Howard v. Blalock Electric Serv. Inc.

• Decision Date: 21 September 2010
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 08–90J.
• Parties: Kenneth HOWARD, Plaintiff,v.BLALOCK ELECTRIC SERVICE, INC., Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Pennsylvania

742 F.Supp.2d 681

Kenneth HOWARD, Plaintiff,

v.BLALOCK ELECTRIC SERVICE, INC., Defendant.

Civil Action No. 08–90J.

United States District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania.

Sept. 21, 2010.

Homer L. Walton, Tucker Arensberg, Pittsburgh, PA, for Plaintiff.Thomas R. Davies, Harmon & Davies, Lancaster, PA, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER OF COURT

GIBSON, District Judge.

I. SYNOPSIS

This matter comes before the Court on a motion for summary judgment filed by the Defendant, Blalock Electric Service, Inc. (“Blalock Electric”), pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56. Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J. The Plaintiff, Kenneth Howard (“Howard”), opposes the motion for summary judgment. Pl.'s Br. For the reasons that follow, the Motion for Summary Judgment will be granted in part and denied in part.

II. BACKGROUND

Blalock Electric is owned by Larry Blalock (“Blalock”). Pl.'s Resp. to Def.'s Statement of Facts at ¶ 2. Howard is a black male who was born on July 22, 1958. Howard Dep. at 5. Blalock Electric maintains a policy prohibiting its employees from harassing or discriminating against other employees. Pl.'s Resp. to Def.'s Statement of Facts at ¶ 5. Howard began working as an electrician for Blalock Electric on July 18, 2001. Pl.'s Statement of Facts at ¶ 1. He was laid off on February 1, 2002. Pl.'s Resp. to Def.'s Statement of Facts at ¶ 6.

In November 2004, Howard was rehired by Blalock Electric. Id. at ¶ 7. Upon his return, he was assigned to work at Somerset High School (“Somerset”) for approximately $32.00 per hour. Pl.'s Statement of Facts at ¶¶ 4–5. Howard worked at Somerset until May 2005, when he was assigned to work at the United Cerebral Palsy (“UCP”) Building in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Pl.'s Resp. to Def.'s Statement of Facts at ¶ 8. The project manager at the UCP site was Glenn Coposky (“Coposky”). Id. at ¶ 11. While working at the UCP site, Howard was sometimes reluctant to perform certain tasks because of his inexperience. Id. at ¶ 13.

Shortly after his reassignment to the UCP site, Howard began to experience tensions with some of his co-workers. One of those co-workers was a white male named Richard Bishop (“Bishop”), who also worked at the UCP site. Pl.'s Statement of Facts at ¶ 59. On one occasion, Bishop walked by Howard and spit some tobacco onto his pant leg. Id. at ¶ 22. When confronted by Coposky, Bishop acknowledged that he had spit tobacco onto Howard's pant leg. Id. at ¶ 26. Bishop also activated a battery-operated reciprocating saw near Howard and said, “I should fucking kill you.” Id. at ¶¶ 32, 39. Coposky reprimanded Bishop and told him not to “screw around” while working. Id. at ¶ 36. No formal disciplinary action was taken against Bishop in connection with these incidents. Id. at ¶ 42.

Bishop continued to evince hostility toward Howard. Bishop apparently stated that he would kill Howard if he could get away with it, and that he would refrain from doing so only because he did not want to go to jail. Id. at ¶ 31. He referred to Howard as a “fucking nigger” when making that comment. Id. at ¶ 27. On a separate occasion, Bishop stated that he wanted to “stick” Howard with “a needle full of heroine.” Id. at ¶ 28. Bishop also said that he and his co-workers should “hook” Howard up to a “primary,” which was the high-voltage side of a transformer, in order to electrocute him. Id. at ¶¶ 50–51. In addition, Bishop insinuated that he was a member of the Ku Klux Klan (“KKK”) by telling his co-workers to come to work wearing “white sheets,” and to be ready to “make gallows.” Id. at ¶¶ 47–48.

Mark Petak (“Petak”), a white male employed by Blalock Electric, was also assigned to work at the UCP site in May 2005. Id. at ¶ 67. Petak's father-in-law was Blalock's uncle. Id. at ¶ 66. Howard and Petak apparently did not get along. Petak told Coposky that he did not want to work with “that f'ing black nigger.” Id. at ¶ 73. Howard informed Coposky that he could not tolerate Petak's attitude. Id. at ¶ 75. Coposky responded by saying that Howard and Petak would no longer be required to work together. Id.

Coposky kept a gun in the vehicle that he used to drive to work. Id. at ¶ 94. This vehicle was parked at the UCP site during the course of a typical workday. Id. Coposky sometimes used the term “nigger-rigged” when referring to something that had been put together in a “half-assed” manner. Id. at ¶¶ 65, 92. During a meeting with Blalock and Kephart conducted in Blalock's office, Coposky admitted that he had used that term. Id. at ¶ 92.

Howard contacted Blalock on June 7, 2005, and requested a meeting to discuss the harassment that he was experiencing while working. Id. at ¶ 95. A meeting was held at 4:15 P.M. on June 8, 2005. Id. at ¶ 96. Howard, Blalock and Kephart were present for the meeting. Id. Howard described his previous encounters with Bishop and Petak. Id. at ¶ 98. He also complained about Coposky's use of the term “nigger-rigged.” Id. at ¶ 106. Blalock mentioned that a Confederate flag was displayed on Bishop's pickup truck. Id. at ¶ 97. Howard told Blalock and Kephart that he feared for his safety. Id. at ¶ 103.

On June 9, 2005, Coposky met with Blalock and Kephart to discuss the situation. Id. at ¶ 118. After the meeting, Coposky informed the other employees working at the UCP site about Howard's complaints. Id. at ¶ 123. He told them that they had better “straighten up.” Id. at ¶ 122. Later that afternoon, Bishop made comments about coming to work dressed as a member of the KKK and “sticking” Howard with “a needle filled with heroine.” Id. at ¶ 125.

At the end of a typical workday, the employees would place their hard hats into a “gang box” that contained expensive tools owned by Blalock Electric. Id. at ¶ 126. The gang box was locked in order to prevent the theft of valuable materials. Id. Bishop possessed a key that could be used to open the gang box. Id. at ¶ 129. When Howard arrived for work on the morning of June 10, 2005, he discovered that someone had written “Rat 2” on his hard hat. Id. at ¶ 130. Howard complained about the matter to Coposky, who sarcastically replied, “It's a hard hat.” Id. at ¶¶ 133–134.

At approximately 9:00 A.M., shortly after speaking with Coposky, Howard went to Kephart's office, showed her that someone had written “Rat 2” on his hard hat, and asked for a transfer to a different job location. Id. at ¶¶ 143–144, 146. Howard asked to speak with Blalock, who was in his office at the time, but Blalock did not speak with Howard on that occasion. Id. at ¶¶ 147–148. Howard told Kephart that he was returning to his home, and that he did not believe that it was safe for him to go back to the UCP site. Id. at ¶ 149. When he got home, Howard telephoned Blalock's office and was told that Blalock was not available.¹ Id. at ¶ 158.

During the course of the ensuing week, Howard repeatedly tried to contact Blalock in order to request a transfer to a different job location. Id. at ¶¶ 179–184, 193. Howard and Blalock finally talked with each other on June 16, 2005. Id. at ¶ 194. Blalock informed Howard that his unilateral decision to abandon his duties had been construed and treated by Blalock Electric as a voluntary resignation. Id. at ¶ 195. Howard argued that he had simply been waiting to be reassigned to a location other than the UCP site. Id. at ¶ 196. When Howard went to Blalock Electric's office on June 17, 2005, to pick up his paycheck, he denied that he had voluntarily terminated his employment relationship with Blalock Electric. Id. at ¶ 198.

Howard filed a complaint with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (“PHRC”) on August 30, 2005, alleging violations of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (“PHRA”) [43 Pa. Stat. § 951 et seq.]. Compl. at ¶ 6. The complaint was dual-filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) in order to preserve Howard's remedies under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) [42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq.]. Id. On February 20, 2008, Howard asked the PHRC to dismiss his case, thereby enabling him to pursue remedies that were not available under the PHRA. Id. at ¶ 7. The EEOC issued a “right to sue” letter to Howard on March 17, 2008. Id. at ¶ 8.

Howard commenced this action against Blalock Electric on April 9, 2008, alleging that he had been subjected to discrimination and retaliation in violation of Title VII, the PHRA and 42 U.S.C. § 1981. Id. at ¶¶ 43–69. Blalock Electric filed a motion for summary judgment on September 30, 2009. Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J. That motion is the subject of this memorandum opinion.

III. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Summary judgment may only be granted “if the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c), the Court must enter summary judgment against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). In evaluating the evidence, the Court must interpret the facts in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, drawing all reasonable inferences in his or her favor. Watson v. Abington Township, 478 F.3d 144, 147 (3d Cir.2007). The burden is initially on the moving party to demonstrate that the evidence contained in the record does not create a genuine issue of material fact. Conoshenti v. Public Service Electric & Gas Co., 364 F.3d 135, 140 (3d Cir.2004). A dispute is “genuine” if the evidence is such that a reasonable trier of fact could return a verdict for the non-moving party. McGreevy v. Stroup, 413 F.3d 359, 363 (3d Cir.2005). Where the non-moving party will bear the burden of proof at trial, the moving party may meet its...