Eslinger v. US Cent. Credit Union
| Decision Date | 05 October 1994 |
| Docket Number | No. 93-2406-JWL.,93-2406-JWL. |
| Parties | Nancy ESLINGER, Plaintiff, v. U.S. CENTRAL CREDIT UNION, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Kansas |
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Stephen J. Dennis, Kenneth R. Battis, Dennis & Battis, P.A., Fairway, KS, for plaintiff Nancy Eslinger.
W. Perry Brandt, Tammy L. Womack, Stinson, Mag & Fizzell, John M. Lilla, Lindsay K. McFerrin, Brian A. Snyder, Jackson, Lilla & McFerrin, P.C., Kansas City, MO, Thomas F. Sullivan, Lenexa, KS, for defendant U.S. Cent. Credit Union.
Nancy Eslinger, plaintiff, contends that her employer, U.S. Central Credit Union ("U.S. Central"), discriminated against her on the basis of her sex in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended by the Civil Rights Act of 1991, 42 U.S.C.A § 2000e et seq. (West 1981 & Supp. 1994). Defendant denies that plaintiff's termination of employment with U.S. Central constitutes unlawful discrimination and has moved for summary judgment of plaintiff's claim (Doc. # 56). For the reasons set forth fully below, although an exceeding close case, defendant's motion is denied.
The following facts are uncontroverted or are those facts considered in the light most favorable to plaintiff for purposes of this summary judgment motion.1
Plaintiff began her employment at U.S. Central in 1982 as a Corporate Account Representative, an entry level position for which she was compensated $15,000 per year. Over a ten year period, she advanced up the "corporate ladder" holding the positions of Corporate Account Representative, Product Manager, Assistant Vice President of Payment Systems, Assistant Vice President of Securities and Assistant Vice President of Settlement Services, receiving incremental increases in her salary along the way. She was terminated in 1992, at which time she held the position of Vice President of Settlement Services and General Services and received compensation in the amount of $74,000 per year.
From the time of plaintiff's employment in 1982 to her termination in January of 1993, U.S. Central grew substantially. New functions and areas of responsibility were continually being developed. By the late 1980's, as a result of the company's substantial growth, there was a clear sense that the management of U.S. Central needed reorganization and restructuring. In July of 1991, U.S. Central hired Mr. James Bell as its new President, charged with the task of making "whatever changes were necessary" in the existing management structure in order to improve operational efficiency.
Shortly after his arrival, Mr. Bell met one on one with plaintiff, and while discussing an employee who was then on maternity leave, commented to plaintiff that, "you can't trust pregnant women, especially those with their second child because you never know if they are going to come back or not." Plaintiff reported this comment to Deb Vanderwerf, the company's personnel manager, immediately after the meeting. Although she did not know it at the time, plaintiff was then pregnant with her second child. In August of 1991, Mr. Bell told Kelly Shelquist, an employee supervised by plaintiff, when she returned from maternity leave that, in his opinion, women were better workers "until they have kids."
Mr. Bell engaged in an immediate reshuffling and reorganization at U.S. Central. A number of officers lost their jobs in the latter months of 1991, including two male vice presidents and one male assistant vice president. There was a second wave of changes in 1992, one significant result of which was the elimination of the position of general manager. At the time of the elimination of the general manager position, March of 1992, plaintiff was promoted to a full vice president position.
The decision to promote plaintiff was made by Mr. Bell, the same person who terminated her position nine months later. At the time he promoted plaintiff, Mr. Bell was aware that plaintiff was roughly eight months pregnant with her second child.
Plaintiff gave birth to her second child in April of 1992. After she returned from maternity leave, she had some family problems concerning her children and, in the Fall of 1992, took some additional time off from work. Upon her return, she had a conversation with Mr. Bell concerning the subject of motherhood, which plaintiff characterizes as a "lecture" on motherhood, and was told that she "could always come back in the work force later on." About this same time, Mr. Bell considered the elimination of plaintiff's position.
On January 7, 1993, plaintiff's position of Vice President of Settlement Services and General Services was eliminated and her responsibilities redistributed to officers in other departments. Plaintiff was not offered another or lower position with the company. Mr. Bell testified that her termination was not performance related. Defendant contends that the results of a study of U.S. Central's work flows and operational efficiencies by the outside consulting firm of Deloitte & Touche, in conjunction with the business judgment of President Bell, formed the basis for the decision to eliminate plaintiff's position. Mr. Bell allegedly determined that several of plaintiff's responsibilities more appropriately fell under different departments at U.S. Central. It is defendant's contention that plaintiff's termination was motivated solely by the need to improve corporate efficiency.
Following the elimination of her position, plaintiff's duties were parceled to other male employees, namely three senior vice presidents in charge of the data processing department, the administration department and the treasury department.
Of the ten officers let go by U.S. Central during plaintiff's tenure, nine were men, plaintiff being the only female officer terminated. Plaintiff was, however, the only female to hold a vice-president position and one of only a handful of females to hold an assistant vice-president position at U.S. Central. Since plaintiff's termination, defendant has added employees to its payroll "fairly steadily."
Plaintiff contends that the defendant did not eliminate her position and terminate her employment solely in an effort to maximize efficiency. Instead, plaintiff argues that her gender played a role in defendant's decision to terminate her employment and eliminate her position.
When considering a motion for summary judgment, the court must examine all the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Langely v. Adams County, Colorado, 987 F.2d 1473, 1476 (10th Cir. 1993). A moving party who bears the burden of proof at trial is entitled to summary judgment only when the evidence indicates that no genuine issue of material fact exists. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); Anthony v. United States, 987 F.2d 670, 672 (10th Cir.1993). If the moving party does not bear the burden of proof at trial, it must show "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, 2554, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).
Once the movant meets these requirements, the burden shifts to the party resisting the motion to "set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 256, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2514, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The nonmovant may not merely rest on the pleadings to meet this burden. Id. Genuine factual issues must exist that "can be resolved only by a finder of fact because they may reasonably be resolved in favor of either party." Id. at 250, 106 S.Ct. at 2511, Tersiner v. Union Pacific R.R., 740 F.Supp. 1519, 1522-23 (D.Kan. 1990). More than a "disfavored procedural shortcut," summary judgment is an important procedure Celotex, 477 U.S. at 327, 106 S.Ct. at 2555.
Defendant contends that even if plaintiff is given all the reasonable inferences to which she is entitled from the facts before the court, she cannot meet her burden to show a genuine issue of fact exists whether U.S. Central had an unlawful discriminatory motive or intent in terminating her employment. Defendant contends that under the shifting burden of proof scheme established in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973) and refined in Texas Dep't of Community Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 101 S.Ct. 1089, 67 L.Ed.2d 207 (1973), plaintiff fails to prove a prima facie case of gender discrimination and, further, that plaintiff has not met her burden to present evidence that U.S. Central's articulated reasons for her termination are a pretext for unlawful gender discrimination.
Plaintiff first responds that the McDonnell Douglas framework is inapplicable here because plaintiff has produced direct evidence of discriminatory intent. See Furr v. AT & T Technologies, Inc., 824 F.2d 1537, 1549 (10th Cir.1987) (). Plaintiff contends that Mr. Bell's comments regarding pregnant women and/or women with children, evidence a bias against females in the workplace, and, thus, constitute direct, as opposed to circumstantial, evidence of discrimination. The court disagrees. Mr. Bell's alleged comments are not direct evidence of discriminatory intent, but rather are circumstantial evidence from which a trier of fact may infer discriminatory intent.
To constitute direct evidence, plaintiff's proof must "speak directly to the issue of discriminatory intent" and "must also relate to the specific employment decision in question." Swanson v. Allied Signal, Inc., No. 91-2155-JWL, 1992 WL 223768, *2 (D.Kan. Aug. 13, 1992) (quoting Randle v. LaSalle Telecommunications, Inc., 876 F.2d 563, 569 (7th Cir.1989)). While Mr. Bell's alleged statements may be considered as...
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