Jones v. Nat'l Council of Young Men's Christian Associations of U.S.
| Citation | 48 F.Supp.3d 1054 |
| Decision Date | 18 June 2014 |
| Docket Number | No. 09 C 06437,09 C 06437 |
| Parties | James Jones, Nicole Steels, Kavon Ward, and Iona Toles, Plaintiffs, v. National Council of Young Men's Christian Associations of the United States of America (“YMCA of the USA”), an Illinois not-for-profit corporation, and Elinor Hite, former Senior Vice President of YMCA of the USA, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois |
James Bryan Wood, The Law Office of J. Bryan Wood, Jessica Judith Fayerman, The Prinz Law Firm, P.C., Johanna J. Raimond, Law Offices of Johanna J. Raimond Ltd., Chicago, IL, for Plaintiffs.
Richard Patrick McArdle, Aleka Lenette Jones, Brianne M. Gruszka, Gerald L. Pauling, Jay C. Carle, Kyle R. Hartman, Tracy Marie Billows, William Francis Dugan, Seyfarth Shaw LLP, Chicago, IL, David Donald Kadue, Seyfarth Shaw LLP, Los Angeles, CA, David Bennett Ross, Seyfarth Shaw LLP, New York, NY, for Defendants.
Plaintiffs James Jones, Nicole Steels, Kavon Ward, and Iona Toles have filed this suit on behalf of themselves and other similarly-situated employees of the National Council of Young Men's Christian Associations of the United States of America (the “Y”), alleging claims of race discrimination and retaliation against the Y and Elinor Hite, the former director of the Y's human resources (“HR”) department, pursuant to Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, 42 U.S.C. § 1981, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., the Illinois Human Rights Act (“IHRA”), 775 ILCS 5/1–101 et seq., and the D.C. Human Rights Act (“DCHRA”), D.C. Code § 2–1401.01 et seq. Now before the Court are the defendants' motions for summary judgment on the claims asserted by each plaintiff in the fourth amended complaint. For the reasons set forth below, the defendants' motions for summary judgment are granted in part and denied in part.
The following account of the facts is taken from the record and the parties' Local Rule 56.1 statements and responses. On a motion for summary judgment, the Court construes the facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, see Hanners v. Trent, 674 F.3d 683, 691 (7th Cir.2012) (citing Coffman v. Indianapolis Fire Dep't, 578 F.3d 559, 563 (7th Cir.2009) ), and “gives [the plaintiffs] the benefit of conflicts in the admissible evidence and favorable inferences from that evidence.” Smith v. Bray, 681 F.3d 888, 892 (7th Cir.2012) (citing O'Leary v. Accretive Health, Inc., 657 F.3d 625, 630 (7th Cir.2011) ). However, the Court may only consider “admissible evidence in assessing a motion for summary judgment.” Gunville v. Walker, 583 F.3d 979, 985 (7th Cir.2009) ().
Plaintiff James Jones was hired on or about August 25, 2004, by Steven Timmons, the Y's Strategic Director of HR at the time.1 Pl. 56.1 Resp., Dkt. 312 at 23, ¶ 29; Pl.'s Add'l Facts, Dkt. 312 at 62, ¶ 3. Jones was hired to assume the duties and responsibilities of Director of Training and Organizational Development (“OD”), the position Jones held until his employment was terminated by the Y on or about October 15, 2007. Pl.'s 56.1 Resp., at 47, ¶ 62. As Director of Training and OD, Jones was responsible for “rolling out” and conducting training for Y employees. Defs. 56.1 Stmt., Dkt. 270 at 12, ¶ 29. Although Jones disputes that Timmons was solely responsible for hiring him because, as Jones contends, “all hires [had to] be approved by [the Y's] leadership team ... or CEO,” Pl. 56.1 Resp., Dkt. 312 at 24 (response to ¶ 29), it is undisputed that Timmons was Jones' first supervisor. Defs. 56.1 Resp., Dkt. 375 at 4, ¶ 5.
Jones alleges that during his time at the Y he was subjected to racial discrimination (he is an African American) with respect to his level of compensation and the salary raises he received from the Y to bring his compensation in line with professionals in comparable positions (“equity salary increases”), the Y's failure to promote him, the compensation he received for serving as the interim Director of HR, his annual performance evaluations and merit pay increases, and his termination in October of 2007. He also complains that the Y retaliated against him for engaging in protected activities, which generally involve the concerns he expressed to Hite about the Y's policies and culture negatively impacting minority employees.
Jones' starting salary was set at $80,016. Pl. 56.1 Resp., Dkt. 312 at 30, ¶ 40. Jones told Timmons, before and after he was hired, that he felt his starting salary was too low, potentially because he was African American. Defs. 56.1 Resp., Dkt. 375 at 5, ¶ 8. As evidence of the disparity in his starting salary, Jones points to two other Caucasian, director-level employees, who were earning higher salaries than him when he was hired and throughout his employment at the Y. First, Sharon Rakowski, a director in HR, was earning a salary of $93,672, when Jones was hired.2 Id. at 4, ¶ 6. Second, Kurt Kramer received a starting salary of $130,008, id. at 6, ¶ 10, and was hired into the “Y–University” department as Director of Program Leadership and National Training approximately one or two months before Jones was hired into HR. Id. at 5, ¶ 7.
In a memorandum dated April 12, 2005, Timmons recommended that Jones' salary be increased to $98,500. Pl. 56.1 Resp., Dkt. 312 at 32, ¶ 41; Pl. 56.1 App., Dkt. 326–39, Tab 85a (“Human Resources Equity Review and Adjustments”). Timmons based his recommendation on a comparison of Jones' salary to internal and external data, and determined that the closest comparator to Jones' position, internally, was Kramer's position, Director of Program Leadership and Training. Defs. 56.1 Resp., Dkt. 375 at 6, ¶ 9.3 As a result, on May 1, 2005, Jones received an “equity raise,” increasing his salary to $100,008, which Timmons was involved in securing. Pl. 56.1 Resp., Dkt. 312 at 32, ¶ 41.
That same year, Jones also received a “merit” salary increase. At the Y, annual merit increases were assigned as percentages of an employee's existing salary, based on a range correlated to the performance rating that the employee received for that year. Id. at 12–13, ¶ 17. The Y's 2005 fiscal year ran from July 1, 2004, to June 30, 2005. Id. Under the 2005 guidelines, the merit increase ranges were assigned to performance ratings as follows:
| Rating | Increase Range |
| Far Exceeds [Expectations] | 5%—6% |
| Exceeds [Expectations] | 3.1 %—4.9% |
| Meets Expectations | 1%—3% |
| Below Expectations | 0% |
Id. at 13. In September 2005, Jones received a 3% merit increase, which corresponded to a “meets expectations” performance review, according to the 2005 guidelines. Pl. 56.1 Resp., Dkt. 312 at 32, ¶ 42.
Timmons resigned on or about June 3, 2005. Id. at 24, ¶ 30.4 Thereafter, Jones served as the interim director of HR until approximately August 15, 2005. Id. During his time as interim director, Jones sought a salary increase from Dan Nussbaum, the Strategic Director of Y–University, and Ken Gladish, the Y's CEO at the time, to compensate for his additional duties and responsibilities. Defs. 56.1 Resp., Dkt. 375 at 7, ¶ 12. Although Jones did not receive additional compensation while he was serving as the interim director, id., he did receive a one-time bonus of $7,616 on August 30, 2005. Pl. 56.1 Resp., Dkt. 312 at 38, ¶ 54. The parties do not dispute that the bonus Jones received was larger than the standard bonus awarded for serving in an interim position,5 but Jones alleges that his interim bonus was discriminatory, in part, because of the delay in paying it. Id. at 39, ¶ 56. According to Jones, the Y's culture was one in which “a certain thing happens ... without prompting or any begging ... [for] one group and it happens when the other ... group is kicking and screaming and jumping through hoops to get it done.” Id.
On August 15, 2005, Elinor Hite assumed the full-time position of Director of HR and OD, and Jones resumed his duties as Director of Training and OD. From that point on, Jones reported to Hite. Id. at 24, ¶ 30. It is undisputed that Jones never pursued another position at the Y during his employment with the organization. Id. at 25, ¶ 31.
In mid–2005, before Hite took over as the director of HR, the Y's HR department conducted a compensation equity review.6 Id. at 17, ¶ 22. The equity review was conducted to address, among other concerns, a lack of established or formal guidelines relating to salary administration and equity among positions. Id. The review involved three stages. Id. at 17, ¶ 23. First, HR reviewed all job descriptions and identified fifty benchmark positions representing 70% of the organization. Id. Next, the Y hired an external consultant, Hewitt Associates, Inc., to perform a market study of the benchmark positions (“Hewitt Study”). Id. at 17–18, ¶ 23. Finally, using the data from the market study, the Y established (1) salary bands and job grades; (2) job families and hierarchy; (3) policies and procedures for salary administration; (4) communication plans for all levels of the Company; and (5) training for managers. Id. at 18, ¶ 23.
In January 2006, as a result of the 2005 compensation study, Jones received a second equity increase, which brought his salary up to $115,008. Id. at 33, ¶ 43. Jones, however, complained that the equity increase he received was lower than the increase he should have received under the “Hewitt [S]tudy recommendations.” Id. That same year, Jones continued to seek equity increases in an attempt to bring his salary in line with those he believed to be similarly-situated staff members. Defs. 56.1 Resp., Dkt. 375 at 7, ¶ 13. On or about July 2, 2006, Jones sent Hite a memorandum titled “Salary Adjustment–Director, Organizational Development,” in which he...
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