Foster v. Bjc Health System

• Citation: 121 F.Supp.2d 1280
• Decision Date: 13 November 2000
• Docket Number: No. 4:99CV01148 CDP.,4:99CV01148 CDP.
• Parties: Helen M. FOSTER, Plaintiff, v. BJC HEALTH SYSTEM, Defendant.
• Court: United States District Courts. 8th Circuit. United States District Court (Eastern District of Missouri)

121 F.Supp.2d 1280

Helen M. FOSTER, Plaintiff, v. BJC HEALTH SYSTEM, Defendant.

No. 4:99CV01148 CDP.

United States District Court, E.D. Missouri, Eastern Division.

November 13, 2000.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Roger G. Brown, Winfred O. Nickens, Roger G. Brown & Associates, Jefferson City, MO, for Helen M. Foster, plaintiff.

Dennis G. Collins, Partner, T. Christopher Bailey, Greensfelder and Hemker, St. Louis, MO, for BJC Health Systems, defendant.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

PERRY, District Judge.

In this action, Helen Foster claims that her former employer, BJC Health System, discriminated against her in the benefits and conditions of her employment, and ultimately discharged her, because of her race. Foster's two-count complaint alleges violations of the Missouri Human Rights Act, Mo.Rev.Stat. § 213 et seq., and 42 U.S.C. § 1981. BJC moves for summary judgment, arguing that Foster's MHRA claims are time-barred, that Foster's status as an at-will employee precludes her claim under § 1981, and that Foster has not adduced sufficient evidence of race discrimination. I agree that Foster's MHRA claim is time barred. I will deny the motion with respect to her § 1981 claim.

In determining whether to grant summary judgment, I must view the facts and inferences from the facts in the light most favorable to Foster. See Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). BJC has the burden to establish both the absence of a genuine issue of material fact and that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c); Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). Once BJC has met this burden, Foster may not rest on the allegations in her pleadings but by affidavit or other evidence must set forth specific facts showing that a genuine issue of material fact exists. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e). "[A] complete failure of proof concerning an essential element of the non-moving party's case necessarily renders all other facts immaterial." Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548. Finally, in making this determination, I am mindful of the Eighth Circuit's most recent admonition that "summary judgment should seldom be granted in discrimination cases." Bassett v. City of Minneapolis, 211 F.3d 1097, 1099 (8th Cir.2000). Under these standards I review the facts in this case.

I. Facts

BJC¹ hired Helen Foster, an African American, in 1967. Until 1988, Foster worked as a clerk in BJC's accounts payable department. At that time, an accounts payable clerk's primary duty was to pay invoices that BJC owed. In 1988, BJC promoted Foster and another accounts payable clerk, Suzanne Torrence, to the position of Senior Accounts Payable Clerk. Foster's promotion made her the highest ranking African American employee in the accounts payable department. Torrence, who is white, had worked as an accounts payable clerk at BJC since 1971. After Foster and Torrence were promoted, Foster continued to process a high volume of invoices. Torrence processed fewer invoices, in part because Torrence assumed more new responsibilities than did Foster. In early 1997, BJC promoted two of its four senior clerks to the position of Accounts Payable Coordinator, leaving Foster and Torrence the department's only remaining senior clerks. Until December of 1996, Foster and Torrence worked under the direct supervision of Richard Schellhase, BJC's Accounts Payable Supervisor.

Foster excelled at processing invoices. Schellhase testified that Foster was a "very fast" invoice processor, and his performance evaluations praised Foster's accuracy. Moreover, BJC's accounts payable production summary for 1995 and 1996 suggests that Foster consistently processed many more invoices than the department's other employees.

In 1996, Phillip Cavoretto, Schellhase's supervisor, directed Schellhase to reallocate responsibilities among accounts payable staff. Cavoretto testified that he instructed Schellhase to "make sure the senior clerks [are] performing senior clerk activities." As a result of this reallocation, Foster assumed most of the department's account balancing responsibilities. Current BJC employees testified that Foster had considerable difficulty balancing accounts. For example, Cheri Duffey, an Accounts Payable Supervisor at BJC, claimed to have come into work on more than one weekend to complete backlogged balancing. On the other hand, Schellhase testified that, in his recollection, Foster experienced "no major problems" in performing balancing duties. Moreover, the evidence also suggests that employees other than Foster, including Torrence, found balancing difficult.

Between 1994 and 1995, Schellhase issued three reprimands to Torrence, and ultimately suspended her, for performance reasons. Torrence testified that this disciplinary action helped to improve her performance. Conversely, Foster received no formal discipline or performance counseling while employed at BJC other than routine annual evaluations. Foster's performance evaluations were satisfactory or better until 1997, although the evaluations indicated that Foster needed improvement in some areas. In particular, at least two evaluations stated that Foster should take more initiative in reporting problems with accounts payable clerks to management.

By 1995, BJC had set specific goals for reducing labor costs. It eliminated Schellhase's position in December of 1996. After Schellhase left BJC, Cavoretto became Foster's and Torence's immediate supervisor. In 1997, Cavoretto and BJC's Vice President of Finance, Constance Schmidt, decided to eliminate one of the two senior accounts payable clerk positions. In November of 1997, Cavoretto informed Foster that her position would be eliminated on January 2, 1998. Cavoretto participated in the decisions to terminate Schellhase and Foster.

A few months before Foster learned that her position would be eliminated, Cavoretto conducted Foster's annual performance appraisal. On this appraisal, Foster received an overall rating of "inconsistently meets expectations." This appraisal was Foster's first unsatisfactory performance review in her thirty years of employment with BJC. Cavoretto's criticisms centered on Foster's balancing difficulties and her purported failure to inform management of problems with accounts payable clerks. This evaluation resulted in Foster's discharge, because BJC's job elimination policy places controlling emphasis on employees' most recent performance evaluations. Foster's position was selected for elimination over Torrence's solely because Foster had a lower 1997 performance evaluation than Torrence. The 1997 evaluation also resulted in Foster's receiving a lower salary than Torrence thereafter. Cavoretto admitted that he did not consult Schellhase before performing the 1997 appraisals, although Schellhase was Foster's and Torrence's supervisor throughout half of the period covered by the appraisal. Cavoretto also testified that, at the time he conducted the appraisals, he suspected that a senior clerk position would be eliminated.

The parties agree that, in November of 1997, BJC had an open accounts payable clerk position. Foster asked Cavoretto about the position at the meeting in which he informed her that her position would be eliminated. In response, Cavoretto asked Foster whether she thought she could do an efficient job in the position. Foster replied that she had worked at BJC for thirty years and that her record spoke for itself. The parties disagree as to what occurred thereafter. Foster testified that Cavoretto made no response, and that she believed from Cavoretto's statements and conduct that he did not want her to continue at BJC. Cavoretto testified that he told Foster that he would check the salary she would receive if she took the position. The evidence construed in the light most favorable to Foster indicates that Cavoretto did not offer Foster the clerk position at the November meeting.

In her deposition, Schmidt testified as follows regarding the company's general practice when eliminating positions:

Q. Now, when you were determining which position to eliminate and you made your decision—you and Phil Cavoretto made your decision to eliminate Helen Foster's position, did you look for alternate positions for her?

A. I did not look for alternate positions for her.

Q. Do you know if Phil did?

A. I can't say for sure, but our—typically, we would have talked about whether there was an AP clerk position available and would she be interested in having an AP position.

Q. Would it be fair to say that your policy—I guess is the only word I can think of—is that you do try to find a position if one's available?

A. Our general practice was that if we had a position available in our department that she would be eligible for, that she would be offered that position immediately; not that we would try to find her a position. But if there was one there, she would be offered the position.

Within the final two weeks of Foster's employment, Cavoretto approached Foster about the accounts payable clerk position. Cavoretto testified that he informed Foster that she would make $10.86 per hour in the accounts payable clerk position. Foster contends that he simply asked her if she would take a pay cut of "about a dollar." In any event, BJC concedes that, under company policy, Foster's salary should have been $11.73 per hour in the clerk position, about thirty cents less per hour than Foster received as a senior clerk. Cavoretto testified that he arrived at the $10.86 figure "after talking with human resources." Another BJC employee testified that the $10.86 figure apparently resulted from application of BJC's Wage and Salary Rates policy rather than its Job Elimination Policy.

After Foster's termination, in March of 1998, BJC transferred...