Jute v. Hamilton Sunstrand Corp.

• Decision Date: 14 June 2004
• Docket Number: No. CIV.3:01CV7123(AVC).,CIV.3:01CV7123(AVC).
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Connecticut
• Parties: Donna S. JUTE, Plaintiff, v. HAMILTON SUNDSTRAND CORPORATION, Defendant.

321 F.Supp.2d 408

Donna S. JUTE, Plaintiff, v. HAMILTON SUNDSTRAND CORPORATION, Defendant.

No. CIV.3:01CV7123(AVC).

United States District Court, D. Connecticut.

June 14, 2004.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Barbara E. Gardner, Manchester, CT, for Plaintiff.

Daniel Adam Schwartz, Felix J. Springer, Day, Berry & Howard, Hartford, CT, Natasha Marie Lipcan, Day, Berry & Howard, Stamford, CT, for Defendant.

RULING ON THE DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

COVELLO, District Judge.

This is an action for damages and equitable relief brought pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, as amended by the Civil Rights Act of 1991 ("Title VII"), and Conn. Gen.Stat. § 46a-60 et seq. The plaintiff, Donna S. Jute, alleges that her former employer, Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation ("Hamilton") subjected her to various adverse employment actions, including job termination, in retaliation for her opposition to sexual harassment in the workplace, for assisting a fellow employee with a lawsuit alleging gender discrimination, and for filing a charge of retaliation with the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities and the Equal Opportunity Commission.

The defendant, Hamilton, now moves pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for summary judgment, arguing that there are no genuine issues of material fact and that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The issue presented is whether the plaintiff has raised a genuine issue of material fact that she was subjected to retaliation in employment for engaging in protected activity. For the reasons hereinafter set forth, the court concludes that the plaintiff has failed to raise any genuine issue of material fact and, accordingly, Hamilton's motion for summary judgment is granted.

FACTS

Examination of the complaint, affidavits, pleadings, Local Rule 56(a) statements, and exhibits accompanying the motion for summary judgment, and the responses thereto, disclose the following undisputed, material facts.

The plaintiff, Donna S. Jute, is a resident of Windsor, Connecticut. The defendant, Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation ("Hamilton") is a corporation established under the laws of the state of Delaware with a principal place of business in Connecticut.

In August of 1986, Jute commenced employment with Hamilton as a customer material attendant in Hamilton's repair and overhaul department in East Windsor, Connecticut. At all times, Jute was an hourly employee and the terms of her employment were covered by a Collective Bargaining Agreement ("CBA") between Hamilton and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, AFL-CIO Lodge 743 ("the union").

In 1990, Jute filed an internal complaint of sexual harassment against her supervisor, one John Gamache. As a result of the complaint and a subsequent investigation, Hamilton asked Gamache to resign and he did so.

In 1994, several Hamilton employees were campaigning for positions on the union's executive board. One of the employees was one Maryanne Brunton. During the campaign, Brunton charged that disparaging statements were being made about her on flyers left in the building in which she worked. Soon thereafter, Hamilton initiated an investigation and, in furtherance of that investigation, Jute provided two sworn statements at both Brunton's and Hamilton's request stating that she had witnessed a female co-worker leave flyers about Brunton in a Hamilton ladies' restroom.

In 1995, Brunton filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut under Title VII alleging that Hamilton and the union engaged in gender discrimination arising out of the campaign. Bruton v. Hamilton Standard, Civil No. 3:95cv2581 (JBA). On July 9, 1998, Brunton appeared for a deposition in that matter and testified, among other things, that Jute had provided a statement to Hamilton as part of its investigation. Jute herself took no action, directly or indirectly, in support of or related to Brunton's lawsuit against Hamilton.

During this period, one Natonia T.C. Crowe-Hagans served as director of operations for Hamilton's repair and overhaul department. Jute worked on the first shift as a labor grade 7 repair technician III and as a member of the so-called JDE software implementation team. On June 15, 1998, Jute claims that Crowe-Hagans told her that, on September 15, 1998, she would receive a promotion to labor grade 5 for her work on the JDE team. Later that summer and, in particular, one day following the Brunton deposition, i.e., July 10, 1998, Jute claims that Crowe-Hagans abruptly removed her from the JDE team and ordered her back onto the shop floor. Jute claims that she was the only person pulled off the team. However, Jute's immediate supervisor, one Glenn Reinhauer, testified that Crowe-Hagans also removed all other employees from the team except for him and that the team ceased to exist at that time.

In July 1998, and shortly after Jute ceased working on the JDE team, Jute claims that management in the information/systems technology department expressed an interest in hiring her. Jute further claims that a systems manager, one Kirby Strole, inquired of Crowe-Hagans about hiring Jute, but that Crowe-Hagans told Strole that she could not hire her because she did not have a degree. Jute claims that the systems department did in fact employ individuals without degrees, including one Peter Mulkern.

Jute also claims that she asked an aerobics teacher, a person identified only as "Shelly", as to whether Jute could teach aerobics at Hamilton during the evenings on a paid basis. Jute alleges that Shelly explained to her that she would simply need to be qualified, and that Shelly would qualify her. Jute planned to begin teaching during August 1998. However, Jute claims that "one day" she received an anonymous telephone call in which the caller allegedly told her that he was calling on Shelly's behalf with a message that her services would not be needed.

On September 11, 1998, Jute filed a union grievance requesting job training and claiming that less senior employees were being trained ahead of more senior employees, including herself. On September 23, 1998, pursuant to an agreement with the union, Crowe-Hagans offered all hourly labor grade 7 employees, including Jute, promotion to labor grade 5 so long as they successfully completed qualification training. Senior employees were offered promotion to labor grade 5 on the first shift, and less senior employees were offered promotion to labor grade 5 on the second shift. The CBA controlled the shift determinations. Hamilton ranked Jute at the cutoff, that is, Jute and other employees that were less senior to Jute were offered second shift promotions. Jute accepted the offer and, in November 1998, Jute commenced training. On December 14, 1998, however, Jute revoked her acceptance of the offer because the promotion would have required her to work on the second shift and she had concerns as to who would take care of her daughter. Jute nevertheless continued to train for the labor grade 5 position with Hamilton's consent.

In April 1999, one Brad Dahlquist, manager of Hamilton's environmental control systems business unit, allegedly told Jute that when she qualified and received her inspector stamp, she would be promoted to labor grade 5 on the first shift. In September 1999, Jute completed the qualification training and received her inspection stamp. She did not thereafter receive a promotion.

Later in September 1999, Glenn Reinhauer attempted to get approval from Crowe-Hagans for Jute to travel overseas with the JDE project. When the approval was not forthcoming, one Renee Maclean, a fellow employee, heard Reinauer asked Jute "[w]hy does [Crowe-Hagans] have such a hard on for you?"

In December 1999, Jute claims that one Byron Yost, a Hamilton supervisor, told her that she "would have [a] salaried position so that [she] wouldn't have to worry about [an] hourly layoff." On January 6, 2000, however, Jute claims that Yost told her that Crowe-Hagans had rejected her for the position, and instead offered the job to a salaried employee.

On January 11, 2000, Hamilton laid-off Jute and 19 other labor grade 7 employees. Among the 19 was Jute's brother, whom, like Jute, had previously declined to accept promotion to labor grade 5 on the second shift. Hamilton terminated the employment of all labor grade 7 employees in the area where Jute worked. Crowe-Hagans was the decision-maker. Jute claims that immediately following the lay off, a less senior employee, one James Foley, assumed a labor grade 5 position on the first shift. Jute believes that if she had taken a position as a labor grade 5 employee on the second shift, she would not have been laid off.

Following the lay off, Hamilton compiled a list of terminated employees for possible employment with its sister company, International Fuel Cells ("IFC"). Jute claims that her name was not on the list. A human resources manager at Hamilton, one Jeffrey Odell, attests that, to the contrary, Jute's name was referred to IFC. IFC thereafter interviewed and hired several former Hamilton employees, including one Linda Ducas. By way of affidavit, Ducas asserts that she interviewed for two positions, one of which involved shipping and handling and required a forklift license. Jute had experience in shipping and handling, and had a forklift license. Nevertheless, unlike Ducas, Jute did not receive an interview.

On May 18, 2000, Jute filed a charge of retaliation with the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities ("CCHRO") pursuant to Conn. Gen.Stat. § 46a-60. She also filed a charge under Title VII with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"). Jute claimed that she "was terminated in retaliation for opposing a discriminatory practice [in 1990] and for assisting in a proceeding under state and federal anti-discrimination statutes ...