Hanenburg v. Principal Mut. Life Ins. Co.

• Decision Date: 20 May 1997
• Docket Number: No. 96-1951,96-1951
• Citation: 118 F.3d 570
• Parties: 73 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 1565, 70 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 44,697 Theresa M. HANENBURG, Appellant, v. PRINCIPAL MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Page 570

118 F.3d 570

73 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 1565,

70 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 44,697

Theresa M. HANENBURG, Appellant, v. PRINCIPAL MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellee.

No. 96-1951.

United States Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit.

Submitted Dec. 11, 1996.

Decided May 20, 1997.

Douglas Paul Kempf, Bloomington, MN, for appellant.

Steen Robert Anderson, Minneapolis, MN, argued (Jacqueline R. Rolfs, on the brief), for appellee.

Before BOWMAN and HEANEY, Circuit Judges, and SMITH, ¹ District Judge.

HEANEY, Circuit Judge.

Theresa Hanenburg appeals from the district court's grant of summary judgment to her former employer, Principal Mutual Life Insurance Company ("Principal"), in this case brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e- 2000e-17 (1994), and the Minnesota Human Rights Act ("MHRA"), Minn.Stat. §§ 363.01-363.15 (1991), alleging unlawful, gender-based employment discrimination, and under the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"), 29 U.S.C. §§ 2601-2654 (1994). We affirm.

I.

Viewed in a light most favorable to Hanenburg, the record reveals the following facts. Hanenburg began working for Principal as a salaried, claim data processor in August 1988. She was promoted to senior computer data processor in 1990. Hanenburg ultimately resigned on January 22, 1995.

Principal's employee-benefits policy explicitly treats illnesses during pregnancy or childbirth the same as any other illness. Hanenburg was pregnant three times during her employment with Principal. Due to complications, Hanenburg took an extended leave with each pregnancy. She took twelve-week disability leaves with the births of each of her first two children in August 1989 and August 1992. During all but four of those twenty-four weeks, Hanenburg was paid two-thirds salary. From 1989 until 1993, Hanenburg received good performance reviews and above-average raises.

Hanenburg's third pregnancy coincided with increased stress at work. Her supervisor, in an effort to increase the local office's service and production rankings within the company, was enforcing an attendance policy that permitted fewer absences than were allowed under Principal's company-wide policy. Hanenburg's supervisors went to great lengths to achieve the office's attendance goals. Although employees were not directly punished for taking time off that was permissible under the company-wide policy but exceeded the office goals, significant absences negatively impacted employee performance evaluations which, in turn, impacted the employees' annual raises. Hanenburg's supervisors informed her on more than one occasion that her continued absences, due to her maternity leaves and time she took off from work to attend to her sick children, were a problem. In her annual performance evaluation for 1993, for example, Hanenburg was ranked in the top fifteen percent for her work quality and productivity, but was ranked in the bottom ten percent overall due in large part to her attendance record. As a result of that poor evaluation, Hanenburg received a below-average salary increase in 1994. At a March 1994 meeting in which management informed Hanenburg about her raise, she announced to her supervisors that she was again pregnant. Hanenburg asked whether her next year's raise would be affected by her pregnancy, and her supervisor answered that any extended disability absences would negatively impact future raises.

During this same period, and particularly after Hanenburg informed her supervisors about her third pregnancy, Hanenburg's workplace behavior was closely monitored. To a greater extent than other similar workers, she was scrutinized and reprimanded for excessive talking and personal telephone use. In April 1994, one of Hanenburg's supervisors prepared a written warning criticizing her for too much personal use of the telephone, excessive talking in the workplace, and her general negative attitude. When Hanenburg complained that she was being unfairly singled out for criticism, her supervisor retracted the warning until she could explore the validity of Hanenburg's claim.

Immediately after that meeting in April 1994, however, Hanenburg began a disability leave due to complications with her pregnancy. Among other things, Hanenburg's doctor determined that her work environment was stressful and that it endangered her pregnancy. The disability absence continued for more than eight months, during which time Hanenburg again received two-thirds salary. On December 2, 1994, at the expiration of her disability leave, Hanenburg switched her leave status from paid-disability to an unpaid-parenting leave and commenced an action under the MHRA. Hanenburg ultimately resigned on January 22, 1995. Principal held Hanenburg's position open during each of her maternity leaves, and it is undisputed that the company would have reinstated her had Hanenburg elected to return to work.

Hanenburg brought an action claiming that Principal unlawfully discriminated against her in violation of state and federal law and that Principal violated the FMLA. ² The district court granted summary judgment to Principal on each of Hanenburg's claims. Hanenburg appeals and we affirm.

II.

"We review the district court's grant of summary judgment de novo, applying the same standard as the district court did and examining the record in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party." Barge v. Anheuser-Busch, Inc., 87 F.3d 256, 258 (8th Cir.1996). Summary judgment is appropriate when the evidence shows "that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2551, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).

A. Title VII Claim

We turn first to the court's determination that Hanenburg's Title VII claim is barred because she failed to file a charge with the EEOC. A plaintiff may not assert a claim under Title VII unless she has filed a timely charge with the EEOC and, in most cases, the EEOC issues a notice, commonly called a right-to-sue letter. See 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e-5(e)(1), 2000e-5(f)(1); Alexander v. Gardner-Denver Co., 415 U.S. 36, 47, 94 S.Ct. 1011, 1018, 39 L.Ed.2d 147 (1974); Chaffin v. Rheem Mfg. Co., 904 F.2d 1269, 1271 (8th Cir.1990). Hanenburg acknowledges that she neither filed a discrimination charge with the EEOC nor received a right-to-sue letter. She claims, however, that she satisfied the requirements by contacting the Minnesota Department of Human Rights ("MDHR"). ³ Because Minnesota law prohibits the unlawful employment practices alleged by Hanenburg, she was obliged to first pursue relief with the MDHR before filing a charge with the EEOC. See 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(c). This notification, however, did not waive the EEOC filing requirement or preserve her right to assert a Title VII claim absent the requisite EEOC notification. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(e) (merely extending time in which to file a charge with the EEOC when complainant initially pursues relief from alleged unlawful employment practice with state agency). Thus, we agree with the district court that Hanenburg's Title VII claim is barred.

B. MHRA Claim

Under the MHRA, Hanenburg is entitled to relief if she demonstrates that her employer discriminated against her because of pregnancy or disabilities related to pregnancy. ⁴ The Act specifically deems it an unfair labor practice,

[f]or an employer, ... with respect to all employment related purposes, including receipt of benefits under fringe benefit programs, not to treat women affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or disabilities related to pregnancy or childbirth, the same as other persons not so affected but who are similar in their ability to work .....

Minn.Stat. § 363.03, subd. 1(5) (1991). In analyzing cases under the MHRA, the state courts apply the principles developed in the adjudication of claims under Title VII because of the substantial similarities between the two statutes. Sigurdson v. Isanti County, 386 N.W.2d 715, 719 (Minn.1986); see 42 U.S.C. § 2000e(k). In short, Title VII requires employers to treat employees who are members of protected classes the same as other similarly-situated employees. Lang v. Star Herald, 107 F.3d 1308, 1312 (8th Cir.1997).

Hanenburg has not clearly set out the particular discrimination theory under which she is proceeding. The facts seem best suited to analysis under a disparate-treatment theory of constructive discharge, insofar as Hanenburg claims that, as a result of her pregnancies, Principal subjected her to criticism, discipline, and general harassment in the workplace to the extent that the job-induced stress became too much for her to endure. We agree with the district court that Hanenburg cannot establish Principal's discriminatory intent by direct evidence. Thus, we analyze her claim under the familiar, burden-shifting test set out in the McDonnell Douglas line of cases. See St. Mary's Honor Ctr. v. Hicks, 509 U.S. 502, 506-08, 113 S.Ct. 2742, 2746-48, 125 L.Ed.2d 407 (1993); United States Postal Serv. Bd.of Governors v. Aikens, 460 U.S. 711, 713-15, 103 S.Ct. 1478, 1480-82, 75 L.Ed.2d 403 (1983); Texas Dep't of Community Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 252-56, 101 S.Ct. 1089, 1093-95, 67 L.Ed.2d 207 (1981); McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 1824, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). To establish a prima facie case, Hanenburg must present evidence demonstrating the following: (1) she was a member of a protected group; (2) she was qualified for her position; and (3) she was discharged under circumstances giving rise to an inference of discrimination. See Tidwell v. Meyer's Bakeries, Inc., 93 F.3d 490, 494 (8th Cir.1996) (citing Johnson v. Bunny Bread Co., 646 F.2d 1250, 1253 (8th Cir.1981)). If Hanenburg successfully creates a prima facie case, the burden of production shifts to Principal to offer a nondiscriminatory reason for its action. Lan...