills, leadership skills, and original ideas. (Id. ). Eliassaint most frequently received B and C bonuses. (Doc. 29-1 at 11). Wilson, Eliassaint's supervisor, explained that Eliassaint often sent emails and prepared performance reviews with misspellings and other grammatical mistakes that made it difficult for people to understand him. (Doc. 34 at 4). Although his writing skills temporarily improved while he took some college writing classes, Eliassaint's mistakes soon resurfaced, and Wilson had to make frequent corrections to the performance reviews that Eliassaint drafted. (Id. at 5). According to Wilson, Eliassaint also did not supervise other employees well and disliked handling issues that came up with employees under his supervision. (Id. at 6). Instead, Eliassaint leaned on other coworkers to resolve those issues for him. (Id. ).
Eliassaint's claims largely rest on the statements and conduct of Brian Beckham, a shift manager, and Nate Reed, an operations manager, who both worked at RTG's Lakeland warehouse with Eliassaint. (Doc. 29-1 at 13; Doc. 34 at 10). In his deposition, Eliassaint explained that the discriminatory conduct and harassment began when he started working with Beckham and Reed. (Doc. 29-1 at 15). Eliassaint alleges that, in 2013, Beckham punched him in the groin and then, in 2015, punched him in the lower back while Eliassaint was in the bathroom. (Id. ). Eliassaint also alleges that Beckham told him "[w]hen you go back to Haiti[,] you should sell [your wife] for $50.00"; called him "dumb" more than once; stated that "Haitians always use machetes to cut people's heads off"; called Eliassaint "the Haitian"; and asked Eliassaint not do "do voodoo on me." (Doc. 29-1 at 36–37; Doc. 34 at 10). Additionally, Reed allegedly stated that because he is "a white man, [he] can't write [Eliassaint's] name" and that "[b]ecause [Eliassaint is] Haitian[,] it is hard for [him] to speak English and write." (Doc. 34 at 11). When Eliassaint wore a jersey into work one Friday, Reed also asked Eliassaint "why [he was wearing it], Haiti does not have a soccer team" and poked him in the chest. (Doc. 29-1 at 27; Doc. 34 at 11). Eliassaint alleges that these statements were made during 2016 (or prior) and 2017. (Doc. 29-1 at 26–27; Doc. 34 at 10–11).
On October 9, 2017, Beckham asked Eliassaint to send a technician to Bay 36, an area in the "south side" of the warehouse. (Doc. 34 at 6; Doc. 29-1 at 67). Eliassaint delegated the task to a subordinate. (Doc. 34 at 6). When Beckham and Reed went to Bay 36 shortly thereafter, they noticed a technician had not arrived and again asked Eliassaint to send a technician there. (Id. at 6–7). Eliassaint grew angry with the men and started walking away from them. (Id. at 7). Reed told Eliassaint to stop walking away and to "quit being insubordinate." (Id. ). Eliassaint claims that Beckham and Reed were screaming at him and were "in [his] space." (Id. ). The day after the incident, Eliassaint filed a complaint with the human resources department, alleging he had been harassed and discriminated against by Beckham and Reed. (Doc. 34 at 8). This was the first time Eliassaint approached human resources about Beckham or Reed's alleged harassment and discrimination. (Doc. 29-1 at 24). The human resources representative immediately initiated an investigation. (Doc. 34 at 8). She interviewed seventeen employees from the Lakeland warehouse (including Reed, Beckham, and Wilson) in the approximately three-month-long investigation. (Id. at 9). On January 8, 2018, the human resources department sent a letter to Eliassaint, informing him that it found "no evidence to support unlawful discrimination or harassment." (Id. at 8–9).
On April 30, 2018, Eliassaint submitted two requests to transfer to different positions, citing "better opportunity 3:[00] p.m. to 11:30 p.m." and "better shift 3:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m." as his reasons for his transfer applications and a "family issue" for his reason for leaving the Shop Area Supervisor role. (Doc. 34 at 9; Doc. 29-1 at 166, 168). In his requests, Eliassaint asked to be transferred to the Lift Department in the Annex warehouse and to the CC Department in the Lakeland warehouse. (Doc. 34 at 9). In response, RTG offered him a lift operator position for the second shift at the Annex warehouse or the 5k shift at the Lakeland warehouse. (Doc. 34 at 9). Eliassaint rejected both transfer offers because of the pay differential between them and his Shop Area Supervisor role, where he elected to remain. (Id. at 10). Then, on February 25, 2019, Eliassaint filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). (Doc. 34 at 14). His right-to-sue notice was issued on July 16, 2019, and he timely filed this lawsuit on December 6, 2019. (Doc. 1 at 7).
In April 2020, RTG furloughed Eliassaint for approximately three months.
(Doc. 29-1 at 7). Wilson explained that many employees on second shift were furloughed and there were not "enough people [working] to bring Eliassaint back." (Doc. 29-3 at 19). Because Eliassaint was junior to the other second shift Shop Area Supervisor, Eliassaint—rather than the more senior second shift Shop Area Supervisor—was furloughed. (Id. ). Wilson "got a list on who was getting furloughed, and that list consisted of ... [employees’] hire dates" and "the ones that had seniority over other ones, they didn't get furloughed." (Id. at 19). In July 2020, RTG brought Eliassaint back as an assistant manager for customer pick-up (CPU) in Lakeland—the position he currently holds at RTG. (Doc. 29-1 at 20–21).
Summary judgment is appropriate if no genuine dispute of material fact exists and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). The moving party can show that no genuine dispute of material fact exists by showing "that there is an absence of evidence to support the nonmoving party's case." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett , 477 U.S. 317, 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) ; In re Optical Techs., Inc. , 246 F.3d 1332, 1334 (11th Cir. 2001) (...
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