Kentucky Center for the Arts v. Handley, 89-CA-001001-MR

• Decision Date: 08 November 1991
• Docket Number: No. 89-CA-001001-MR,89-CA-001001-MR
• Parties: KENTUCKY CENTER FOR THE ARTS, Appellant, v. Mary Marie HANDLEY and Louisville and Jefferson County Human Relations Commission, Appellees.
• Court: Kentucky Court of Appeals

Page 697

827 S.W.2d 697

KENTUCKY CENTER FOR THE ARTS, Appellant, v. Mary Marie HANDLEY and Louisville and Jefferson County Human

Relations Commission, Appellees.

No. 89-CA-001001-MR.

Court of Appeals of Kentucky.

Nov. 8, 1991.

Discretionary Review Denied

by Supreme Court May 6, 1992.

Jon L. Fleischaker, Mary Ann B. Main, Stephen R. Price, Louisville, for appellant.

Kevin R. Winstead, Louisville, for appellee Louisville and Jefferson County Human Relations Com'n.

Mary Marie Handley, pro se.

Before LESTER, C.J., and EMBERTON and MILLER, JJ.

EMBERTON, Judge:

Kentucky Center for the Arts appeals from a judgment of the Jefferson Circuit Court which affirmed the Louisville and Jefferson County Human Relations Commission holding that the Center had discriminated against Mary Marie Handley based on her race and sex. The narrow question before this court is whether the employer met its burden of proof in showing that legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons existed for not promoting the appellee.

Ms. Handley, a black female, was first employed by the Center in 1983 as a ticket agent. In February, 1985, one of the two assistant ticket sales managers took maternity leave and Ms. Handley was chosen by the ticket manager, Linda Stilmack, to fill the position on an interim basis. Ms. Handley held the post until May, 1985, when for economic reasons, it was terminated and she was returned to her position as a ticket agent. After Ms. Stilmack's assistant elected not to return after maternity leave, the position was posted as available, and Ms. Handley became one of seven applicants for the opening. In August, 1985, Stilmack selected Mark Craven, a white male, to fill the vacancy. In September, 1985, Ms. Handley filed a discrimination complaint with the Commission.

In October, 1985, Mr. Craven left employment with the Center and Ms. Stilmack again posted the position; Ms. Handley once again applied. After interviewing five applicants, Kent Metcalf, a white male ticket agent who had been initially hired at the Center approximately one year after Ms. Handley, was selected to fill the position. In January, 1986, Ms. Handley amended her complaint with the Commission, alleging that the Center's failure the second time to grant the position to her was in retaliation for filing the initial complaint.

A three-member panel of the Commission held hearings in February, 1988, in which Ms. Handley and Ms. Stilmack testified. In July, 1988, the Commission determined that Ms. Handley had been the victim of discrimination and awarded her backpay and $1,500 for embarrassment and humiliation. This decision was affirmed by both the full Commission and the Jefferson Circuit Court. The Center appeals.

Louisville Ordinance No. 116, Series 1968, as amended by Ordinance No. 139, Series 1975, prohibits employers from discriminating against employees and from depriving them of "employment opportunities" on grounds of race or sex. The ordinance is substantially the same as KRS 344.040 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000e et seq. Because of the similarity, we are guided by federal case law in the course of our review. White v. Rainbo Baking Company, Ky.App., 765 S.W.2d 26 (1988).

An employment discrimination action unfolds in three stages. First, the plaintiff must make a prima facie case of discrimination by offering proof that, 1) she is a member of a protected class, 2) she is qualified for and applied for an available position, 3) she did not receive the job, and 4) the position remained open and the employer sought other applicants. ¹ McDonnell-Douglas Corporation v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). Second, the employer must then articulate a "legitimate nondiscriminatory" reason for its action. Texas Dept. of Community Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 101 S.Ct. 1089, 67 L.Ed.2d 207 (1981). Third, once such a reason is given, it is incumbent on the employee to demonstrate that the stated reason is merely a pretext to cover the actual discrimination. Id. at 256, 101 S.Ct. at 1095.

The Center incorrectly contends that Ms. Handley failed to make her prima facie case in that she did not prove she was "as qualified" as the two white males who were given the position. After a review of the record, we find that Ms. Handley proved, by a preponderance of the evidence, that she was objectively qualified for the position. At this preliminary stage of the McDonnell-Douglas scheme of proof, it was not her burden to persuade the Commission that she was as qualified as the applicant who filled the position. ² Patterson v. McLean Credit Union, 491 U.S. 164, 109 S.Ct. 2363, 105 L.Ed.2d 132 (1989). Nor was it her burden, at this stage, to refute the Center's claim that she did not meet the subjective criteria for the job position.

[O]bjective job qualifications are best treated at step one and subjective criteria ... are best treated at the later stages of the process. To do otherwise would in many instances collapse the three step analysis into a single initial step at which all issues would be resolved. This would defeat the purpose underlying the McDonnell-Douglas process.

Lynn v. Regents of the University of California, 656 F.2d 1337 (1981), U.S. cert. denied, 459 U.S. 823, 103 S.Ct. 53, 74 L.Ed.2d 59 (1982). After a review of the record, it is clear that Ms. Handley established a prima facie case of discrimination. She has a Bachelor of Science Degree in theatrical arts, and she worked at the Center in ticket sales and as a temporary assistant manager. Significantly, Ms. Stilmack admitted that Ms. Handley was qualified for the position.

The establishment of a prima facie case is a threshold, but, if left unrefuted, judgment must be entered in the plaintiff's favor. Burdine, supra, 450 U.S. at 254, 101 S.Ct. at 1094. However, the burden of refuting the prima facie case need not be met by persuasion; the employer need only articulate with clarity and reasonable specificity, a reason unrelated to a discriminatory motive, and is not required to persuade the trier of fact that the action was lawful. Id. at 258, 101 S.Ct. at 1096.

We agree with the trial court's finding that the Center provided a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for failing to promote Handley. Ms. Stilmack testified that Ms. Handley was not given the first promotion because Mr. Craven was better qualified, having had almost three years in a managerial position. While Stilmack stated that Handley and Metcalf were equally qualified based on effective criteria, she testified that in the past Handley had demonstrated a lack of self-confidence, was unreliable, and expressed a lack of flexibility in her work schedule. Employee records introduced by the Center revealed that Ms. Handley had been tardy in the past and her performance evaluations reflected only a "standard" marking in the areas of attitude, judgment, and attendance. ³

While the protections given an employee against discriminatory practices prohibit selections based upon discriminatory criteria, they are not so ominous as to prohibit an employer from using his discretion in choosing among qualified candidates. Id. at 259, 101 S.Ct. at 1096. Attitude, commitment to the work, flexibility, and other nondiscriminatory criteria are legitimate reasons for failure to hire or promote an individual. Jackson v. Pepsi-Cola, Dr. Pepper Bottling Co., 783 F.2d 50 (6th Cir.1986), U.S. cert. denied, 478 U.S. 1006, 106 S.Ct. 3298, 92 L.Ed.2d 712 (1986). The Center's reason for not promoting Ms. Handley refuted the prima facie case of discrimination.

Once the prima...