Hicks v. Tech Industries

Decision Date03 May 2007
Docket NumberCivil Action No. 05-1740.
Citation512 F.Supp.2d 338
PartiesVanton HICKS; Plaintiff, v. The TECH INDUSTRIES, Defendant.
CourtU.S. District Court — Western District of Pennsylvania

Anthony G. Sanchez, Beth S. Mills, Andrews & Price, Pittsburgh, PA, for Plaintiff.

Robert W. Cameron, Shannon H. Paliotta, Littler Mendelson, Pittsburgh, PA, for Defendant.

OPINION and ORDER OF COURT

DONETTA W. AMBROSE, Chief Judge.

Plaintiff, Vanton Hicks ("Plaintiff"), initiated this action against his former employer, Defendant, The Tech Industries ("Defendant" or "The Techs"), alleging discriminatory treatment on the basis of race, age, and disability in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq. ("Title VII"), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 29 U.S.C. § 621, et seq. ("AREA'), the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12101, et seq. ("ADA"), and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, 43 P.S. § 951, et seq. ("PHRA"). Plaintiff also alleges that Defendant terminated his employment in retaliation for taking protected leave in violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act, 29 U.S.C. § 2601, et seq. ("FMLA").

Pending before the Court are two motions for summary judgment. Plaintiff has filed a Motion seeking summary judgment in his favor as to his FMLA claim. (Docket No. 27). Defendant has filed a Motion seeking dismissal of Plaintiff's claims in their entirety. (Docket No. 31). After careful consideration of the parties' submissions and for the reasons set forth below, Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment is denied. Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment is granted in part and denied in part.

I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

For purposes of ruling upon the pending Motions, the following procedural history is relevant.

After exhausting his administrative remedies, Plaintiff filed a Complaint against Defendant on December 16, 2005. (Docket No. 1). Plaintiff moved to amend his Complaint on June 21, 2006. Leave was granted, and Plaintiffs Amended Complaint was deemed filed on July 19, 2006. (Docket Nos. 18, 23, 24). Defendant answered Plaintiffs Amended Complaint on August 2, 2006. (Docket No. 25).

On October 11, 2006, Plaintiff filed his Motion for Summary Judgment, Brief in Support, Concise Statement of Material Facts, and Appendix. (Docket Nos. 27-30). On November 17, 2006, Defendant filed a Counterstatement of Facts, Brief, and Appendix in Opposition to Plaintiffs Motion. (Docket Nos. 39-41). Plaintiff filed a Response to Defendant's Additional Statement of Facts in Opposition to Plaintiffs Motion for Summary Judgment and Supplemental Appendix on December 1, 2006. (Docket Nos. 45-46). On October 11, 2006, Defendant filed its Motion for Summary Judgment, Brief in Support, Concise Statement of Material Facts, and Appendix. (Docket Nos. 31-35). On November 17, 2006, Plaintiff filed a Brief in Response, Responsive Concise Statement of Material Facts, and Appendix in opposition to Defendant's Motion. (Docket Nos. 42-44). Defendant then filed a Response to Plaintiffs Additional Facts in Opposition to Defendant's Motion and a Second Supplemental Appendix of Record Evidence. (Docket Nos. 47-48).

Both Motions are now ripe for my review.

II. MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
A. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Unless otherwise indicated, the following material facts are undisputed.

1. General Background

The Techs was created on July 1, 2001, when MetalTech, NexTech, and GalvTech, three related yet distinct entities in the galvanized steel industry, merged to create one company. The operations in all three of the Techs' facilities, MetalTech, NexTech, and GalvTech, run 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

All three facilities' utilize a four-team structure to run operations. Each Metal-Tech team consists of one Team Leader, one Line Operator, one Entry End Operator, two Delivery End Operators, multiple Material Handlers, and two Maintenance Technicians, who collectively are referred to as Team Members. The Team Leaders of each of the four teams report to a Plant Manager, and the Plant Manager reports to the Managing Partners. Team Members work three consecutive days on twelve-hour shifts followed by three consecutive days off. At the end of a twelve-hour shift, a second team relieves the first team, and also works a twelve-hour shift. After three days, a third and fourth team will relieve the first two teams, giving the first and second teams three consecutive days off before returning to relieve the third and fourth teams. The parties agree that this team-based approach is dependent upon employees working together, making attendance and reliability essential parts of all operational employees' jobs.

2. Plaintiff's Employment History With The Techs

Plaintiff, an African-American male, was hired in March 1985 at MetalTech as a Material Handler, where his duties involved wrapping coils, operating the crane, writing up the paperwork for trucks, shipping, and looking up coils. In 1989, Plaintiff was promoted to the position of Entry End Operator, where his duties consisted of operating various pieces of equipment in a safe and efficient manner, lining up and inspecting material, and recognizing and resolving equipment problems with other line personnel. Plaintiff held the position of Entry End Operator until May 1997, when he was demoted back to a Material Handler position due to reliability issues. Plaintiff was promoted back to Entry End Operator in February 2001 by MetalTech Plant Manager, Dennis Pishney ("Pishney"). Plaintiff held the Entry End Operator position until his employment was terminated on March 30, 2005.

3. Plaintiff's Attendance and Health Issues

In 1990 and 1991 Plaintiff received three written warnings for not reporting to work as scheduled and/or excessive absenteeism.1 These warnings indicated that further absenteeism would result in disciplinary action including docking of pay and possible suspension and/or termination. On Plaintiffs performance appraisal review form for 1990, he received a rating of "below expectations" in the category "Awareness of Company Objectives" due to his absenteeism. The review indicated that Plaintiff must improve his absenteeism performance.

Plaintiffs 1991 performance recognition noted that Plaintiff "had interim reviews in 1991 concerning absenteeism" and that "improvement was seen in the last half of 1991." The review further noted that "[c]ontinued improvement in 1992 is necessary." Plaintiffs 1992 performance recognition indicated that he had missed a total of 208 hours of work and had not made any progress regarding his absenteeism.2 Plaintiffs 1993 review indicated that he missed 200 hours of work and had shown no improvement in absenteeism performance.

In October 1994, Plaintiff was notified that due to his past absenteeism levels, he would not be paid for further absences and must work as scheduled with no allowance for turn trades. This action is called being placed on the "D List" (or "Docked Time List"), and is punishment for poor job performance, including absenteeism. Plaintiffs 1994 performance recognition indicated that he missed 133 hours of work in 1994 and instructed him to continue to improve his reliability in his attendance. Plaintiffs 1995 review instructed him to continue good attendance for work shifts and meetings and to avoid last minute vacation days. Plaintiff received a written notice in 1996 informing him that he would be removed from the D List on March 1, 1996; the notice also warned Plaintiff that further absenteeism abuse would result in disciplinary action to include suspension and/or termination.

Plaintiffs 1996 performance recognition indicated that he had missed 66.5 hours of work and had not avoided last minute vacation-day scheduling when possible. On May 21, 1997, Plaintiff was given an interim performance review detailing absenteeism and reliability weaknesses. The review notes that Plaintiff "has indicated that recent personal issues have him somewhat distracted and he himself is concerned about his reliability." Plaintiff agreed that he was" not performing his job well due to personal problems. Hicks Dep. at 21-23.3 Defendant demoted Plaintiff to a Material Handler I position effective May 25, 1997. Id.

Plaintiffs 1997 performance recognition recognized him for putting his reliability issues behind by attending all safety and quality meetings. The review also instructed him to keep absenteeism down, attend meetings, and avoid last minute vacation delays. Plaintiff's 1999 performance recognition instructed him to maintain his attendance performance.

From July 10, 2000 through October 10, 2000, Plaintiff was placed on salary continuance for health reasons. Salary continuance is a benefit Defendant offers that provides employees with paid leaves of absence up to and including 100% of their base monthly salary for six months, depending on years of service.4

In November 2000, Pishney became the Plant Manager of the MetalTech facility. On his performance recognition for 2000, Plaintiff was rated as "proficient" under "Work Style and Attendance Punctuality," and Pishney noted that although Plaintiff "has a lot of hours missed last year, they are due to the fact he was taking care of some health problems." On February 19, 2001, Pishney promoted Plaintiff back to Entry End Operator. Pishney instructed Plaintiff at the time of this promotion that he must continue to maintain his attendance and performance. A file memorandum dated April 25, 2001 indicates that Pishney met with Plaintiff in April 2001 regarding two instances of tardiness. The memo states that Pishney informed Plaintiff of the company's expectations and that he would be subject to further discipline if his performance did not improve.

Pishney avers that in August 2001, he received an e-mail from a Team Leader stating that Plaintiff had arrived late a few nights earlier; that Plaintiff had called to say...

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